Nora Sullivan Horner

Over spring break, my mom handed me a letter. Sent by Ms. Clapp, my beloved high school anatomy & physiology teacher, it had languished under a mounting mountain of mail for untold weeks, maybe months. The sender’s handwriting surprised me: In an uncanny fusion of all caps, print and cursive were my name, my mother’s and our home address. The writing certainly wasn’t “teacherly.” I opened it, and I understood why. “Dear Nora,” I remember the exercise but can only imagine the setting.

It sucks believing you’re the smartest Black person in the room. And it sucks even more having people believe that because you’re the smartest Black person in the room, you must be an exception to the norm, a deviation from your race, a “white” Black person. In my youthful ignorance, I was convinced that this sentiment was a compliment from my white peers. My perceivable intelligence had granted me access to their culture, which instilled pride within me.

Midway through last month, reports began to circulate—and are expected to be confirmed in the coming months—that the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) was planning changes to its most renowned tournament, the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Every year, starting in October, the UCL brings together the best clubs from Europe’s top leagues, who compete to be crowned European champions during the final in May.