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A Black soccer culture rose up in . Now, it seeks lasting progress.

By Felipe Cardenas (/author/felipe-cardenas/) 1h ago 3

The first time Tony Carter was called the N-word on the soccer field came when he was nine years old, playing for the South Dekalb YMCA in a match against a club from Peachtree City.

“It was a white player,” Carter said. “I went in for a slide tackle. I probably got a little too much of him and his response when he got up was ‘You god damn n —–.’ I kept on playing. Your adrenaline’s pumping. But after the game it started processing. And it’s like ‘Oh snap. That just happened.’ This wasn’t a documentary. This wasn’t something about Jackie Robinson or anything. That literally just happened to me.”

Today, almost 30 years later, Carter is still in the game. He has been coaching soccer in Atlanta for over a decade, and is one of four Black Atlantans that spoke to The Athletic about the slow and still-ongoing transformation of the city’s soccer culture. Amid public protests from Black pro players against police brutality, and a renewed call for Black influence in positions of power within the sport, the stories of those that raised the profile of Black soccer culture in Atlanta offer a glimpse at the progress that has been made, and the work that still remains.

Carter still carries vivid memories of that South Dekalb YMCA team — a predominantly Black squad in what was, and still often is, a majority-white sport in the at the highest youth levels.

“We were always playing all white teams. There was always the murmuring, the different looks when we would walk onto the field,” Carter said. “My team was all Black. We had one white kid, Steve. Steve was invited to the cookouts, that’s for sure.”

The unwelcoming environment wasn’t limited to soccer. Carter’s older brother played baseball in , a suburb in Dekalb County located approximately 25 miles from . In the late ‘80s, the symbols of the South’s history of slavery, segregation and racial inequality were still a part of youth sports. The participation trophies that were handed out at the end of the youth baseball season featured the Confederate Flag.

“I shit you not. That is what we were living in,” Carter said. “They had a damn Confederate Flag on their participation trophy. Everybody got it.”

Added to all of this was the fear that had engulfed the city following the Atlanta child murders, a series of killings of 24 Black children throughout the area between 1979 and 1981 that left a permanent scar on the community. In a roundabout way, the tragedy was the reason why Carter was first introduced to soccer. His parents, both psychologists, kept Carter and his brother enrolled in sports out of fear that they would be abducted.

“They didn’t want us to get snatched up,” Carter said. “To be honest, that’s how we got into soccer. They wanted to make sure we had a safe place to go while they were at work.”

It was in this environment that a young Carter searched for role models that he could relate to. He found one resource for this at his local Barnes & Noble bookstore, where Carter would thumb through issues of Soccer America, Four Four Two and other soccer magazines looking for Black professional players.

“That’s when I saw pictures of and Andy Cole,” said Carter, who remains a Manchester United fan to this day thanks to that early connection. “I’m seeing them hoisting trophies up and I’m like ‘Yo, these brothers are dark skinned and they look like they’re doing things.’ Shaka (Hislop) was hands down my other idol, in terms of seeing someone of color playing between the posts and doing it in the . He was definitely a big influence. You didn’t see other Black goalkeepers at the time.”

Carter went on to play in high school for The Paideia School in , then played goalkeeper at Howard University, one of the nation’s eminent historically Black colleges. Today, Carter is focused on introducing soccer to Atlanta’s inner-city neighborhoods, increasing access to the sport as director of programs of Soccer in the Streets (https://www.soccerstreets.org/). But he’s still motivated by those first connections, and his experience of seeing Black players succeed in the sport in as many ways as possible.

“Back in the day, (if) you’ve got a fast Black kid, (you’d) put him up top,” Carter said. “(Today) I’m seeing more Black kids playing left back or center mid.”

In his position, Carter has helped his organization’s Station Soccer initiative (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV_mw5k09Xw&feature=youtu.be), which has placed small fields at Marta stations throughout Atlanta, especially those serving low-income areas.

“The part that I still feel has a lot to gain ground on is the lower-income Black culture,” Carter said. “That’s the main reason why I work this job. But I think that’s still part of the Black (soccer) culture that’s lagging behind within Atlanta.”

Killer Mike and the Golden Spike (Michael Chang / Getty Images) Introducing the world’s game to predominantly Black neighborhoods is not an Atlanta ; it’s an issue that persists throughout the United States. What is unique to Atlanta is how culture, music and fashion have been at the forefront of soccer’s rise in the South.

As a club, Atlanta United has tapped into the city’s modern hip hop culture. ’s , rappers and activists and T.I., Waka Flocka Flame, , Trinidad James and Rich Homie Quan, among others, have all featured in a number of the club’s marketing campaigns or participated in the pre-game hammering of the spike. Atlanta-based rapper Archie Eversole’s 2002 single ‘We Ready’ is played at the start of every Atlanta United home match. The intersection of hip hop, fashion and Black soccer culture (https://youtu.be/cuAytnDGKMQ) has become an integral part of the 2018 MLS Cup champion’s brand identity.

