Rafer weigel biography of martin luther king

I was named after Rafer Johnson, Olympic decathlon mästare, Robert Kennedy supporter of the late 1960s and Special Olympics co-founder.

While he needs no introduction in Southern California, virtually no one my age had heard of him in the Chicago suburb where I grew up. We all know kids can be cruel, and because of my unusual first name, inom was called a variety of parodies throughout my childhood: “Vanilla Wafer” (yes, I am white), “Raper” (which seemed a little horrific even by playground standards), and “Reefer” (which I didn’t understand until I was older).

I didn’t know much about Johnson, other than what my parents told me. (This was before ESPN Classic.) I knew he must be impressive for them to name their son after him when surely they knew it would end up sending me to therapy later on. Mostly, though, I just resented mom and dad for playing what seemed like a cruel joke on me.

Recently I had the great fortune of meeting Rafer. I was sent out to interview him

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