‘Would Bruise My Knee Until I Go Into My Grave’, Michael Holding Vows To Keep Fighting Racism

West Indies fast bowling great Michael Holding has vowed to keep fighting against racism in the world and said that he would bruise his knee until his death if it takes that to spread awareness about this disease prevalent in the society.

He mentioned that it is impossible to completely wipe off racism from the world, and he would “bruise his knee” to the grave if he was still an active player but doesn’t want anyone to take the gesture as “a tick-in-the-box exercise”. He wants the gesture to be organic instead of just doing it for the sake of it.

The Less Racism You Have In Your Society, The Better Off The World Is As We Go Ahead: Michael Holding

Holding was speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘The Cricket Show’ on the first death anniversary of African-American George Floyd, who died at the hands of a white police officer in Minnesota last year. His death led to a massive protest in the US and started the Black Lives Matter movement.

“You will always have racism, always have racists. Getting rid of racism totally is like saying you are going to get rid of crime totally. It is impossible. The less crime you have in your society, the less racism you have in your society, the better off the world is as we go ahead,” Holding said.

“I am not going to tell people they must take a knee – I am not here to tell people what they need to do. I don’t want people to take it as a tick-in-the-box exercise. You must want to support the cause, you must be willing to understand and see that something is wrong and this is the worldwide accepted way of showing support for the cause,” he added.

The West Indian great, who now lives in the United Kingdom, said not everyone can understand the challenges that black people endure through their lives.

As A Black Person, When You Hear Certain People Say Certain Things It Burns Inside: Michael Holding

The 67-year-old former fast bowler mentioned that people don’t understand what a black person has to endure throughout their lives just because of the color of their skin. He mentioned that people sometimes say things without realizing what they are saying and how it will affect a black person.

“People don’t understand what it is like to come under that sort of pressure throughout your entire life. Some people say things and don’t even realize what they are saying or the effect it might have on a black person. It’s something they get accustomed to saying,” the 67-year-old said.

Michael Holding also said that he sometimes cannot hide the anger he feels at times while interacting with people who use casual racism.

“As a black person, when you hear certain people say certain things it burns inside.I have had many occasions when people have said something or treated me a particular way when I think to myself ‘are they just rude or are they racist? “Is it because I am black that they are treating me this way or is it because they don’t know any better because they are rude?” he said.

“I have no idea – but as a black person the first thing that comes to your mind, because of the constant battle with racism, is racism. Sometimes you are wrong, sometimes the person is not racist, but it builds up inside of you and the first thought is racism,” he said.

Holding also praised the USA in its efforts to weed out racism and making people aware of what casual racism is, however, he says that UK hasn’t done enough to weed out racism.

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