My new sweatshirt.

What I Believe

Jul 18

So, my brother Theron sends me a DM on IG with an ad for this sweatshirt attached. And he wrote, “Thought you’d like this. More powerful than all the race talk going on right now.”

It took me all of about 3 minutes to make the purchase. This is because I am a huge Mr. Rogers fan (see the scrapbook page at the very end of this post!) and I completely agree with Theron that the moment depicted on my new sweatshirt— which I have read about in more than one of my Fred Roger’s biographies—is exactly the kind of quiet, but very clear and demonstrative statement that I LOVE and aspire to.

In the very slight chance that you aren’t familiar with the longstanding relationship between Fred Rogers and François (Officer) Clemmons and the kiddy pool they shared, I’m posting three poignant videos below.

This is episode 1065 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, which aired on May 9, 1969. Mr. Rogers invites Officer Clemmons, a Black police officer on the show, to join him and cool his feet in a small plastic wading pool. You can fast forward to about six minutes and 30 seconds in to see this exchange which understandably caught the attention of millions of people and has been heralded ever since.

This is a video created by Story Corps where François reflects on his time working with Fred Rogers. You might want to grab your box of tissue.

And finally a clip from CBS This Morning.

I’ve been reading and watching and learning a LOT lately and I believe I’m doing the work I need to do to better understand and stand up as an anti-racist. Perhaps that’s WHY I love my new sweatshirt so much. It feels like an illustration of the effort I’m making and the kind of person I want to be.

p.s. I tried to find a link for purchasing the sweatshirt now and can’t seem to find it. Sorry!