It’s a culture reflected in the club’s support as well. Influential hip hop group served as inspiration when Curtis Jenkins, a Black man, and Stefan Kallweit, a white man, co-founded a supporters group with a name to which they could both relate: Footie Mob.

“One of my mom’s best friends lived three doors down from CeeLo Green,” Jenkins said. “I remember being at her house for a Labor Day cookout and she said ‘Carlo and his little friends think they’re going to be rappers one day.’ And lo and behold it happens. So it’s intentional. It’s one of those things where hip hop and Atlanta are synonymous. It’s one of our best exports. It’s Coke, Delta then OutKast. That’s what we want to communicate. This is Atlanta. We embrace every bit of it and that includes the hip hop community.”

Jenkins’ father grew up in South Carolina and played football. As Jenkins put it, “sports are handed down to you by your parents,” meaning soccer was not an important part of his childhood. He fell in love with the sport after the 2006 World Cup in Germany; today Jenkins helps lead Footie Mob’s community efforts to bridge the gap between race, culture and soccer. He has worked as a fire marshal for 13 years.

“Every stadium should look, feel, sound different,” Jenkins said. “I don’t know if it’s arrogant of us to have thought so, but yo, Atlanta’s stadium should sound like Atlanta. It should look like Atlanta. It should reflect those things in ways big and small that are obvious so that a blind person knows ‘I’m in Mercedes- Benz Stadium.’” Jenkins, center, and Footie Mob members (Dori Kallweit)

Recent events, though, have called for more than simple visible alignment. The defining push over this summer by Black players and fans has been to use each teams’ unique platforms to enable lasting systemic change. Many supporters’ groups have followed suit.

Jenkins acknowledged that after George Floyd’s death in May, Atlanta United had reached out to the supporters groups to open the lines of communication about next steps. The groups have since had regular conference calls with Catie Griggs, Atlanta United’s vice president of business operations.

“I think they’ve made a corporate first step,” said Jenkins. “And I don’t mean that as a derogatory statement towards them. If you aren’t of and from (Black) culture, you’re not sure what the proper steps may be. Like having Killer Mike, T.I. and all those people do the spike is great because it’s a recognition that, yes, they are part of this city.

But I think any corporation, MLS as a whole, Western soccer as a whole, still isn’t quite sure what to do with the hip hop community slash Black and brown communities. If you don’t have somebody from those communities in your boardroom, you’re not going to go ‘Ok, well what’s next?’”

When reached for comment for this story, Griggs supplied a statement via email.

“The diversity of our fanbase is a source of pride for us, and we wholeheartedly embrace their passion and commitment to progress in our community and beyond,” the statement reads in part. “Recent events have made clear that as a society we have not done enough to promote social justice. We truly believe that we have a moral obligation as a club to better represent and support our community on issues such as racism, structural inequality, and voter rights and registration. There is work to be done, and we stand with our supporters as we move toward meaningful change.”

Atlanta United, in collaboration with the non-profit organization Rock the Vote, has since launched “United We Vote,” (https://www.atlutd.com/united- we-vote) an initiative that encourages the club’s staff, players and fans to register to vote. The club also created a Tumblr-style microsite that’s dedicated to social justice (https://www.atlutd.com/social-justice). The organization’s staff take part in a bi-weekly anti-racism and social justice conference call, and all proceeds from Atlanta United owner Arthur Blank’s recent memoir, “Good Company,” will be donated to The National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Blank himself has donated $300,000 to the museum.

Vera Zeigler (Rich Gordon)

Atlanta United’s embrace of hip-hop culture resonates with Vera Zeigler, an Atlanta native, designer, photographer, painter and creative director at a local technology company. She is also a member of another Atlanta United supporters’ group, Resurgence, and her tifo designs are well-known among Atlanta United’s fanbase (https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=EpQO2H9cESg).

“(Black fans) can see and understand ‘We Ready’,” said Zeigler. “They can see the swagger and how the style is put together. They can see a cool saying from a rap lyric on a flag and resonate with that. That’s the representation that creates an invitation for Black people to come and find out more about soccer’s culture.” Encouraging more of that representation is part of why Zeigler also contributes creative direction to For The Culture (https://linktr.ee/ftcutd) (FTCUTD), a cultural brand and podcast that promotes Black voices in U.S. soccer. FTCUTD was founded by Greg “Greggo” Jackson, a North Carolina native who moved to Atlanta in 2012. Zeigler helped design the logo and the initial brand guidelines.

“For The Culture’s about inviting and moving the conversation about culture in sports in an upward and forward motion,” said Zeigler. “We talk (on the podcast) about subjects of the day. We talk about subjects within soccer and they usually tend to be around Black culture as a whole.”

