There’s a feel-good story on the County Executive’s Facebook page.
We visited our YEP! Track and Field Youth Clinic and recognized some truly outstanding scholar-athletes. These remarkable individuals have shown incredible dedication, perseverance, and sportsmanship throughout their training and competitions this summer. Congratulations to Warren Conley, Matthieu Smith, and Harper Schafer, who represented Howard County and YEP! at the AAU Junior Olympics, achieving significant milestones in their athletic journeys.
The images recount Ball’s visit to HCC to honor participants in the County’s Youth Engagement Program in the area of Track and Field.
It's rewarding to see the impact that programs like YEP! have on our youth, providing them with the skills and opportunities to excel both on and off the field. A big thank you to Howard Community College and YEP! Track and Field Program Coordinator Philippe DeRowsier and the entire team for their leadership and commitment to fostering the next generation of champions. Our community is stronger because of the hard work of these young athletes and the supportive programs that nurture their growth.
It may have been intended to be a feel-good story, but it clearly didn’t go down well with one social media respondent who asked:
Only Blacks need apply?
Really.
I won’t single this fellow out by name but it is telling that one of the first things I found on his feed was this post shared from Conservative website The Daily Wire:
Dear me. It is so terribly hard to be white. Imagine spending one’s days looking for opportunities to complain that Black people may possibly be getting something that you didn’t get.
When the Mall instituted restrictions on teens due to “unruly behavior” I remember writing about how we as a community needed to address the bigger picture of what our young people need in order to grow and function in a positive way:
As for me, I keep thinking about this quote from the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in. - - Desmond Tutu
If teens are getting into trouble at the Mall, or any place locally, for that matter, simply reacting to a crisis is not enough. I’m thrilled with the summer programs for young people announced by country government. I’m not thrilled with the new policy at the Mall. But both are reactions.
I am inclined to agree with those who are advocating for more local teen centers where kids can gather and hang out and be who they are. There has to be a careful balance between safe places and fun activities with the need for kids of this age to exercise independence and make their own choices. And it has to be easy for kids to get there, and affordable. - - “Falling In,” March, 2023
That was in March of 2023. In July:
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Announces Engaging and Transformational Youth Engagement Programs
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced more than 30 youth programming opportunities for young people in Howard County of all ages. Available in every part of the county, these transformational and free programs are supported by Howard County’s Youth Engagement Programming grant, also known as the YEP! program.
The recent establishment of a Boys and Girls Club at HCC is yet another extension of providing young people opportunities for connection, recreation, and growth in our community.
When I look at these photographs and think about the programs which seek to nourish potential I see something very different than our Facebook commenter sees. I see investment in the future and also a sense of validation that we believe that all our teens should be accepted for who they are no matter what they look like or what part of town they live in.
Mr. Troll sees too many Black faces having a good time - - not so different from the attitude behind an investigation of a library event because all those well-dressed Black women must surely be up to no good.
This expression of white grievance culture flows through all too many local threads on social media, I’m sad to say. It’s why the concept of equity just enrages some people. They are far too used to the invisible (to them) but continually enforced boundaries that put white people ahead at the expense of others. That is their “normal.” And anything else must surely be “reverse racism”, corruption, or downright injustice.
The truth is that the reason these folks are so uncomfortable seeing so many happy and successful Black residents on the County Executive’s Facebook page is because there have never, ever been enough there before he was elected. Where were they before? They certainly belonged there.
If previous local leaders tended to include only as many nonwhites as would not make white folks uncomfortable, that’s not representation. It’s tokenism.
We can do better than that. Can’t we?
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