Down to earth ex-footballer charms young people with positive message
| I was touched by the fact that he had caught the train and the bus like the rest of us. He said we were all stars. |
"Get off the pitch, you nigger!"
We thought this type of comment was a thing of the past.
But it seems racism can still rear its ugly head in football - and it's not just a sporting problem, as ex-Liverpool and England footballer John Barnes told 140 students at Moving On Up, the recent race conference in Sheffield.
Despite believing open racism at football matches is becoming a thing of the past, Barnes was only too aware that "when you walk back to your car or a bus it is still there, and football can do nothing about that."
But he insisted this shouldn't be used as an excuse for underachievement. His message was one of using determination to develop skills and overcome obstacles. "To make it in life, you have to have discipline, to make sacrifices," he said. "You want to be a DJ, an engineer, you have to make that commitment."
And he was quick to play down the importance of black sports stars as role models, as it could lead to stereotyping. "We have to be accepted socially, intellectually, and economically, for getting into being doctors, lawyers and engineers," he insisted.
Skin colour and status, he said, should make no difference. "The most important thing is how you see yourselves. I see myself as no different from you. We put people on pedestals and think they're something special because of what they do, instead of who they actually are."
The conference, which focused on empowering and motivating young people facing racial challenges also featured keynote addresses by the Minister for Sport, Richard Caborn, successful black DJ Lloyd Samuels and barrister Birinder Kang.
But it was Barnes who won the hearts of the young people present. As schools struggle to come to terms with the underachievement of certain ethnic groups, his comments had a telling simplicity and a freshness that struck a chord.
"What impressed me was the way he said that whatever you believe in you should do, and whatever you think is wrong you should not hesitate to react to, and let people hear what you have to say," said 14-year-old Muna Abdirahman.
Jerome Blake,12, echoed her thoughts: "He gave me practical advice on racism. He said that you should believe in yourself and to never give up in life no matter what obstacles are put in the way or your path to achievement."
For Miriam Yafai, 14, and Wes Taylor, 15, it was Barnes' humility in these days of overpaid and self-important sporting stars that struck a chord. "I was touched by the fact that he had caught the train to Sheffield and then the bus to the venue like the rest of us. He said we were all stars and that he was no different from any one else in the room," said Miriam.
Wes added: "He was prouder that his son got A grades at GCSE than anything he himself had achieved, that to do anything you had to have commitment and belief, and that he succeeded in football because he believed that whatever he wanted to do he would succeed."
As a role model, Barnes was having an impact. His own inspiration, he said, had been Nelson Mandela, a man he described as "simply doing what he had to do." But, as Barnes himself concedes, the majority of visible black role models today are entertainers.
There are politicians, too, and doctors and barristers like Birinder King. And there are plenty of forgotten role models. How many of you have heard of Mary Seacole, the black nurse who worked alongside Florence Nightingale in the Crimea and was equally famous in her lifetime? Or Garrett Morgan, the black American doctor who discovered blood plasma and opened the world's first blood bank? Or Charles Drew, who invented traffic lights and the gas mask?
There are better known role models, but sometimes, as John Barnes said, you don't have to look further than your front door to find one. The most important things to remember is that for every Martin Luther King there are thousands of everyday role models, including your parents, grandparents, friends, church leaders or anyone else who could have influence over your life.
Then there is yourself. As Barnes put it so memorably: "Don't pray for a better wind because the wind blows on us all, but prepare a better sail."
About the team
This article was produced by Wes Taylor, Jenny Matthew, Tessa Robins, Sarah Choudhury all 15, Rachel Walmsley, Kim Bennet, Jasmine Stewart, Sabrina Golding, all 14, and Erin Heenan, Abbie Lee Armitage, all 13. It was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
