Okay. I think the coast is finally clear. The “Caitlin Clark is the greatest hooper, male or female, college or pro, that this planet has ever seen” talk has finally died down. A little. So, now I can finally say what needs to be said, and address the bigger issue that this “Caitlin coronation” underscores – America’s religious obsession with finding, elevating and celebrating the next “Great white Hope” is not only played out, it’s dangerous.
The OG GwH
Writer Jack London coined the phrase “Great white Hope” to describe James J. Jeffries in his attempt to win the heavyweight crown from the reigning Heavyweight Champion of the World, boxer Jack Johnson, in 1910. Whites were losing “they” damn minds with Johnson, a brother from Galveston, TX, by way of Mt. Kilimanjaro, knocking the absolute hell outta white boys left and right (and then taking their women). Jeffries was a legendary boxer in his own right. But the problem was, he had retired.
London engaged in an all-out blitz to convince Jeffries to get back into the ring and put Johnson, and by proxy, Black people, back in their place. London literally said Jeffries was “the chosen representative of the white race, and this time the greatest of them,” to go against the “brash and arrogant” Johnson. But London was far from alone in placing all the hopes and dreams a magical mayonnaise and wonderbread mix could muster on behalf of whiteworld.
A New York Times editorial unashamedly and unapologetically stated: “If the Black man wins, thousands and thousands of his ignorant brothers will misinterpret his victory as justifying claims to much more than mere physical equality with their white neighbors.”
And whiteworld bought in. The first prizefight to be billed as the “Fight of the Century” was easily one the most anticipated fights of all time. And whiteworld was supremely confident that Jeffries was the right Great white Hope; so much so, the betting odds overwhelmingly favored Jeffries and the fight was scheduled for the Fourth of July – a fact that should erase all doubts about how whitefolk see July 4… as an unabashed celebration of whiteness.
But a funny thing happened on their way to proving the myth of their superiority. Johnson beat the breaks off Jeffries. In fact, Johnson beat him so bad that the police literally forced documentarians to stop filming the fight, then jumped in the ring to stop the ass-whoopin’ of the century.
Again, the police stopped the fight. But they didn’t stop whiteworld’s wet dreams for a non-melanated savior.
An argument could also be made that the original, original Great white Hope was Jesus, since whiteworld had convinced itself and oh so many others of Yeshua’s European lineage. But, c’mon playa. Anyone who’s not an avowed slave to the myth of white supremacy knows Jesus and his mama and daddy and ‘nem were Black as burnt brass.
So, what does all this have to do with Caitlin? I’m getting to it. But first…
White Domestic Terrorism Celebrated
The 1915 movie “Birth of a Nation” was so racist the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was cast as the movie’s heroes and literal saviors of America and white womanhood from the lustful advances of Black savages. As the first movie screen in the White House by then president Woodrow Wilson and the first certified “blockbuster,” this movie that placed all hope in America’s growth and freedom in the murderous and torturous actions of a white domestic terrorist organization earned a spot in the movie Hall of Fame (the National Film Registry). And get this, that entry didn’t happen way back in the day. The United States Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry… in 1992! Apparently, Great white Hopes don’t die, they multiply.
Heisman Winner of 1956
In 1956, the fifth-place finisher in Heisman voting led his team to a 7-1 regular season record and a birth in the Cotton Bowl. He ran for 986 yards, which was third-most in the nation, and 14 touchdowns, even though he only played in eight games while his counterparts played in 10. However, a Notre Dame quarterback who led his team to a dismal 2-8 losing record while throwing a mere three TD passes to go with the 13 interceptions he tossed, won the Heisman – the award honoring the greatest college football player. That Notre Dame QB was Paul Hornung, who went on to have a legendary NFL career with the Green Bay Packers. But his 1956 season didn’t even warrant him being in the Heisman conversation.
However, because whiteworld fell in love with what they described as Hornung’s movie star looks and personality, he was viewed by many as a Great white Hope in the face of Blacks, who were slowly being allowed to play ball at PWIs, and dominating on the gridiron. Like Jeffries and the KKK, whiteworld lived vicariously through Hornung and their belief that he would show white supremacy and domination in college football, which in the 195os was way bigger and pro ball.
Oh yeah, and that person who came in fifth place in the Heisman voting even though he had the greatest season in 1956 by far… that was none other than Syracuse running back Jim Brown, arguably the greatest pro football player to ever live and a member of the Pro Football and Lacrosse halls of fame.
The Real Rocky
The 1976 movie “Rocky” was so beloved that it received 10 Oscar nominations, and won three, most notably for Best Picture. Y’all already know the movie’s story – about a down-and-out bum of a white fighter, who through grit, hard work and dumb luck gets a shot to fight the brash, cocky, loudmouth, athletically gifted but not so hard-working Heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed. Rocky, created by and played by Sylvester Stallone, was based on another Great white Hope, boxer Chuck Wepner, who in 1975, fought the “Greatest of All Time, Muhammad Ali, and amazingly went the distance (15 rounds) before losing. The film tapped into this nation’s guttural and multi-generational desire for a GwH to put Blackfolk I their place.
