'Antiracism' Comes to Kids' Little League Baseball

“Antiracism” is all the rage, and it’s not just for schools and companies.

Over the last year, the concept — not to be confused with a mere absence of racism — has found a home in America’s educational institutions and corporate culture.

For easy examples, see “Two Universities Undergo Antiracist Audits – in Their Libraries” and “A Whistleblower Shares a Racial Justice Lesson From Coca-Cola: ‘Try to Be Less White.'”

Or consider Harvard’s search for an Antiracist Librarian; pay: $133,300 to $240,300.

Also an example: Peloton employees’ “Antiracism Activation Center.”

The idea’s even entered the service:

“Military in Motion: The U.S. Navy Adds Antiracist Books to Its Official Reading List”

And now, the notion’s making its way into American communities’ big leagues — which is to say, the little league.

As reported by The Washington Free Beacon, Virginia Little League baseball coaches will now be schooled on racial inequity and the activism needed to beat it with a bat.

On Thursday, Alexandria coaches received an email asking them to cancel practice and attend an antiracism workshop called “Sports Can Battle Racism.”

The May 24th conference will equip athletic leaders of little kids with the knowledge and skill to transform society — days before the season ends during the first week of June.

The message came compliments of Alexandria Little League Board President Sherry Reilly.

The league’s teamed with 1998-established Positive Coaching Alliance.

A document for PCA’s workshop purportedly includes six core themes, from “Create a Caring Climate” to “Model Anti-Racist Behavior.”

For those of you unaware of what antiracism is, here’s UCLA law professor and Intersectionality Matters! podcast host Kimberlé Crenshaw with a briefing:

“Anti-racism is the active dismantling of systems, privileges, and everyday practices that reinforce and normalize the contemporary dimensions of white dominance. This, of course, also involves a critical understanding of the history of whiteness in America.”

Good Housekeeping reports on the matter:

While discrimination against BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities has existed in our country for centuries, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, Elijah McClain and countless other Black people by police has increased the urgency for everyone to work together to address and dismantle racist systems. All of us can help by actively becoming anti-racist.

Furthermore, per CNN, antiracism means eliminating the following microaggressions:

“Don’t blame me. I never owned slaves.”
“All lives matter.”
“I’m colorblind; I don’t care if you’re white, black, yellow, green or purple.”

Back to the Positive Coaching Alliance, it told the Free Beacon training sessions vary in cost, $1,000-10,000.

From spokeswoman Casey Miller:

“We want kids to have a positive youth character building experience, and resources and training that empower youth coaches and parents. How we define culture is based on how we dive into the ‘we’ piece about that statement. What does it mean to be a part of the we? Each person, no matter what background or what they look like, should feel a part of the we.”

The Alliance also hosts an online library for “overcoming racism in sports.”

Among other things, it covers cultural appropriation, systemic racism, and intersectionality.

An addendum inquires as to whether “equality is enough” or if “equity is a more important principle.”

The Positive Coaching Alliance began its “Sports Can Battle Racism” initiative last June in response to nationwide upheaval following the tragic death of George Floyd.

As for what place racism guidance has within the context of showing someone how to choke up on a Louisville Slugger or field a high-bouncing grounder, perhaps this can shed some light: