A Message from our CEO

We Need Beloved Community Now More Than Ever.

January 20, 2025

Dear Sportsmen’s Friends,

Every so often, we’re reminded that certain holidays raise our consciousness and bring us to action addressing causes that actually exist in our everyday lives. We volunteer to serve hot meals on Thanksgiving, although we know that we likely walk past hungry people on the street every day. Some of us are sure to call Mom or Dad, and perhaps send the obligatory Hallmark card one Sunday a year, all the while knowing that they’d love to hear from us faithfully every Sunday, or more frequently, just as those of us who have lost a parent might call them every day if we could.

Some of us automatically think of the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech on the third Monday in January, and perhaps those of us who are more studious recall Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham Jail. For me, whenever I think of Dr. King, whether or not it’s on the holiday that took decades to achieve, I think of the concept of beloved community.

Throughout my career, I’ve been asked to speak at several events in honor of Dr. King. Sadly, at each of these events, there’s always been a recent occurrence that I could reference and relate to Dr. King’s quest for a society in which all people can share the wealth of the earth, where racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood, and where poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated…because international standards of human decency will not allow it.

On this day, there’s no shortage of recent events from which to select and opine about the lack of beloved community, as we approach 57 years since Dr. King’s assassination. Dwelling on or listing those events would make the day feel heavier than the weight many of us are already attaching to the impending presidential inauguration, or the memories of January 6, 2021, which should never be far from memory.

Instead, I invite you to join me today in considering what small acts of kindness we can take to bring about beloved community, in whatever space we define as our community. Be that home, our neighborhood, our workplace or however we define congregation, the families we were born into or created, it’s probably helpful to remember that a global beloved community is likely going to be comprised of a series of small, adjoining beloved communities, each built on fragile ground and nourished by its inhabitants.

Some of you will recall a note I sent to the extended Sportsmen’s family after the death of George Floyd. Part of that note read:

We share this universe, and Dr. King assured us that the universe is on the side of justice. Since Sportsmen’s was founded … we’ve invested in Boston’s most vulnerable youth and families. Not their tennis games, but their characters. We educate, mentor and embrace our youth; we stand alongside their parents, guardians and teachers to aid in their development as contributing members of society, to take their place in the universe, where they will personify love, peace and justice. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, not sure how to make a difference, and wondering where we go from here, I can only tell you that I hold onto the fact that we invest in peace, we invest in justice, by investing in our youth.

Today, alongside any other act of service you might be undertaking as you observe Dr. King’s birthday, beyond the breakfasts and celebrations, I encourage you to find a local organization that is working to build beloved community in a space that’s important to you, and figure out the best way to come alongside them and join them in their work. For some of us, that means writing a check; for others, it will be finding a way to volunteer, lending our time and talent above and beyond our treasures, so that with your support, they can make even more lives easier. Making sure one more person gets fed (every day, not just on the last Thursday in November), supporting organizations that know how to repair damaged relationships, answer the phone when someone’s in distress, or make sure everyone goes to sleep with a roof over their heads – these are steps on the path to beloved community. We can get there together, one step at a time.

Sincerely,

Toni Wiley

Chief Executive Officer
Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center

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