It was a game-changing moment for Etan Thomas. Pulled over by the police, he sat silently on the road as an officer fixated on him. The policeman’s fingertips hovered over his holster, ready to grab his gun, while his partners tried to pinpoint why the black teen looked so familiar.
It must be from a mugshot, they said. When they demanded he pop his trunk, revealing high school basketball gear inside, they finally recognized the star athlete whose achievements were often splashed across the local newspaper.
Retired NBA player, activist and motivational speaker Etan Thomas delivered the Black History Month keynote last Wednesday at UMW. Photo by Suzanne Carr Rossi.
The former Washington Wizard shared that story during his Black History Month keynote Wednesday at the University of Mary Washington. Packed into the UC’s Chandler Ballroom, students, UMW athletes and coaches, faculty, staff, university administrators, President Troy Paino and wife Kelly, and community members listened raptly as Thomas discussed systemic racism, police brutality, the school-to-prison pipeline, stop-and-frisk and more. Thomas’ appearance came as the University celebrates Farmer Legacy 2020, honoring Dr. James L. Farmer Jr., the civil rights icon and late Mary Washington professor, who would have been 100 this year.
Thomas’ activism was borne out of that teenage incident, he said, buoyed by his mother’s passion for social justice, and a speech teacher who encouraged him to channel his emotions into an oratory, which he delivered at regional and national competitions, garnering media attention.
“I realized I could use this basketball thing to speak for people who can’t speak for themselves,” said Thomas, whose advocacy work earned him prestigious awards from the National Basketball Players Association and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Foundation.
A published poet and author of several books, including 2018’s We Matter: Athletes and Activism, Thomas began the evening with a free-flowing, imagery-rich, spoken-word poem, which served as a springboard for the ensuing discussion.
In his poem, Thomas lamented the murders of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Terence Crutcher, Philando Castile and other victims of police brutality, as well as the pain felt by their families, whom Thomas interviewed for his book and supported in their quest for justice. He spoke of juries who failed to convict, politicians and pundits who attack athletes for speaking out against oppression and “a system that was built for us to fail.” Throughout, listeners snapped their fingers in agreement. Thomas’ poem ended with, “we are going to keep pursuing justice.”
