Juan was a sort-of friend for years. He’s become a close friend more recently. While researching the biography of Coach Wilbert Walters, I needed to wrap my pale skin into the experiences of being Black in the last century. My lens and Juan’s were different as ice and water.
Juan is an erect, Black attorney, a genuine soul, fighting for justice, sometimes with diplomacy, sometimes with a truth dagger. Our habit was breakfast at Mother’s Restaurant to discuss race. I’d share thoughts on Coach. Juan would launch from there.
He told me what it was like to be overlooked when it came to promotions, supplanted by men with less ambition, less proven record. He shared stories of growing up on the margins of the White world. His bright mind won him praise, but if you are Black, I learned, you are ever reminded that you are an exception to the rules.
“When was the last time you had a Black person at your dining room table?” he once asked me. I sucked air, said nothing. Another time he told me how it was to attend a funeral at my liberal, White church. The man who died was an esteemed community leader. Attendance spilled out of the sanctuary. Juan told me the minister praised the man for his work among the poor and margianalized. “I looked around at all the White faces,” Juan said, “Where were those people he supposedly helped?”
These truths piled up around me as I listened to Coach’s stories, Juan’s stories, and delved into the details of Dr. King’s and others’ struggles to get their point across. People ask me how all this has changed me. In a word, deeply.
When I discuss race with White friends, I hear outrage over the mistreatment of Blacks, or pity for their suffering. I want to say that’s the wrong story. To feel sorry for others makes us righteous judgers. Juan deserves better.
I want my friends to join me in admiring the world of Black Overcomers. It is a story of transcendance not victimhood. People like Juan and Coach knew what they were up against and still they did everything in their power to move the rest of us toward our better selves. We need their lessons now.
Last week Juan Thomas, Esq. was elected to the Illinois State ACLU Board of Directors. The latest in many accomplishments.
Walters Way: A Coach, His Runners and His Race comes out in 5 days. Order it here
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