Michael Holding wipes away a tear while talking about racism faced by his parents (Screenshot/SkyNews)
Michael Holding followed up on his hard-hitting speech on systemic racism on the first day of the Southampton Test by baring his soul on Day 2 as well. He fought to hold back tears as he talked about what he saw his parents going through because of the colour of their skin.
“To be honest, that emotional part came when I started thinking of my parents. And it’s coming again now,” Michael Holding said on an interview on Sky News on Thursday.
After a pause, he continued: “Mark, I know what my parents went through. My mother’s family stopped talking to her because her husband was too dark.
“I know what they went through, and that came back to me immediately,” Holding said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Even if it’s a baby step at a time. Even a snail’s pace. But I’m hoping it will continue in the right direction. Even at a snail’s pace, I don’t care”
Michael Holding fights back tears as he recalls the prejudice faced by his parents.https://t.co/iOm40vn1kt pic.twitter.com/BhYXRbtyd1
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) July 9, 2020
West Indies captain Jason Holder, the star performer of the second day of the Test, said he had felt Holding’s words on racism in his veins when he heard him speaking on Wednesday.
“I must say, I saw the interview with Mikey yesterday, and I felt it in my veins, to be honest. To me it was powerful, I think he hit the nail on the head, he was spot on,” Holder told Sky Sports.
Holder added that the 30-second on-field gesture from both sets of players and umpires before the start of the Test meant a great deal to him. “It meant the world to me. Just the support from everyone, everyone understanding the moment, everyone understanding the occasion. And to see both teams coming together the way they did, it sent a really strong message,” Holder said.
“I happened to be on social media last night, and I saw a few Aussies posting the same pic of everyone on the knee, and it just shows the cricket world is actually unified. But I think we could come a lot closer, we could do a lot more for cricket in general, he added.