Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 8-20-21

Features HBCU News
Popular Gospel Legend Passes At 85 Years Old
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A popular gospel legend, passed away Sunday, August 15, 2021 in Advent Health Hospital. Elder George Streets, Sr. was 85 years old. He succumbed to compli- cations from pneumonia.
Elder Streets was well- known and well-respected throughout the community. In addition to being a hus- band (Evangelist Evelyn Streets is his wife) and fa- ther, he was a gospel singer, bass player, photographer and videographer. He was also employed by Thom McCan and Time-Warneer.
Elder Streets was the last member of the group known as the Gospel Hurri- canes, and one of the original
Elder George Streets, Sr., seated, with 5 sons, who made up the gospel group (Streets of Rochester, NY): Jonathan Streets Williams, Cory Streets, Joseph Streets, Jimmy Streets, George Streets. Not shown, James Streets.
members of Tampa’s Heav- enly Trumpets.
One of Elder Streets’ sons is popular photogra- pher/ videographer, George Streets, Jr., of Streets &
Streets Photography. Homegoing services will
be held at 12 noon on Satur- day, August 28, 2021. Wilson Funeral Home will handle the services.
BOXTOROW Preseason Poll: Alabama A&M No. 1 As Bulldogs, Teams Prepare For Full Season
boxtorow.com
COVID-19 forced teams to postpone the 2020 season to spring of 2021 where only 10 HBCU Division I teams partic- ipated. The Alabama A&M Bulldogs went undefeated in the spring on their way to win- ning their second SWAC championship and first ever HBCU national championship after finishing No. 1 in the BOXTOROW Coaches Poll.
The Bulldogs begin the 2021 (fall) season No. 1 in HBCU football as the BOX- TOROW Coaches Poll was re- leased on Monday.
“This is great for the pro- gram and shows how far we have come in three years,” said Bulldogs head football coach Connell Maynor. “We are the hunted now and we have to work harder than ever be- fore. We now have to prove everyone right and repeat.”
The Bulldogs will certainly be the hunted as all 21 teams will be vying for the HBCU na-
tional championship in the fall.
The 2019 HBCU national champion North Carolina A&T Aggies did not play in the spring and are ranked No. 2, receiving five first place votes. Florida A&M, who moved from the MEAC to the SWAC this year, also did not play in the spring and is ranked No. 3. The 2019 SWAC champion Al- corn State Braves – like A&T and FAMU – did not play in the spring, but after a 9-2 2019 campaign, are tied for the No. 4 spot with South Carolina State.
To round out the top 10 teams are: Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Southern, Jackson State, Prairie View A&M and Norfolk State.
The BOXTOROW HBCU FCS Coaches Poll is adminis- tered by FROM THE PRESS BOX TO PRESS ROW, and in its 13th year, is voted on by the HBCU Football Championship Subdivision coaches.
Owner Of Semi-Pro Football Team Takes The Next Step —- Owning A League
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Staff Writer
Growing up in Tampa is a great benefit to emerging sports stars. Many, many professionals in baseball, football, and track were born and trained in Tampa.
Alton Walker was one of those kids. Growing up in Tampa, he graduated from Leto High School. He transferred to Florida State University after a year of junior college in Jack- sonville. He had been a football walk-on as well as being on a track scholarship. He left school a year early to run for Nike In- ternational on the professional track circuit from 1994 to 1996.
Walker began working for the Department of Juvenile Jus- tice during his off season.
He moved to the Depart- ment of Correction, the Sheriff’s Office as a deputy and then be- came a U.S. Marshal.
While working in law en- forcement, he kept his passion for sports close to his heart, knowing that he would return to that world one day.
Walker would end up play- ing one season in the Canadian Football League, but never quite made it to the NFL.
He began working with Arena Football while he was in law enforcement.
He knew there were more
ALTON WALKER
... Founder Of New Semi Pro Football League
opportunities, and that God had a plan for him.
After speaking to his pastor and going on a 72-hour fast, he realized that his mission went beyond his personal career. He was meant to help others achieve their goals.
“Teaching football isn’t just about skills, it’s helping young men and women understand their potential,” according to Walker.
Working with the NFL and other football organizations gave Walker a view of sports organ- izations that few see. He knew the good and the bad and was determined to bring the best to the table. His team would be
God’s team.
He started the Tampa Tor-
nadoes in 2006 and has sent two players to the NFL. There have also been tough times, last year a couple of the players were sui- cidal due to depression. Those two players are doing well now, thanks to the early intervention of the team.
After some bad starts with other football leagues, Walker took over and became sole owner of the team.
To improve the quality of the game for players and fans, Walker has started his own league, the American Indoor Football Alliance.
The League will have ap- proximately 15 to 22 teams. Each team will go through an ex- tensive vetting process before being accepted.
Walker wants people to know that this is more than just a new football league. This is a new venue to elevate Black peo- ple and help the community.
Walker’s expectations are to reach a wider audience and change the world.
Walker wants kids to know that “as a Black man that grew up in Tampa, just like all of the other kids, I did it. You can do it too. We must look out for each other. The team and league bring economic resources that will allow us to mentor and help our community.”
FAMU Essential Theatre Will Be The Recipient Of 15 Plays By Prominent Black Writers
The FAMU Essential The- atre will be the recipient of a compilation of 15 plays by prominent Black writers in- cluding Slave Play, which has received a historic 12 Tony Award nominations, more than any other play in Broadway history. The donation is being made by Jeremy O. Harris, a playwright himself who dubbed the collection as “The Golden Collection.”
In all, the Golden Collec- tion, totals 800 individual scripts and is named for Har- ris' grandfather --- Golden Harris who passed away two weeks before Jeremy learned that Slave Play would play Broadway’s Golden Theatre.
The collection is being awarded to libraries, commu- nity centers and universities, including three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), in the United States, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. FAMU is the only institution in the state of Florida to receive the collec- tion.
As detailed on Slave Play's website, organizers selected FAMU's Essential Theatre to receive the collection due to its commitment to "providing stu- dents with well-rounded for- mal preparation necessary for
advanced academic or profes- sional study, and exposing the broader student body and the surrounding Tallahassee com- munity to the arts."
In addition to Slave Play, the following is a list of the plays included in the Golden Collection:
Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry
The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe
An Octoroon by Branden Jacobs Jenkins
Sweat by Lynn Nottage
A Collection of Plays (Wed- ding Band and Trouble in Mind) by Alice Childress
We Are Proud to Present a Presentation by Jackie Sib- blies Drury
The Mountaintop by Ka- tori Hall
Is God Is by Aleshea Har-
ris
Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith
Funnyhouse of a Negro by Adrienne Kennedy
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange
Bootycandy by Robert O’Hara
Dream on Monkey Moun- tain by Derek Walcott.
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