Hamilton’s call pricked conscience
OUR respect for the man continues to grow and grow and grow we have to say. It’s as though, in the last couple of years, he’s realised his power and found his voice. It’s more than that, however. He’s become a leader. Unabashed and clear thinking. Increasingly fearless.
When the events in the United States blew up in the last week or so in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, Lewis Hamilton could have simply stated his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, expressed his sorrow and righteous indignation and left it at that.
It wouldn’t have been nothing either. The Briton is hugely influential, a sportsman whose voice resonates far beyond the grid and the confines of the F1 paddock. Hamilton, though, to his great credit, didn’t leave it there. Instead the Mercedes man called out his fellow competitors for their silence. A pretty audacious move and all the more admirable for it. There’s real power to a black man calling out the privilege of people in what remains overwhelmingly a white man’s sport. It’s was fascinating to watch. As soon as Hamilton released his statement, messages of support from teams and drivers for Black Lives Matter arrived. That’s what real power looks like.
Some of the statements – Charles Leclerc’s in particular – expressed the sentiment that they were previously unsure how they should react to what they were seeing and how they were feeling. Hamilton opened the door for him, proving that leaders need allies. None of us can be silent about what we’re seeing across the pond.
It can’t just be left just to black people and black athletes. We must stand with them and amplify their voices, make clear that it’s as unacceptable to us as it is to them (while all the while acknowledging our own privilege). As John Fitzgerald Kennedy put it: “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” That’s what made it so powerful to see the entire Liverpool football squad together as one – with the support of the club organisation itself – proclaiming that Black Lives Matter. Support and allyship go a long way. Still, they’re nothing without leaders like Lewis Hamilton. Still, they’re nothing without people like Jadon Sancho and Marcus Thuram – son of the legendary French footballer, World Cup winner and anti-racism campaigner, Lillian – taking the lead last weekend in the Bundesliga. That takes bravery. It’s up to us to have their back.