I would be shocked if they were like, “Oh, we suddenly care about these young Black men,” because that would change the whole sport. He’s an otherwise-healthy 19-year-old and the thought that people just tossed our babies into this is terrifying. It has affected his energy level and the way he breathes and talks.

It’s been three months now and he still can’t laugh without coughing. My son is a college athlete (not football) and he went off and came back with COVID within a month. For decades, we’ve known about these horrible problems with concussions and brain damage.

It’s so sad-the fact that they’re sacrificial. Were you the least bit surprised that college football returned amidst a global pandemic? The needs of a teenager and a pre-teen honestly help me get through it.Īn entire chapter in your book is devoted to football and Black men’s health. Kids don’t care what you have going on in your life or your work, they want snacks. If I didn’t have my kids, I probably would have been swallowed whole by this work. I’m lucky I have a strong support system that includes my partner. I’m not always great at self-care, but I try to keep up my rituals that make me feel good, like my daily makeup routine. Speaking of reaching out to your partner, how do you practice self-care with the weight of all of the topics you research? There were times where I was looking things up and yelling out for my partner like “Honey, listen to this!” For example, I didn’t know that one-third of the Mexican American population was forced out of the United States during the Great Depression and I was so sad I didn’t know that. I had so many questions in the beginning and the answers surprised me. In your research for this project was there anything that particularly stood out to you? There are so many interesting nuggets of history in your book.

Ijeoma oluo mediocre book