‘We will demand change.’ Duke’s Henry Coleman uses basketball platform for awareness.

“The tears. The pain. The uncertainty. The feeling of sorrow.”

Those words lingered as Henry Coleman III furrowed his eyebrows and read a message he had written the night before “out of pain, out of anger.” The Duke freshman forward was in front of a crowd of his fellow athletes, coaches and other members of the school’s athletics department who were gathered for a peaceful protest at Krzyzewskiville on Duke’s campus on Aug. 27.

“This country has had its knee on the necks of African-Americans for too long,” Coleman, who’s Black, told the crowd. “This country has had a dagger in our backs and has yet to even acknowledge the dagger, let alone try to pull it out.”

As Coleman spoke, his teammates gathered around him on the stage as his emotions in his voice became more and more evident. He said that moment “almost felt like a security blanket.” He hadn’t planned to speak that day, but told the media Monday that his parents always told him to use his platform.

“They always tell me, ‘You wouldn’t build a house and not sleep in it,’” Coleman said. “So I just have to use this platform to continue to talk.”

Facing microaggressions

Throughout his life, Coleman said he has faced racism and microaggressions, ranging from people following him around in stores to people looking at him a certain way as he runs through his neighborhood.

“It’s that constant feeling of you going out the door every day, ‘Will I make it home?’” Coleman aid. “It’s just something that you have to live with, and it’s something that a lot of people and a lot of African-Americans around this country have to live with.”

During his speech in Krzyzewskiville, Coleman said he’s “tired of it.”

“Words cannot explain the numbness that me and my brothers and sisters are feeling right now,” Coleman said, his voice trembling. “Words cannot explain the pain that my mother looks at me every night. Words can’t explain the pain of my father and the shawl of the tremble in his voice when he talks to me about death.”

His parents had many conversations with Coleman as he was growing up, some focused on not going down the street with his music playing loudly and not wearing a “certain type of clothing to certain types of events.”

But those conversations got deeper over time. He said that before he had ever seen death in a movie, his father had to explain to Coleman why certain things were happening on the news and in the world.

“A lot of people try to hide themselves from the news,” Coleman said. “And especially nowadays, when you have to explain, you have to explain what’s truly going on.”

Coleman took a deep breath and a long pause during his speech as two teammates kept their hands on each of his shoulders, squeezing from time to time in support. He continued, saying, “Change is needed right now.”

Athletes respond to Jacob Blake shooting

Across the nation, athletes are using their voices to advocate for change. The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks boycotted their playoff game against the Orlando Magic on Aug. 26 in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot at by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Police shot seven times; four bullets hit Blake, who is now paralyzed.

The NBA then announced the postponement of two other playoff games that evening. Over the next several hours, three WNBA, five MLS and three MLB games were canceled as athletes, programs and leagues stood in solidarity. Over the weekend, more than seven NFL teams canceled practices.

“I saw a group of guys that were using their platform, like we talked about each day,” Coleman told the media Monday, “to voice their pain and voice their opinion on people that oppressed us for a long time.”

The cancellations and boycotts over police brutality against Blacks, social injustice and Blake’s shooting didn’t end with professional teams. Mississippi State football players went to Unity Park instead of practicing on Aug. 27. The next day, Ole Miss’ football team marched from campus to Oxford Square. The Oklahoma football team walked in rows of three to the Unity Garden, holding a 57-second moment of silence in honor of the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. UNC athletes led a march on Franklin Street on Saturday.

Speaking out for change

Coleman said he’s felt the feelings he showed during his speech growing inside of him, but had mostly talked about the microaggressions and oppression with his friends and family. After the police shooting of Blake, he said, it was “the right time to say something.”

As Coleman stood on that stage in Krzyzewskiville, the admitted fan of wordsmith Henry David Thoreau rocked side to side and made a plea for his peers, mentors and colleagues to repeat after him, pushing them to be louder.

“We will demand change.”

“We will demand justice.”

“We will gain equality.”

“We will be great.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘We will demand change.’ Duke’s Henry Coleman uses basketball platform for awareness.."