Dear Editor,
Several weeks ago, I posted on Facebook that former NBA player Rick Fox would make a good parliamentarian for the Free National Movement and encountered significant opposition from FNMs, Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and Coalition of Independents (COI) supporters. One PLP commented that we'd better put that "Canadian where the whites and elites are".
She further commented that Black people would "eat him alive" in the ghetto. Her warped thinking reveals her low, condescending view of Black Bahamians. Only Blacks reside in the ghetto, according to her thinking.
Another individual, presumably an FNM, said, "Rick Fox should go back to Canada."
Another commented by pitting Fox against Sebas Bastian, even though the post was solely on the subject of Fox. Based on the myriad of reactions on Fox, I am left with the assumption that the former NBA player's public announcement about entering active politics has unwittingly exposed the latent prejudices of Black Bahamians.
There also seems to be a latent resentment towards Fox for identifying himself as Canadian. This resentment is more pronounced when the point of Fox playing for Canada in the 1990 and 1994 FIBA Basketball World Cup tournament is raised.
There's a segment of Bahamians who have yet to forgive Fox for not playing for The Bahamas national basketball team. That his father was a Black Bahamian who was born in The Bahamas is irrelevant to these people.
Fox was born in Toronto in July 1969 to parents Ulrich Fox and Dianne Gerace. The elder Fox migrated to the US, where he worked in Massachusetts before moving to Canada, where he met Gerace. Gerace's parents had migrated to Canada from Italy.
About nine months after the birth of Rick Fox, the family moved to Nassau in 1970, where the elder Fox established several successful businesses, most notably Holiday Ice on Mackey Street, Nassau Street and Soldier Road.
Fox, who became a car salesman in Canada, also opened a car lot on Mackey Street, called Nascan Auto Sales. Rick Fox would recount the story of his family attending the Independence celebrations at Clifford Park on the night of July 9.
While living in Nassau, Fox attended Kingsway Academy and Faith Temple. In the process of time, Fox relocated to North America, where he pursued a career in professional basketball. Had he remained in The Bahamas, it is unlikely he would have ever made it to the NBA.
Despite his willingness to identify with Bahamians, we seem determined to punish Fox for being born to a White Italian woman in a predominantly White North American country. Our opposition towards him makes no sense, and further exposes Black Bahamians as walking contradictions.
While we are harboring a deep-seated prejudice towards Fox, we welcome over seven million North Americans as visitors annually — over 80 percent of whom are Caucasian. Without this racial demographic sustaining our number one industry, The Bahamas would be no better off than Haiti, Somalia and Sudan.
Some years ago, I read Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", a fictional story set in and around the Mississippi River in the 1840s. Huck ran away from home in St. Petersburg, Missouri, and came across a runaway slave named Jim, who belonged to a Miss Watson.
Jim wanted to escape the Deep South for Illinois in the North. At the outset of the story, Huck repeatedly uses the derogatory racial epithet "boy" when addressing Jim. To him, Jim was a N-word. At the tail end of the story, Huck refers to Jim by his name. Their time together on the run reveals to him the humanity of Jim, which caused him to reject the societal norms of the Deep South.
I hope that those Black Bahamians who are giving Rick Fox such a hard time would do away with their prejudices and view him, first and foremost, as a fellow human being; and secondly, as a Bahamian who loves this country and desires to make a contribution via the political process.
I see nothing wrong with Fox wanting to run for Parliament. I am very disappointed in the pettiness and prejudice attitude of Black Bahamians. We often talk about attracting the very best and brightest to return home to help the nation.
Fox decides to do just that, and we decide to act like fools. I encourage Mr. Fox to continue pursuing a career in frontline politics in this country.
The Bahamas can use an individual with his clout, vision, notoriety and innovation. There is a growing segment of Bahamians who would love nothing more than to see Fox in the House of Assembly.
— Kevin Evans