White fans were entertained by Black athletes a day after a racist killed Black people in Buffalo — this is what white supremacy looks like

The fact that White America called it a "racial awakening" in 2020 was proof that it was not a real awakening. Three years after theawakening, everything is back to normal, as if Nancy Pelosi took a knee in kente cloth and all those DEI workshops that were held at your job magically fixed hundreds of years.

Both of Sunday's Game 7s were proof that the awakening was only a brief moment of pseudo-accountability.

When the NBA had social justice slogans on their uniforms, Adam Silver allowed Black people to think about that. The entire sports world came to a halt as players realized how much power they have. This is now, and that was then. Players don't get asked how they feel about things outside of 94 feet after a game. It's as if basketball, or whatever sport they play, is all that matters to them. Sideline reporters aren't asking about abortion or if people are scared to go to the grocery store.

On Saturday, the latest evidence that hate and racism are learned behavior was on display when an 18-year-old white man put on his tactical gear and drove hours to a Black section of Buffalo, N.

Four teams played in Game 7s on Sunday. The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks were the next two teams up. Three of the four head coaches are black. In Boston, where one of the games was played, over half of the population is white, according to the latest census. In Phoenix, where the Suns hosted, over 70% of the residents are white.

What does this mean?

We realized that a grocery store on our side of town has become the latest place where Black players from the Celtics can be killed. No one seemed to care about it. Basketball mattered, but not Black lives or the Black psyche.

The governor, state attorney general, and other local officials were in attendance at the Black church in Buffalo when there was an initial report of a man with a gun. The facts of that incident were made clear, but it was a triggering moment for many. Let's not forget that the event happened twice. Dylann Roof walked into a black church to study bibles. Kyle Rittenhouse is a free man, and despite how Republicans may want you to remember it, January 6th wasn't overblown.

Black America has always been more paranoid than it has ever been because of the many nerve-wracking incidents that have happened in the last few years. We are left with dealing with trauma even though it might not always show itself on the outside. If you ever see us tense up while driving, or wonder why our sanctuaries have security, or if we tell each other to be careful when someone is going out, it's because we want you to know. We don't get to fully exhale and let go.

Just know that they did despite what happened to people that look like them on Saturday, even though they played well in Boston and Phoenix. When you are a Black athlete in America, competing at the highest level as a form of entertainment to the rest of the world, and knowing that the majority of the people that cheer for you don't think your life matters, that may be a problem.