| What do you call someone who is of mixed Black, Chinese and Native American ancestry? An Afro-Sino-Native-American? What do you call someone who is of mixed Thai, Chinese and Dutch ancestry who is a U.S. citizen? Might you say a Thai-Sino-Dutch-American? What do you call someone who is born of the union of these two individuals and who is named in honor of a South Vietnamese General? OK, I give up ... You call the offspring of Earl Woods and KultidaPunsawad a true AMERICAN and his name is Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. Tiger's mom, "Tida" Woods underscored this multiracial, multiethnic reality when she noted that her son Tiger is a universal child who represents just about all of the people on the planet because of his diverse ethnic makeup. His father Earl noted that "Tiger is the bridge between the East and the West." Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, perhaps more than any other single athlete or celebrity, truly reflects the totality of what it means to be an American. Every year about this time, I go through what has become an annual ritual. First, I continue the tradition of promising all of my friends that this will be the year when I will purchase my first set of golf clubs, take lessons, and then join them "playing a round" so that I will no longer be left behind. I can't drive the ball, nor can I putt or chip ... I do, however drive a mean golf cart! I stressed about the meaning of my golf game even more last month as I watched the nation and the media pay homage to the passing of Tiger's dad, Mr. Earl Woods. As a writer for The Capital City Hues, I thought, given that this man and his family incorporate almost every corner of the world with their racial and ethnic makeup, how fitting it would be to do a commentary on Tiger and his family with some focus on the meaning and legacies left by his dad. The Woods family genetics, in so many ways, truly reflects what we are as Americans. I remember reading Harold Cruse's Crisis of the Negro Intellectual many decades ago where he wrote that we are all hyphenated Americans. Some have suggested that we as a nation put too much emphasis on from whence we came at the expense of our current reality. All of us are more "creolized" than we care to admit. White Americans are a mixture of many different European ethnicities. Black Americans are a mixture of many African ethnicities. And as all of us know, as was the case with good ole Thomas Jefferson, race mixing (forced or otherwise) has always been a part of the American tradition. The same amount of intermingling has taken place with Asian Americans and Latinos as well. Tiger got a lot of his athleticism from his dad. Earl Woods was an exceptional athlete who won a scholarship to play baseball at KansasStateUniversity which made him the first African American to play baseball in the Big Seven Conference. Graduating from an all-White college in 1953 was a major accomplishment as Jim Crow segregation was thoroughly entrenched in American society. Woods' options, despite having his degree, were very limited. As he noted in an interview with Golf Digest, "the options were slim and none. If you wanted a fair chance, it amounted to post-office work -- take the civil service exam -- or military service. Woods chose the latter and did two tours in Vietnam as a member of the Green Beret. How did the elder Woods experience and react to the racism that was characteristic of the times? He reflected on his experience as a newcomer to the American South. "I did not feel inferior, I did not feel intimidated, and I was like a ticking time bomb ... I had one other bad experience down in Georgia. Four of us were going to go downtown and take a look at Columbus. There were two Whites and two Blacks window shopping. We were in civilian clothes, just walking along. All of a sudden, a paddy wagon pulled up, cops jumped out and threw us up against the wall, patted us down, handcuffed us, put us in the van and took us to the judge, who was in all-night court. He said, "You're two White guys and two Black guys walking together. That's disturbing the peace. Guilty." I'll never forget it. The fine was $37.50 to get out. Fortunately, we all had the money. That was a fond memory of Columbus, GA." Earl Woods never allowed racism to beat him down. He also never went out of his way to complain about how he was treated nor obsess with how the deck was stacked against an African American male in American society. Like many in the military of his day, he drank and smoked cigarettes which probably contributed to his health woes later in life. Earl Woods passed away on May 3, 2006 as a result of the recurrence of prostate cancer which had been in remission. Many of his critics have tried to paint a picture of Earl Woods as a father who was an extremist who was obsessed with making a successful golfer out of his son Tiger. Dismissing these notions, the elder Woods said, "I make it very, very clear that my purpose in raising Tiger was not to raise a golfer. I wanted to raise a good person." These same sentiments regarding their son were given by his mom Kultida on the occasion of the grand opening of the Tiger Woods LearningCenter in Anaheim, CA on February 10, 2006 when she said, "I'm so proud of him for giving back. I told Tiger years ago, 'God gave you talent, but you have to share.'" Tiger, with his parents' blessings, built a 35,000 sq. foot-LearningCenter for inner-city youth from primary through high school that uses the latest technology to teach them math, science, technology, and language arts. The most fitting and profound eulogy to Earl Woods was provided by Tiger when he said, "My dad was my best friend and greatest role model and I will miss him deeply. I'm overwhelmed when I think of all of the great things he accomplished in his life. He was an amazing dad, coach, mentor, soldier, husband, and friend. I wouldn't be standing where I am today without him, and I'm honored to continue his legacy of sharing and caring." What do you call Earl Woods? You call him a proud American. Regarding my golf game ... that can always wait until next year! |
| The Literary Divide/ Dr. Paul Barrows What do you call??? |
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