The world will learn of the location of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in a few hours. Chicago, Illinois has officially been eliminated, along with Tokyo, as of right now.
I’ve seen 3 pictures on the internet of individuals making pitches in Copenhagen, Denmark on behalf of Chicago: Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and President Barack Obama. All of whom are black.
These are certainly the most recognizable and powerful people that Chicago could have mustered, regardless of color. But it cannot go unnoticed that we were trying to impress upon the IOC the importance of the non- “white European male” in America that the rest of the world may not yet perceive. We are a country of men AND women, white AND non-white. This was important to highlight, because the IOC is obviously a study in diversity.
Now that Chicago will not be spending billions of dollars to host the Games, perhaps it can spend some of its warchest on addressing more pressing needs. So things like kids beating other kids to death with rail ties and head stomping don’t happen.
