(Todd A. Smith)
Many in Black America, owe the Boston Celtics an apology, me included.
During the 1980s, many in Black America identified with the Los Angeles Lakers and their star point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson, while many in White America found hope in the Boston Celtics and sharpshooting small forward Larry Bird.
But if facts matter, the Celtics did more to advance the issue of equality in sports than the Lakers.
And during the heyday of their 1980s rivalry, Boston had a much larger Black population than Los Angeles.
The complex relationship between the Celtics, their star Black players and Boston is chronicled in the docuseries “Celtics City,” now streaming on Max.
In a press release, executive producer and Boston sports fanatic Bill Simmons said, “There’s no story quite like the Boston Celtics. Everything went right for 40 years, then nothing went right, then suddenly, things started going right again, But beyond the 18 titles and all the legends and memories, the team’s connection to the city and almost a century of American history was the most compelling piece for us. This story is bigger than basketball, and yet, it’s everything you ever loved about basketball, too.”
Unfortunately, the history that Simmons mentioned is something all too familiar to Black Americans.
Despite the popularity of Johnson in the Black community and Bird’s popularity in the White community, the rivalry mirrors the reality of Black progress, followed by White backlash.
During the 1970s, Boston earned a reputation for being a racist city because of the hatred it displayed when Black children got bussed to predominantly White schools to speed up the integration progress.
Before integration, Black Americans saw themselves locked out of much of American society.
Many Black Americans could not attend some of the most prestigious schools regardless of their grades, test scores and extracurricular activities.
Many Black Americans could not obtain certain jobs, regardless of their qualifications and experience.
They could not live wherever their money could afford.
But that all began to change, a little, after integration.
Despite racism remaining visible, many Black Americans began climbing the ladder of success and pulling their families out of poverty.
That is why that ignorant White man attacked Ted Landsmark, Black lawyer at Boston’s city hall on April 5, 1976, an image etched in Black history forever.
That progress is why many White sports fans began to turn away from the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 1970s.
A league that once had a decent number of White stars became dominated by young Black guys from the hood with swagger.
Some dressed stylishly before and after the games like Julius Erving.
Some rocked gold necklaces on the court.
Some even became head coaches such as Bill Russell when he became player-coach for the Celtics after Arnold “Red” Auerbach retired to the front office.
Even during the Celtics’ dynasty of the 1950s and 1960s, the town’s White population often did not support the team until the playoffs.
When they did, many of the White fans gave much of the credit to superstar point guard Bob Cousy, who is White.
However, the franchise did not begin winning championships until it drafted Russell, a proud Black man who constantly spoke out against racism and participated in protests like the March on Washington in 1963.
The Celtics became the first franchise to have an all-Black starting five and the first NBA team to employ a Black head coach.
Yet, many Black Americans outside of “Beantown” never really connected with the team.
That is because the city of Boston, despite having a decent percentage of Black residents, never seemed to accept Black greatness.
Infamously, Russell’s Boston home was vandalized, with feces being spread out on his bed.
That hatred that Russell experienced in Boston was the backlash to Black progress.
So, it is no surprise that White Bostonians gravitated toward players like Dave Cowens and Larry Bird while being more critical of stars like JoJo White.
That image of White Bostonians terrorizing and humiliating its Black basketball stars created the perception that the Celtics represented White America while the Lakers represented Black America when the Celtics should have received more praise for being inclusive and progressive.
Until the 1986 NBA Finals against my Houston Rockets, the championship Celtics teams of that decade had a predominantly Black starting five.
But sometimes style usurps facts.
The flash that the Lakers displayed just connected more with many in the hood.
Although the Lakers were my second favorite team of the 1980s and Johnson is still my favorite basketball player of all time, the Celtics deserve more love from Black America.
Even with the current roster, stars like Jaylen Brown seem more concerned with the uplift of the Black community than appealing to corporate America.
He is using his power and influence to encourage Black Americans to support Black-owned businesses, especially in his adopted hometown of Boston.
Brown has created a nonprofit organization called Boston XChange to help build generational wealth in minority communities.
The shooting guard sees his efforts as a way to recreate Black Wall Street, but this time in Boston instead of the original Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Okla.
He has partnered with teammate Jrue Holiday’s JLH Fund, Roxbury Community College and Harvard Business School to offer grant investments, coaching and mentorship to entrepreneurs.
Additionally, the 2023-24 Celtics made history when their head coach, Joe Mazzulla became the fourth Black Celtics head coach to win a championship, following Russell, K.C. Jones and Glenn “Doc” Rivers.”
That is the epitome of Black excellence.
