‘We Are Not in 1950’: NAACP President Explains Push Against Sports Teams in Texas and Atlanta

NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson appeared on CNN on Friday to push his organization’s call for free agents to not sign with Texas’ professional sports teams, in addition to calling for the Atlanta Braves to do away with its tomahawk chop gesture.

On Thursday, Johnson and NAACP Texas president Gary Bledsoe sent a letter to the players’ associations of the MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA and WNBA, calling on professional players not to sign with teams in Texas due recent Texas measures surrounding abortion, coronavirus and voting.

“As we watch an incomprehensible assault on basic human rights unfold in Texas, we are simultaneously witnessing a threat to constitutional guarantees for women, children and marginalized communities,” they wrote.

“Over the past few months, legislators in Texas have passed archaic policies, disguised as laws, that directly violate privacy rights and a woman’s freedom to choose, restrict access to free and fair elections for Black and brown voters, and increase the risk of contracting coronavirus,” they continued. “If you are a woman, avoid Texas. If you are Black, avoid Texas. If you want to lower your chances of dying from coronavirus, avoid Texas.”

On Friday’s CNN Newsroom, Johnson said that “individuals have always used their platforms to advance social justice, particularly in the African-American community, and what we have witnessed in the state of Texas over the last 10 months is going back in time. The fact that this governor [Greg Abbott], policymakers in this state will put the public health at risk over a political debate that has nothing to do with keeping people healthy. That they’re going backwards in terms of access to voting.”

“Just recently they adopted redistricting plans that was based on the population growth but reduced representation of African-American-Latino communities. We are not in 1950. It is a state that is setting an example that is wrongheaded and we must protect our democracy,” he continued. “And the turning populations are immigrants, African-Americans, women and anyone who care about their health. The NAACP, we are an advocacy group and that’s why we are pushing for better policy to look forward, not policy that looks backwards.”

Moments later, Johnson was asked for his take on the controversy surrounding fans doing the Atlanta Braves’ tomahawk gesture, currently playing the Houston Astros in the World Series. Critics say that it perpetuates a racist stereotype.

“Words matter. Images are important. NAACP, we stand in solidarity with the Native American community,” said Johnson. “No one in this country should be offended because of stereotypical images, naming of teams, gestures. Words matter and we have to look for a future that’s inclusive and diverse and stop perpetuating stereotypes of the past.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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