Southampton: A day after his powerful speech on racism, West Indies cricket legend Michael Holding struggled to hold back tears on a live broadcast while talking about what he saw his parents going through because of the colour of their skin. (Pic-Twitter)
Earlier, on Day one of the first Test between England and West Indies, Holding had said that the black race has been dehumanised and it will continue to be a victim until the entire human race is not educated on racism.
"That emotional part came when I started thinking of my parents and it is coming again now. I know what my parents went through. My mother's family stopped talking to her because her husband was too dark," Holding said during an interview on Sky News on Thursday.
"I know what they went through and that came back to me immediately. I know it is a slow process but even it is a baby step at a time, even snail's pace but I am hoping it will continue in the right direction."
West Indies captain Jason Holder, the star performer of the second day of the Test, said he had felt Holding's words on racism in his veins when he heard him speaking on Wednesday.
"I must say, I saw the interview with Mikey yesterday, and I felt it in my veins, to be honest. To me it was powerful, I think he hit the nail on the head, he was spot on," Holder told Sky Sports.
Before the start of the opening Test, both West Indies, England players and umpire took the knee for 30 seconds in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Holder said that the 30-second on-field gesture before the start of the Test meant a great deal to him.
''It meant the world to me. Just the support from everyone, everyone understanding the moment, everyone understanding the occasion. And to see both teams coming together the way they did, it sent a really strong message,'' Holder said.
"I happened to be on social media last night, and I saw a few Aussies posting the same pic of everyone on the knee, and it just shows the cricket world is actually unified. But I think we could come a lot closer, we could do a lot more for cricket in general, he added.
Racism has become a raging issue after the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.(UNI)