Bird
In 1979, Larry Bird and his Indiana State team battled Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his Michigan State Spartans in NCAA National Championship Game. Bird was the consensus College Basketball player of the year, and brought a record number of eyes to the NCAA championship game, many hoping the Indiana State Sycamores would best Magic and the brothers from Michigan. The brothers won, but the Bird/Magic rivalry continued in the NBA with each player’s teams defeating the other in championship games. But Bird’s presence resurrected in many that GwH need.
Elway
Super Bowl XXII, Jan. 31, 1988, pit John Elway (Denver Broncos) vs. Doug Williams (Washington Redskins). But it also pit Black and white America against each other. At the time, Denver was the whitest city (demographically) to have an NFL team. And DC was nicknamed Chocolate City for a reason.
But there was even more to this matchup than that.
Quarterback was a position reserved for whites. Blacks were said to lack the leadership abilities and intelligence to play the position. And though Doug Williams wasn’t the first brother to play QB in the NFL, he was the first to start at the position in the Super Bowl – the nation’s premier sporting event.
That year, 1988, the sporting world was still light years away from Black quarterbacks being the norm. They were still very much a rarity. In 1988, Williams was the only Black starting QB. And the thought of him leading his team over America’s darling and favorite white son (Elway) was sickening to many, and they had no qualms expressing their feelings.
So, in a very real sense, Elway, who was a great QB, and by no means an underdog, was still viewed as a GwH; the person who was going to put Williams in his place, and all those who dared think Blacks could ever be QBs. But a funny thing happened on the way to the Super Bowl XXII Lombardi Trophy and MVP celebration. Williams went all the way off, won the game and was named Super Bowl MVP.
Donald Drumpf
In the wake of having not only a Black president, but a whole-ass Black family in the White House (including a mother-in-law), whitefolk lost “they” damn collective minds. Drumpf was seen as the savior of white America and the champion of those stricken with white grievance syndrome. He was literally and figuratively the GwH at a time when many whites felt their country was being taken from them. They literally called him their savior, comparing him to bruhman Jesus, and declaring his candidacy God-ordained. And his 2016 victory was seen as proof that God wanted Blackfolk to be put back in line. And his policies, words and influence have sought to do that from the moment he descended that escalator surrounded by paid actors to herald his candidacy announcement to this very day as he seeks to retake the White House.
Don’t get it twisted. Drumpf’s anti-Blackness goes back way further than 2015/2016. But no one saw him as a white savior back in the day. In fact, he was viewed as a grifting poser who lived off daddy’s wealth. But coming off eight years of the Obama administration, and stirring the white grievance pot, Drumpf had found his calling
Impact
Time and time again, these symbols of hope that the white general population attached themselves to for the purpose of literally and/or symbolically besting all of Black people, have led to dangerous and violent outcomes. Race “riots” (instances of lynchings and other forms of white domestic terrorism) broke out after Johnson whipped Jeffries and every time Birth of a Nation was shown in theaters across the country.
Similarly, anti-bussing movement actions (attempts to block white children from having to go to school with Black children) were shown to gather energy from the euphoric white wave that came with “Rocky.”
And more people were open to doubling down on the hapless “War on Drugs” in the late 80s post Doug Williams’ beatdown of Elway’s Broncos.
And this is the moment in the op-ed, where I’m supposed to say that white America’s Great white Hope obsession is not only dangerous to Black and Brown folk, but it hurts whites, as well. And that’s true. But “forget” that.
Yes, the GwH love heaped upon folk like Bird and Clark makes it harder for sports fans of color to appreciate their greatness. As a young person I couldn’t stand Bird for that very reason. But there’s no denying he’s one of the all-time NBA greats. For her part, Clark is a beast on that b-ball court. She’s got that “dawg” in her. And she’ll more than likely have a successful WNBA career.
But this isn’t about them. This is about us, and how this GwH syndrome, which must speak to some serious levels of internalized inadequacy in whites, translates into symbolic and physical vitriol aimed at Black women, men, children, elders, schools, businesses, communities, authors, art, history, etc. This includes death threats sent to LSU great Angel Reese, a Clark opponent on the court and fellow, respected hooper off it. This includes death threats to Hank Aaron when he neared surpassing Babe Ruth’s home run record. This includes death threats to Doug Williams before and after his famous Super Bowl moment. This include violent actions and violent policies and laws purposefully aimed at doing harm to Black people, inspired in part by whatever internal need that GwH figure fills.
And that makes it not only played out, but highly dangerous to Blackfolk and folk of all races who recognize our common humanity on our one, common planet.
