The theme for this year’s International Day of Peace is “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.” Basketball might not be the first thing that comes to mind when seeing that, or even when considering the complicated global circumstances which necessitated the United Nations implementing Peace Day to begin with. But one afternoon at Dallas City Hall showed that rejecting that notion could prove wise. Basketball has the power to bring people together.
The official International Day of Peace is Wednesday, Sept. 21, but the City of Dallas hosted its own celebration this past Saturday, Sept. 17, right in front of City Hall. In addition to live music performances, face-painting booths, club sports teams and a swath of food trucks, the Mavericks turned out, built a basketball court, and let the games begin. The Mavs Basketball Academy put on a pair of clinics for a few dozen hoopers of all ages, from those old enough to vote to kids so young they couldn’t fit into a small-sized T-shirt.
Great view from up here! @dallasmavs @jrnba clinic from atop Dallas City Hall @PeaceDayDallas (photo: @DannyBMFFL) pic.twitter.com/ce56CvT4yx
— Mavs Care (@MavsCare) September 17, 2016
In between the youth clinics, the floor was open for anyone to play, and that’s when the beauty of the sport is on full display. You have children, high school-aged kids, and even some older people — all complete strangers — coming together on a court to play a game. These are people from different cities, backgrounds, races, genders, and age, yet a ball and hoop unite them as one. That’s what Peace Day, first instituted in 1981, is all about.
The social implications were quite apparent, as well, when a Dallas Police Officer took the floor to shoot around with some children. With all that is going on in this country today, and particularly with the tragic event which happened in Dallas only months ago, tension and emotions are running understandably high. But on Saturday, and on any basketball court around the city, scenes like this can make one forget about all of that and just focus on the rhythm of people putting the ball through the hoop.
https://twitter.com/bobbykaralla/status/777210165204443136
This was the first time the city has had such a large public event to observe the day. If you couldn’t make it out to City Hall to take part, I would definitely encourage you to come next year. Whether it was watching a crowd of 100 take a Zumba class on the lawn, an Irish football club team teaching the rules to complete strangers and then putting those skills to the test in a scrimmage, or, of course, playing a game of 3-on-3 on a Mavs court, Peace Day is the type of event that will reinforce the idea that we are all — no matter where we come from or where we’re going — members of the same community, the same city, the same country, and that’s something worth celebrating.
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