Despite a recent increase in reported hate crimes in Michigan, Jarvis and June Mitchell who together coach girls basketball at Wayne Memorial High School, have found their new neighborhood in Garden City very welcoming. Wochit
Some sidewalks in the peaceful Garden City neighborhood where Jarvis and June Mitchell live were covered with snow and ice.
But there could have been egg shells on the pavement, under their boots, for all that African Americans still have to endure in 2018.
"He'd be flabbergasted," June Mitchell said, about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — whose life will be celebrated across the country Monday — might react to all the negative headlines.
There’s nationwide protests fueled by racism, stemming from Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem to protest what he called oppression of black people.
There still is at least one restaurant, the Mitchells said they experienced, where black kids are turned away from getting a drink of water, albeit in West Virginia.
And, on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it seems as though all the societal gains enjoyed by African Americans — largely thanks to what King and many others experienced in the 1950s and 1960s — are slowly slipping.
In Michigan, the number of hate crimes jumped 29.1 percent (from 309 to 399) from 2015 to 2016 — compared to the 4.6-percent increase nationally, according to data released by the FBI. Michigan ranks fourth nationally in reporting of hate crimes.
Daily reality
Racism still exists, although not as in classic brick-through-the-window fashion. It could be as subtle as a coach telling his predominantly white team not to shake black hands after a game.
“It’s a reality as far as these kids are concerned,” said Jarvis Mitchell, 39, head coach of Wayne Memorial’s varsity girls basketball team. “A lot of them are just trying to make it day by day. So whether or not they know Martin Luther King or not, it won’t affect them trying to feed themselves at 6 o’clock at night.
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“As much as we would like to say it’s important to know history, important to know the freedom and who fought for you. Of course it’s disappointing, but sometimes you have to synchronize yourself with the parallels of what they’re really going through in life.”
Changing hearts
The Mitchells do love where they live (which, according to the 2016 U.S. census, has a black population of about 3 percent), having moved last summer from Detroit. The neighborhood is quiet, other families welcoming.
Even their English bulldog Chauncey (named after ex-Pistons great Billups) gets along famously with the collie who lives next door.
“It’s been really quiet. It’s been what you aspire to have,” Jarvis Mitchell said.
His wife June, 33, a teacher at Ecorse High School and her husband’s assistant coach, said they “love it out here, it’s quiet. We have land. It’s close to the gym. Stuff is within walking distance.”
That doesn’t mean the American Dream is alive and well for them and many other young minority couples.
“I’ll be honest, this thing is bigger than a person, this thing is bigger than a march,” Jarvis said. “This won’t be able to change until the aggressor changes. Because no matter how much good I talk or how beneficial the march becomes, I can’t extract that hate from a person that’s been taught to hate. It doesn’t matter.”
Today’s reality wouldn’t sit well with King himself had the Baptist minister lived to see his 89th birthday Monday, in the couple's opinion. "There’d be a march, for sure," June said with a nod.
Color blind
Canton, which in 2016 had an African-American population of around 9 percent, is where Maximus Okolo lives with parents Frank and Elizabeth Okolo, both from Nigeria.
Frank Okolo came to the United States in the 1980s, got his college education, then returned to Nigeria, where he met Elizabeth. He brought his bride to America and settled in suburban Detroit.
Maximus Okolo, 17, a senior at Plymouth Christian Academy (where he is the lone black member on the varsity boys basketball team), is thankful for what King stood for and how he paved the way for his parents to start a life here.
“I feel like Martin Luther King, his birthday, all he did, was truly an inspiration,” Okolo said. “Him allowing me to come to a school like this is really motivation. To see what he can do and what he has done, it really drives me to try to do bigger things so I can change the people around me and how people think.”
At Plymouth Christian, both in the classroom and gym, things are not viewed through a prism.
“If you would come from the outside, you would see, ‘Oh, he’s one of the very few black kids,’” Okolo said. “But when I came here, once I started to know everyone, no one really sees color, because we’re all friends and brothers. Even my coach (Matt Windle), he refers to me as his brother in Christ. So color’s really not a thing here.”
Okolo, the youngest of four children, said the attitude of acceptance that King touted is the main reason he and his siblings were able to grow up and get educated and potentially have opportunities to prosper in the United States.
