State Senator Stephen Buoniconti reads at the Y.
Sometimes, pulling the Race card is pointless and stupid, only serving to draw attention from more important issues surrrounding a subject. An African American Point of View is a nice little newspaper, distributed for free in the Greater Springfield, Massachusetts area and available online as well. Published by Frederick Hurst, it contains an editorial page called AF-AM Newsbits. This month, one of Hurst’s “bits” begins,
After the unfortunate death of a student athlete at Putnam Technical Vocational High School in Springfield, Massachusettts, a local state senator (obviously White) introduced a bill to require coaches to be trained to prevent similar deaths.
He goes on to report that the senator scheduled a press conference at the school without notifying the “Black principal,” who was offended. At the principal’s request, the senator moved the conference offsite. Hurst then describes in detail a rumor that the senator had retaliated by postponing new construction at the school, attributing it to “a racist inability to accept admonition from a ‘strong’ Black man.” Finally, he concludes by stating that the rumors were false!
Hurst uses more space describing the rumor than the story itself. Planting the image of a racist vendetta in the minds of his readers, only to take it away at the last minute, is nothing but piss-poor journalism.
Sophomore George Cruz had a heart condition which, according to his mother, was on record in the nurse’s office. He collapsed December 5, 2008 at Junior Varsity basketball practice, and died en route to the hospital (only moments away). Cause of death was very likely sudden cardiac arrest, which claims 20 children every day, and many more adults. It’s unrelated to heart attack, which is blocked blood flow to a part of the heart muscle. SCA occurs when the heart stops beating, often because of a problem with the heart’s electrical system. Treatment of choice is administering an electrical shock with an AED (automated external defibrillator). The school had an AED, but apparently no one used it. Cruz’s family is considering a lawsuit against the school.
Senator Stephen Buoniconti’s legislation will require all school coaches to know how to administer CPR and use an AED. Buoniconti is a member of the Joint Committee on Public Health, so his interest is appropriate.
Members of the dead youth’s family, who have described Buoniconti’s initiative as “great, wonderful,” attended the press conference. So did Springfield Public Schools spokeswoman Azell Murphy Cavaan, who “applauds Senator Buoniconti for his concern.” So did City Councilor Bud L. Williams, who also praised the bill.
The family are Latino. Cavaan is Black. Williams is Black. But so what? Hurst has a newspaper…good for him. Why doesn’t he use his journalistic voice to advantage, to educate members of his community about a little-understood, dangerous but treatable condition, or ask hard questions about the school’s handling of the emergency, instead of exacerbating racial tensions in an already run-down, stressed-out city?
