DEI and Afterschool Basketball - April7, 2026

six teams

eight 5th-graders each

two or three with talent

the rest slow, shy, uncoordinated

or hating to be there

as captain, I played every kid

in every game, mixing in the

good ones with the non-athletic

other teams used their best players

every minute of the game, ignoring

their feeble teammates,

where we played as a team

the weak and strong together

everyone to the best of their ability

and something amazing happened

we won the basketball title that year

I didn’t know it at the time

but looking back sixty years

it was the perfect example,

of diversity used equitably

with the possible inclusion

of a gift and giggle from God