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Editorials/Columns
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Time To Change The Game
I love college football. But, as much as I enjoy watching the games, it's hard for me to get past the optics whenever I tune in to a
broadcast.
When cameras pan the
stands and I catch sight of the tens of thousands of peo- ple enjoying the entertain- ment, whose complexions don't match those of the play- ers putting on the show, I can't help but be reminded of just how much these large in- stitutions benefit from the blood, sweat and tears of Black athletes.
And that is usually when I begin to fantasize about what it would be like if all of those elite players went to HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) instead?
Rather than attending schools like Alabama, Clem- son and Florida, who view
our young men and women as nothing more than neces- sary evils they're forced to ac- commodate in order to make a profit, what if these Black athletes went to universities like Bethune-Cookman, Florida A & M or Albany State, places that would wel- come their presence on and off the field?
I can only imagine that, overnight, those programs would go from seldom seen or heard of, to powerhouses whose teams would be con- tending for National Cham- pionships on an annual basis.
The added benefit being that, with the constant expo- sure, HBCUs would be able to use the money they gener- ate from lucrative television deals to expand their cam- puses, offer more scholar- ships and educate more young Black minds.
The trickle down effect in-
evitably bettering all of our communities because of the number of children who, after being influenced by all those who've gone off to school around them, become motivated to go to college in the process.
Of course, I know it's all a dream. A person would have to be crazy to think that, with the train so far gone from the station, Black peo- ple could find a way to pre- vent their own from being exploited at this point, right?
The one thing I've learned in this life, though, is that every change that occurs starts with a radical thought to challenge the status quo. Which means, if we desire to see a difference in the world we inhabit, we can't be afraid to think outside of the box.
And, in an era when going along to get along is, typi- cally, the order of the day, that alone could be consid- ered truly revolutionary.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: cbar- ronice@gmail.com.
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
Salute To Our Heroes, Past, Present, And Future
I n the midst of an ongoing debate about the soul of America, we pause to remember why America remains mighty, and to recall memories of the men and women whose willing sacrifice helped make it so. Since before the Revolution, we
have called them “veterans.”
But the footprints of their heroism has been
seen on more battlefields than one has fingers and toes to count. Their bravery is the stuff of legend, and if there were a second Mount Rushmore, it would be their faces chiseled in stone.
Soldiers, sailors, and Marines are the ones we speak of. Airmen and women, Special Forces, and countless other human beings who, through the ages, have answered America’s call to arms with a stolid statement, “I will!”
Veterans Day is intended to honor and thank all military personnel who served the United States in all wars, particularly living veterans. It is marked by parades and church services and in many places the American flag is hung at half mast.
These are the Americans we honor, today. Whether identified, or whistle blower, whether wounded or killed, we promise never to shed un- necessary blood, but always to defend the great- est Democracy on this earth.
WPassing Remembered
e, as Black people, come tains.
in all colors. Sometime They could try on hats and ago, I told readers about my five clothing without putting nets on
the Black-looking brother went to bail him out and was told no one by that name was there. He never thought to tell them his brother was white.
Fast-forward to 2019 and the life of a Black youth whose friends don’t believe she is Black. Even after showing pic- tures of her father (Black) and mother (white), some of them still think she is white. Imagine having to prove you are Black.
We applaud the youth be- cause she chooses to be who she is with no pretense. In fact, her little brother looks white while her older sister is a vanilla brown beauty with long, black wavy hair. Many times when they are together, adults and youth will ask, “Are you sisters?”
The Back-white school stu- dent fights every day to have her Black heritage acknowledged, even though she recognizes that her life would be easier if she “passed.” Believe it or not, bi- racial parents struggle to give their white-looking children a sense of belonging which most of us don’t have to do. Some- times, our “Black-dar” (radar) lets us know other people are Black even if they look white. We applaud bi-racial youth who can pass for white, but embrace their Blackness.
older cousins (three boys and two girls) who looked like they were white with straight hair, ex- cept for one.
Most of them left our small waterfront town to live in New York, Philadelphia, and the Mid- west as white. Some of them married whites, coming home only during summer months to see their mother (a Nanticoke Indian) and other family mem- bers.
Their father was described as being nearly white-skinned and was the first cousin of my grand- father who was light-skinned with reddish hair, freckles, and green eyes. You can imagine my emotions living next to relatives who could sit in the front of the buses, who could see movies from the first floor of theaters while my brother and I had to sit in the balcony, and who drank from white water foun-
their hair and use restrooms re- served for whites. Their only darker-skinned brother could not join them in these es- capades. Only two of the cousins had children who looked like mulattos.
There is a downside to pass- ing for white. One of the sisters who lived in the Midwest mar- ried a white man, yet, she would come home alone each summer. One summer, her suspicious husband followed her home and found out she was Black. He re- turned to their home in the Mid- west and committed suicide.
Moreover, one of the white– looking brothers married a dark woman. Yet, pretended to be white and passed when they weren’t together. One of the white brothers was arrested for DUI and was thrown in the jail cell with white prisoners. He spent an extra day in jail because
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2019