While Andrew Wiggins Whines, Black People Suffer
Generational wealth trumps Black lives
Please attribute any references of this article to Kareem.Substack.com
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins finally got his vaccine shot. Not because it was the right thing to do to protect his friends, family, teammates, the NBA staff, fans, neighbors, or the Black community. But because he’s concerned about generational wealth. “It came down to get the vaccination or don't play basketball. I'm 26. I have two kids. I want more kids. I'm trying to do something that will generate as much money as I can for my kids and my future kids, trying to make generational wealth.”
He's not wrong in being concerned about generational wealth because the U.S. has historically made it more difficult for Black families to accrue wealth that they can pass along to other generations to give them some of the advantages that white people have. One of the most famous cases is when California used eminent domain in 1924 to seize Bruce’s Beach, a popular destination for Black families not welcome at other beaches. Recent reports concluded that the land was taken simply because neighbors complained about having Black people on the beach. This month, California returned the property, now worth about $70 million, to the descendants of former owners Willa and Charles Bruce. Imagine how different the lives of their descendants might have been, all the missed opportunities, had the land remained in the familyWhere Wiggins is wrong is in prioritizing his family’s generational wealth, which at his salary of about $29.54 million a year, is in no real danger. That excuse doesn’t really hold up. Especially when he’s clearly choosing money for him and his family over the health and lives of other families not as fortunate as him.