“Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you.” Lyrics to a popular song that portrays the essence of much of American culture. Americans are constantly striving to be better than each other; students trying to get the highest grade on an exam, interns fighting for a coveted job offer, or athletes trying to beat their opponents. These are just a few examples of how our competitive culture pits us against each other. Getting the coveted job position or winning the game not always decides who is better; not to long ago if a person was white they were considered better than a black person, some of this still lingers in society today. The color of a persons skin is no measure of their worth and society is beginning to realize this. The journey of civil rights to get to the point we are currently at has taken many different roads. One very outspoken individual such as Martin Luther King Jr., did wonders for the movement. Today however the game has changed, a more subtle approach, one of leading by example has a larger effect; a man who is doing this today is Tiger Woods.
In 1963 when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his, I Have a Dream, speech he was raising awareness for civil rights. The time for raising awareness has past, people already know that there is a problem; it is now time to lead by example. Very few people are leading by example, they are still trying to raise awareness. One good example of this is Kanye West. During a press conference to raise awareness for hurricane Katrina victims West said on national television, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” This comment brought the issue of racism to light, but did nothing to further the cause; it could even support some negative stereotypes. West is a celebrity and used his status to get his feelings across which in reality did little for civil rights.
Oprah Winfrey has been a very influential figure in the past fifteen years, and will be for at least another fifteen. She has taken many approaches to civil rights and received countless awards for what she has done; one of which is the Freedom Award in 2005 from the National Civil Rights Museum. Oprah has done a lot of humanitarian work helping less fortunate children in third world countries. On the civil rights issue of black rights Winfrey brings light to the issue by honoring past activists such as, Rosa Parks. This strategy is similar to Wests’s in that she is trying to raise awareness for something that people are already aware of.
One person who will never receive any award or credit for what he has done for civil rights is Tiger Woods. This could be because Woods is not an activist and does not openly support the movement. He leads by example, he proves to those who feel that blacks are inferior, they are not and that the color of a persons skin has nothing to do with their abilities. Golf since its conception has been a sport for the rich and famous. Country clubs were limited to white membership, a black persons role at a country club was a caddie or shinning shoes. This can still be seen today, of the 7 country clubs I have been in 6 of them have had a black man in the bathroom and his job was to shine shoes. Up until the past two decades black individuals were not able to play on certain courses; many of these courses were the most prestigious and on the PGA Tour. In 1996 when Tiger Woods dominated the PGA Tour during his rookie season this all changed.
Woods showed country club owners and everyone that golf was not a rich white mans sport and that age old restrictions on race should be removed. In many instances country clubs had to do this because they could not deny the best player in the PGA from playing on their course because he was black. In this respect Woods lead by example. The issue of racism in golf is still an issue according to some. Charles Barkley accused Augusta National Golf Course the home of the master of racism. He sys that the managers extension of the course is to make it difficult for Woods to win the masters because they do not want a black man to win it. This seems like a stretch but could be true. Woods is not worried about this, he just goes out and wins tournaments, he is fourth on the all time list for PGA Tour wins, second to Jack Nicklaus of most majors won, and has been number one on the money list ten of the last thirteen years. Barkley like Winfrey and West is trying to raise awareness of racism where Woods is just leading by example, doing more for the cause than the others.
Civil Rights over the years has changed and adapted, the time for awareness has past, individuals must now lead by example. West’s comments did little to help black rights. Winfrey’s honoring of past activists is important but does little to advance black rights. One could argue that Oprah is also leading by example and this is true; her success as a black woman has proved a lot to many people. Her leading by example does far more for black rights than her honoring of past activists. This is why Woods has done so much for the movement, showing people that past misconceptions are false and need to be abolished. The civil rights movement has taken many paths, could this be the final phase of its journey?
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