“Honestly, I feel like if it wasn’t for people in America, my dad wouldn’t be able to come here,” he said. “People that gave him a chance are white individuals. Martin Luther King, obviously, influenced those people to come and try to help the people in Nigeria to come to America. They were trying to make a difference in people like my dad’s life.”
Backing Kaepernick
Jarvis Mitchell thinks King would have backed Kaepernick in his national anthem protest. Would the civil rights champion of “I Have A Dream” fame have taken a knee?
“Doubtful,” Jarvis said. “He would have reasoned with Kaepernick to stand up. He just wanted equality — and everyone to get along.”
Something that King would have liked is the brutal honesty — delivered with compassion and backed by knowledge — the Mitchells show as they try to help young people understand what life is like for them in 2018.
Whether in the classroom, the gymnasium or during a car ride (Jarvis said he routinely drives his players home after practice), it’s about turning the other cheek when a slight is made.
Reject hatred
They talk about the unfairness of life in America, but not to get back at anybody. Instead, the Mitchells want them to maintain love-filled hearts and reject hating or being haters.
That can be easy to say, hard to do.
Consider the recent episode where another team walked off the floor following a game without attempting to shake the hands of Wayne Memorial players.
That slight of basic sportsmanship was the topic of a Zebras’ team meeting a couple of days later.
Mitchell merely wanted to talk to them about it as a "teachable moment." He could have made a stink about it, but decided not to.
“I explained to them this is what you’re going to encounter, these are some of the things you need to brace for and not react to,” Jarvis said. “I could have reacted extremely negative. And it could have been eye for an eye and I could have had just cause, because it’s not only an embarrassment, but it’s an antagonizing thing.”
He added that a high school basketball game really isn’t all that important in the grand scheme of things.
“The picture is much bigger,” Jarvis said. “I want my kids to be leaders and of substance.”
'Role' with it
Because young people often mirror the world they see, the Mitchells underscored why they must continue to be the best people and role models they can possibly be.
“We all have our faults, we all have our disagreements,” June said. “But the biggest thing is, no matter how we feel, we have to still make sure we’re teaching our kids the right thing.
“Because our feelings, our emotions, our passion is going to come through.”
To that end, their job as coaches and educators is never done.
“Sometimes it’s going to look different types of ways to different people,” she said. “But we have to make sure at the end of the day, we’re still teachers. Just because you don’t have a pen and a pad and you’re not doing algebra on the board, doesn’t mean you’re not a teacher.”
Break the cycle
As daunting a task as breaking the cycle of injustice might be, a good starting point is children being exposed to good words and good deeds early in life and modeling those as they grow into adolescence — and finding a way to ward off societal poison when it inevitably comes.
That’s where the Mitchells of the world can make a difference.
“Me and my wife, we are part of kids' lives every day,” Jarvis said. “So we know our influence is just as important as a lot of their parents. ... They (children) need to mimic. I’ve been coaching girls basketball for 15-16 years. They’ve never seen me put a cigarette to my mouth. They’ve never seen me put a bottle of liquor to my mouth.
“We have to be extremely image-conscious. That’s teaching — we’re teaching 24 hours a day.”
Keep the faith
Okolo added that positive change can happen for future generations. Young African Americans must decide to get educated, have strong faith and not lose the desire to step up and step out of any traps in which they might find themselves.
“If you’re getting good grades, there’s really nothing that can hold you back, in my opinion,” Okolo said. “If you’re doing what you have to do, it will carry you.”
For those not in the best of situations, whether from a community or education standpoint, there remains hope.
“If you were in a low-income neighborhood, obviously, there’s going to be traps you can fall into or ruts,” Okolo said. “But I say stay focused on the goal, have a goal to further yourself that you want to achieve. If you really want the goal you can shoot for, you can get it, if you let nothing hold you back.”
As for King’s message taking root, even decades later, it all starts from within. And from having faith in God’s plan.
“I use God as a support system,” Okolo said. “I know even if something happens, I know God has me. Or if something happens, I know it’s for a reason.”
tsmith@hometownlife.com
Twitter: @TimSmith_Sports