Jackson is one of the founders of Resurgence, but he has shifted his focus on growing the FTCUTD brand through the podcast, now close to 100 episodes strong, and merchandise sales. The idea to launch his own brand came about after a conversation at the 2018 MLS All-Star Game with Aaron Dolores, founder of Black Arrow (https://www.blackarrowfc.com/); a popular lifestyle brand that merges soccer with Black culture.

“By and large there’s no Black voices in America that are really talking soccer on a regular basis,” Jackson said. “You have Charlie Davies and Cobi Jones, , but for the most part, there’s no podcast like that. There’s nothing of that sort coming from any particular Black perspective. It’s just general soccer talk.”

Jackson and his FTCUTD co-hosts spotlight and collaborate with other Black supporters groups and podcasts from around MLS and USL, including Black Fires in Chicago, Apollo Culture in New York, River City 93 from Richmond, Virginia and Featherstone Flamingos in Madison, . Like Zeigler and Jenkins, Jackson is optimistic about the continued growth of Black soccer in Atlanta and he remains encouraged by Atlanta United’s efforts. But Jackson has noticed some opportunities where the club could improve.

“I’ve brought this up to people within the (Atlanta United) front office before,” said Jackson. “There’s definitely more marketing within the Black communities in Atlanta, but there’s not a lot of marketing south of (Interstate) 20. It’s a testament to the marketing efforts done by Atlanta (United) that there are as many Black fans as there are. At the same time they could do more if they hit south of 20.

I thought it was a missed opportunity not using ( striker) Kenwyne Jones in the community that first year, especially given his place in the game and given the Caribbean community here. He should’ve been out there a lot more, even if he wasn’t playing.” Abdul Bangura arrived in Atlanta as a 16-year-old refugee from Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war, along with his mother, father, three sisters and five brothers. His grandmother was killed in the war.

Bangura would graduate from Cross Keys High School in Brookhaven and attend Montreat College in North Carolina on a soccer scholarship. His career took him to Sweden where he played three seasons in the Swedish second division before returning to Atlanta to play for the Silverbacks in 2014. Bangura earned 11 caps with Sierra Leone, playing alongside forward in World Cup and African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Now 34, Bangura retired earlier this year and has since focused on youth coaching in Clarkston, ; a 20-minute drive from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and a city that celebrates its diversity and growing refugee population (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/may/24/clarkston-georgia- refugee-resettlement-program).

“With the kids that I’m working with in Clarkson, we share the same stories,” Bangura said. “The majority of them come from the same background: war and civil war, lost their parents, lost their siblings. I’m trying to use myself as an example for these kids to say ‘Although you went through these difficulties at a young age, you can still achieve. Look at me.’”

Divisiveness has become an all too common theme in the U.S, which is why Bangura’s perspective on race and inclusion in America is especially important. Lessons about love, care and respect are daily teachings during his training sessions. Bangura said that his U15 boys team features kids from 12 different countries, including the U.S.

“We are all one,” he said and added that exposing underprivileged kids to the sport is part of his long-term plan. Bangura hopes to integrate players from Clarkson into Atlanta’s budding soccer scene. His project is a noble one, but the challenges he’ll face are part of a larger systemic problem in youth soccer.

“Here it’s pay-to-play,” Bangura said. “The kids in Clarkson, they cannot afford to even buy soccer shoes. Their parents are living paycheck to paycheck. That’s one of the things that has to change in the States. Even in recruiting talent. Sometimes kids don’t have the money to play in the top leagues in the nation and you cannot see those talents.”

Atlanta United’s rise has demonstrated that soccer in the south will continue to influence the sport’s growth in the U.S. (https://theathletic.com/2057599/) Bangura praised the club’s ability to “draw a lot of people together.” Social justice work and efforts to combat racial inequality will now be part of Atlanta United’s history. At a national level, those problems have been magnified this year, but Bangura believes that those issues must now inspire change. “This country is the most beautiful country on Earth. Straight up,” said Bangura. “What’s happening now is just sad. The killing of unarmed colored people is just sad. But we still have to show love. We cannot respond with anger. It won’t help. It will just continue to tear us apart. I think we need to come together now. It’s a good time to actually change things for the better in this nation.”

(Top photo of Tony Carter: Dave Williamson)

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Felipe Cardenas (/author/felipe-cardenas/)(/author/felipe-cardenas/) is a staff writer for The Athletic who covers soccer. Follow Felipe on @FelipeCar (https://twitter.com/FelipeCar)(https://twitter.com/FelipeCar).

3 COMMENTS

Add a comment...

Anthony J. 1h ago 2 likes

If we had soccer cages like the rest of the world how we have basketball courts...we'd win an excessive amount of world cups. We'd be Brasil on steroids

Andrew W. 44m ago 1 like

One of the best articles you've written yet Felipe.

Thomas C. 28m ago 1 like

Beautiful words from Abdul Bangura. Now I feel guilty that I always root against the 5 stripes. Yes, it is jeal- ousy. - A Rapids fan

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