"Harper Finally at Home"

In a local corner of the vast cavalcade of information and events taking place during Black History
Month, I was moved this morning by a sports story (of all things!) in The Boston Globe. Tommy Harper, a former Boston Red Sox player and coach, now working in the team's community relations office, was interviewed by Globe sports writer Gordon Edes on the eve of his appearance at an event honoring Jackie Robinson at The Kennedy Library. After enduring numerous indignities as well as outright racism during his history with the team, Harper relates how he feels the Red Sox have changed under their new ownership. It's a hopeful tale of courage and perseverance (mostly Harper's) that credibly suggests that the Red Sox are putting their onerous legacy of racism behind them. Read Harper Finally at Home.