Boston is without a doubt the American city where I have stayed most often. For work or pleasure, I found myself there dozens of times without ever getting tired of its charms.
A popular destination for many Quebecers, this city offers a rich history and can satisfy theater, museum or science lovers as well as sports enthusiasts, whether at the university or professional level.
Boston has many prestigious educational institutions and, if only through the influence of Harvard University, it has been at the heart of the development of intellectual life since colonial times. Many ideological currents were born or developed there. Among them, abolitionism.
Considered progressive, this city presents a mixed record when it comes to the racial question. Its history is full of influential figures who fought to ban slavery or to end discrimination.
For glorious episodes, however, there are a number of dark pages. For a William Lloyd Garrison, cantor of the abolitionism of the 19e century, there will always be a Tom Yawkey, former owner of the Red Sox who was the last to integrate black players into his training.
If Jackie Robinson was unable to make his niche with the Red Sox following a tryout in 1945 (he would sign with the Dodgers in 1947), another sportsman of color, a hockey player this time, will manage to break into the lineup. Bruins in 1958. You may remember that O’Ree previously played for the Quebec Aces.
The first black man to play in the NHL was a formidable athlete who excelled off the ice. He was also recruited by a school club of the Milwaukee Brewers who played in Georgia. Whether in the northeast of the United States, in the Deep South or in cities like Montreal or Toronto, O’Ree was reserved for the invectives and threats reserved for people of color. Only the city of Quebec left him with a more pleasant memory.
On Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins retired the jersey of the first black player in NHL history. A deserved honor that comes very late in the life of Willie O’Ree, but he did not hide his pride, he who remained an ambassador for his sport and who wishes to be recognized for his involvement with young people.
The Bruins’ gesture has a much greater significance than the team’s legacy alone, it also contributes to the evolution of a city that is still struggling to embrace its full history and whose social fabric is still marked by inequalities.
You can’t change history and you can’t always compensate those who have been harmed, but I am delighted that this city that I love so much is multiplying initiatives to come to terms with its past. Respect, Willie O’Ree.
