If Brian Lewis vouches for Howell that’s good enough for me.
I’ve gotten a chance to tag along with coach Lewis and the Howell High School football team through a conference championship season and a run through the high school playoffs. I've also gotten a chance to experience the community and the guys on his team.
I’ve been told that this is no place for me as a black man in Howell. I’ve been told I cannot find friends here. I’ve been told not to walk the streets of downtown or frequent the restaurants and coffee shops because of Howell’s reputation.
I will get harassed in this community.
These warnings did not come from people from Howell. They came from well-meaning friends and family who fear for my safety.
"There are really great people in Howell," someone told me at a Howell football game.
I quite frankly did not want to come to Howell. However, I decided to experience the town for myself.
I do not fear Howell. I do not fear its people. I’m enjoying the ride with Howell’s football team and have met nice people along the way.
"There is my sideline buddy."
Those were the bubbly words of lineman Bobby Kanka's mom. I don't even know her name. I just know she nervously paces the sidelines taking stats during the heat of games. Like any mom, she is nervous for her son and nervous for her team.
Yes, bad eggs sometimes show their faces and make things uncomfortable for everybody. But they disappear into their cubby holes for years at a time in Pennsylvania, Macomb County and Lansing. They come here because KKK leader Bob Miles held cross burnings in and near Howell in the 1960s and 70s.
The community lets them know they are not welcome in Howell.
I’ve got news for you. Miles is dead along with his beliefs.
Coach Lewis said Howell gets a bad rap because of these people. And he’s tired of it.
This summer about two dozen white supremacist protested on the Livingston County Courtyard lawn screaming “Heil Hitler” and other racially charged chants. The Livingston County Police investigated and found all of the participants lived outside of Howell – some were from out of state while others lived in Macomb County and Saginaw.
“I was very surprised to hear the type of language that they were using,” Howell mayor Bob Ellis said that day. “It’s something we don’t hear here often.”
The stench of their actions remains behind. And that was the news that blared across the nation. But do you know what happened shortly after the protest? Howell residence symbolically cleansed the area of racism and hate. They used brooms and mops to wipe down the sidewalks and pathways.
Howell residence came out in droves to support Black Lives Matter. They held signs that said: “Cancel Klan Kulture” and “Make Racism wrong again.”
They also embraced me. After this article appeared it was passed along in chats on Facebook. I shook hands with about a dozen people who appreciated my kind words about Howell. I never would have been able to put these words together if I never came here and experienced the warmth of the people in Howell.
Maybe the lesson in all this is let's stop throwing arrows and spears at one another from a distance and embrace each other up close in good dialog.
My wife has noticed a pep in my step because she knows I love good stories, good story lines and good people. She used to ask me "did Howell win tonight" after games.
That has changed to "did your team win tonight?'
After games Lewis sometimes defends Howell and wants to paint a new image. Howell is under the spotlight again because of its run through the playoffs which continued Friday night with a thrilling district finals championship finals victory over Brighton.
I asked Lewis what he wants people to know about Howell.
“I think the past is the past and we have to move forward,” he said. “I think our kids get wrapped up in the past and I don’t think its necessarily fair to our kids or our community. Our kids have been nothing but class at our games. Our kids are high class people and that goes to our school. High class and great people.”
I’ve gotten to know some of these high-class people. It starts with players Justin Jones, Bobby Kanka, Shawn Turpin and Tanner Baidel. They’ve all been very accommodating.
My friends say people are nice to me in places like Howell only because of my previous life with The Detroit News and 97.1 FM The Ticket. I doubt that these young players are aware of my past yet they are very nice and give me all the time I need to ask questions for WHMI.com. Neither does the waitress at Cleary Pub who greeted me with a big smile and cheerfully talked me out of ordering the chicken strips and encouraged me to try their burger. There is the 20-something waitress at a local coffee shop, who checks to make sure my tea is to my likings.
Yet, they all greet me with smiles and want to make sure I am OK.
“We want to be judged by who we are and what we do,” Lewis said. “And how we act and how we go about our business on the day to day.”
Next summer I plan on attending a summer festival in Howell. But I come with demands.
There must be a lemonade stand and fries.