Contributing to Your “Beloved Community”
By Christian Barnes | DEI Director
Each year since joining MLQ’s DEI department, I’ve worked on highlighting player groups within the community in an effort to bring players, volunteers, officials, and spectators closer together. Thinking back, even during my first few years in the sport, I had a fierce desire to simply make friends and get to know my competitors. I stuck with quadball because it became a place to hide from the issues going on in my young adult life, and I have always wanted it to be that sanctuary for others, especially players who look like me.
For 2024, the theme of MLK Day is “Creating Culture”, a topic that centers on how we can use our collective power and perspective to work together and make a gathering that is open and supportive of all people. It is a true call to arms to think outside of personal goals and interests for a greater value of understanding and inclusion. For quadball, it's going to take an introspective look at ourselves, and an active commitment to seeking out how we can do more.
In 2020, we were in the middle of the worst catastrophe to hit our sport. Roughly 10 months into the pandemic, it became apparent that, like USQ, MLQ would not be able to operate for the summer, creating the largest gap (in competition) since quadball was created. Amazingly, the community rallied. We cared about creating spaces for meeting new people virtually, innovating resources, and having both difficult and fun conversations about what goes into our sport on and off the field. A year flew by, the pandemic ended, and what was a torrent of attention to DEI issues, especially toward racial issues affecting Black players, became a trickle, once again started and pushed by the same sources.
As one of those sources, it's exhausting.
It's nice to see the likes I get on the posts I make–they’re a basic, surface level show of support, which is more than many get in their day-to-day life. However, it's much more fulfilling to see the work happening and I’ll take action over a like any day. At times, it feels like when equity issues fall from the headlines, there's this collective unburdening of allyship, like cycling through seasonal decorations. Players of color still need support, from friends and teammates, but they also need respect from opponents and officials. Women and non-binary players need attention on their own teams, not only when you're suggesting an opponent is breaking a gender rule/policy for a perceived advantage. To get better at establishing a better culture, we need to care about the times when we, and the ones we love, are the problem. That's where we have the most power. It's calling out a teammate's aggression, whether on the field in unnecessarily dangerous play or online, in private AND public discussions. It's talking to coaches, asking the questions that push them to have perspective for all players they lead. It's checking in to see how new players (and ones populationally underrepresented) are feeling about fitting in and being supported.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King believed in an ultimate goal of a “Beloved Community”. As we get closer to MLK Day, I ask that you reflect on what ways you have and in what ways you can contribute to your Beloved Community. This sport will die without it. In Coretta’s own words, “To me, the Beloved Community is a realistic vision of an achievable society, one in which problems and conflicts exist, but are resolved peacefully and without bitterness.” How are you working to create the Beloved Community where you play, officiate, coach, and/or volunteer? How are you working to help a younger you? How are you working to help someone who DOESN'T look like you?
Your allyship and behavior is the difference this community needs. As a Black, non-binary player, this community drew me with a level of camaraderie that has seemingly eroded over time. As you think about and experience the MLK Day trends across the U.S. and on social media, think about how you're going to live that mission as an ambassador for quadball and how you are going to contribute to creating a Beloved Community in our sport.
Related Reading: During Quidcon in 2021, Christian Barnes led a workshop about DEI and creating a culture as a leader in the sport. You can request the notes from the session by contacting them at inclusivity@mlquadball.com. You can also view Quadball Canada Executive Director and former Toronto Raiders Head Coach Yara Kodershah’s session “From Diversity & Including to Equity: Leveling the Quidditch Playing Field”.