As election season draws to a close, I can’t help but notice some clear, defined shifts that have happened in America since the beginning of 2020. Mostly, I notice this consistent desire for things to “go back to how they were,” — when people were more cordial and less divided by political affiliations, when Covid-19 hadn’t shut down the world, and when racial injustice was not glaringly at the forefront. It is a lot all at once and as ballots are being counted, the entire world is watching to see what is next.
Amidst all of it, I have also noticed that many hope for meaningful change to finally occur. Although, some key changes have already happened. People are relating differently. Conversations about racial injustice are happening consistently (and prompting intentional conversations about other injustices). People are taking action and desiring to take more action.
When I think of intentional actions that evoke change, I think of Dec. 5, 1955 and Dec. 20, 1956. Why? Those are the dates of the official start and end of the Montgomery bus boycott — one of several events of great historical impact as it relates to the Civil Rights Era in the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As many know, the arrest of Rosa Parks for not giving up her seat during the Jim Crow era in Alabama was the catalyst moment for this boycott. After the 381-day bus boycott, the city of Montgomery passed an ordinance that allowed for desegregation on public buses. However, much like the aftermath of June 19, 1866 (known as Juneteenth and celebrated as the end of slavery in the United States), there was increased violence, lack of behavior change, and much more unrest.
While there is so much more to just this one historical event, the reason it comes to mind is because change did in fact happen as a result of the Montgomery bus boycott. Change happened based on several catalyst moments in quick succession, strategic planning, unified commitment coupled with resilience and the change of a rule or law.
Even though there was constant opposition and violence, the ordinance passed because of the bus boycott led to other significant desegregation efforts and moments throughout that era of the Civil Rights Movement.
What does that have to do with 2020? How does this help with creating meaningful change now? What does it mean for the lacrosse community?
The two things that come to mind are: US Lacrosse’s Position Statement on Native American Mascots and US Lacrosse’s Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Corrective Action Plan. Both the position statement and policy and corrective action plan came out of several catalyst moments that were the foundation for people to gather, plan strategically, make a unified commitment and in this case, create policy to effect change.
Even though the position statement, policy, and corrective action plan are the results of specific, unfortunate situations over time, the overarching message is clear to me — there is a need to be proactive, relate differently, have accountability and be willing to do things differently.
Given that no one can see into the future, I fully know and understand that it is hard to prevent something you do not know will happen. However, that does not mean things cannot be in place to reduce the likelihood that something will occur.
For example, with US Lacrosse’s Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Corrective Action Plan, people and programs know what they are accountable for and may adjust behavior preemptively as a result. Having this in place may help build team cultures and create learning opportunities. When we consistently have learning opportunities for perspective-taking, we begin to interact and relate with one another differently. This helps to create cultures of accountability, allyship, and helps unify people towards meaningful change.
From there, people still need to be willing to do things differently than before — even if it takes time and extra work, is uncomfortable, or is met with misunderstanding.
Say you are a team that has players and coaches of different ethnicities and you want to compete in a tournament. However, the tournament does not have an anti-harassment and discrimination policy in place. I would encourage the coaches to work with the tournament directors to have a policy in place, knowing that your players and coaches could experience a racial incident. If the tournament directors are open to it and add the policy, wonderful. If the tournament directors are on the fence about adding a policy, that may be a situation where your team decides to compete in a different environment where a standard of anti-harassment and discrimination are in place.
Maybe your team goes elsewhere and the following year, that same tournament comes back highlighting their updated policies in place so that your team feels safe and welcomed in the space. This may be a small hypothetical, isolated act, but it begins to send a message that doing something different is sometimes necessary for meaningful change to occur.
My hope is that with the guidance and encouragement of US Lacrosse’s Position Statement on Native American Mascots and Anti-Harassment and Discrimination Policy and Corrective Action Plan, we can act proactively instead of waiting for a catalyst moment to happen so that change will occur.
My hope is that these initiatives are in place so that if or when something does occur, there is a plan in place for all those involved. My hope is that we will continue to look at our systems, policies and procedures from multiple perspectives so that we can move the lacrosse community to become a more inclusive space for all. I am not asking for another 381-day boycott nor asking for us to start “cancelling” someone. I am asking us to move, interact, and think differently so that necessary change will continue to happen — regardless of what the remainder of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 hold.
Lauren Davenport is the manager of athlete development at US Lacrosse. She has coached lacrosse at the youth, high school and collegiate levels.