Text with Jordan
Updates
Tue, Jul 29th 2008, 11:06
Jordan visits Seeds of Peace
Jordan went to Maine yesterday to help lead a basketball clinic for kids at Seeds of Peace camp. Seeds of Peace is an organization that brings in children from war torn regions to meet and discuss the issues. This was special and moving day for the kids as well as for Jordan. After the clinic, Jordan sat down with nba.com and reflected on his experience…...
I guess you could say I was drawn to participate in this camp because of my unique background, which is a multicultural one. I was born into a Christian household and when my mother and father got divorced, my mother married an Israeli. I was then raised in a Jewish household. So for me, having a black father and a white mother and being raised in a Jewish household gave me a whole bunch of different perspectives. I would go to temple with the Jewish side of the family, and then with my dad I would go to church. We would do Thanksgiving and then we would also celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas and Passover and other things. I got to see and learn about different cultures and religions. I was a part of all of them. I wasn’t just learning as education, but it was a part of who I was in developing me as a person.
Growing up you might think that I dealt with all kinds of name-calling and mean spirited kids, but I was fortunate enough to have sports as an avenue to mediate all that. If you’re good at sports it doesn’t really matter what you are. I would go into a community with the black kids and they would say, “Oh, that white boy can play.” Then there were times where I wouldn’t be able to do stuff on certain days because it was part of our family day on the Jewish side. So I wouldn’t be able to play in the championship game or whatever. It affected me a little bit, but I had friends who didn’t see colors or religions, and who were open to everything. I mean, my black friends would come and do Passover dinner with me, sitting there with the yarmulke on their head and hanging out with my family. At the same time my Jewish friends would come to the black side of my family’s house and do Thanksgiving eve and soul food and all that kind of stuff. Everybody was open to getting different perspectives.
That’s basically what I tried to share during the dialogue session here at the camp where the campers come together and share their personal experiences with one another. The biggest thing that emerges from it is trying to understand where the other person is coming from. I was just telling them how I have a different perspective because I don’t have any one side to me. Although I’m not from a conflict area like many of these kids, I’m composed of perspectives and values from all different sides put together here in America. I was able to portray being part of and understanding how a black family lives and that culture and at the same time living and being part of a Jewish family and its culture and beliefs. Getting a firsthand experience on two completely opposite sides who helped shape me into who I am. As a result I don’t see one side or the other. I just see it how it is and move on. I accept everybody.
Maybe that gave me a little bit of credibility when talking to these kids and maybe not. But honestly, I think the campers are past that. I think they learned that none of that should matter. It’s really about trying to understand people no matter where they’re from. Regardless of whether or not those people have to deal with conflict, they have a perspective on something in life. They have a value and belief that they believe in and to understand that and respect it is probably the whole message that comes across. Still, for somebody like myself who is visible to open up and share that I have something different to offer, that was probably a good thing.
This is my second time taking part in the Seeds of Peace camp. I did it for the first time two years ago. It’s cool for me because the kids who were here the first time I came are now back as high level counselors instead of just campers. They’ve been through it and have gone back home to pass along this message, to try to get more leadership skills, and to find out how to better their situation.
Probably the most amazing part of this camp is just the fact that the campers are really passionate despite going through some really terrible things back home. I wasn’t shocked by their stories, though, since my stepfather is from Israel. He was in the Israeli army and would tell me stories of life over there. To think that people have to be afraid to live life, it’s just crazy to see someone who is 15, 16, 17 years old have to deal with something like that. But then when you see them trying to reach out at a young age and make a change, that is beautiful.
I’ll even be heading to Israel soon to participate in a similar setting with another organization. It’s basically the same principle there as it is here in Maine. They’re going to bring kids from conflict areas together and I’m going to try to use basketball as an avenue for having fun with each other and show that they don’t have to be at war or be enemies, but that they can have a good time with one another. For an Israeli to say that they have a Palestinian friend who they did a basketball clinic with will be a step in the right direction.