Black History Month!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damn!  Here it is February 19, 2009 and I am just realizing that we are in the midst of black history month.  Never mind we get the shortest month of the year for our stories to be told but black history month should be abolished.  Why should we be treated special?  Affirmative Action opponents must be having a damn field day that blacks get a set aside.

Growing up, all we learned about black history was that we were once slaves and now considered extinct farm machinery.  It’s as if black people never existed until whites needed a cheap labor pool.  We we were also taught about Martin Luther King Jr.  And on occasion there were brief lessons on Benjamin Banneker, W.E.B. Du Bois, and George Washington Carver.  Forget Lewis Latimer who invented the carbon filament that went inside Edison’s light bulb.  Never mind Garrett Morgan who invented the gas mask and the first traffic lamp.

The point here is that we have a shared history and the fabric of our history should be interwoven.  Maybe that one black kid on the brink of giving up would be inspired to learn more if the curriculum accurately reflected our shared history.  We all know of the contributions that blacks have made to this country.  It does them a great injustice to be compartmentalized into one month.  Our history, our American history should be taught the entire school year.

Do you know who the women is pictured above?  By the way, we have a great resource here in Tallahassee regarding black history.  If you get the chance, please visit the Black Archives on the campus of Florida A&M University.  You’ll be amazed!  eehard told you so!

Filed under: FAMU, Society , black archives, black history month, FAMU, february

Marching 100 in the Inaugural Parade!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Marching 100 was number 7 in the parade lineup.  That is a noteable distinction for a band participating in an inaugural parade.  It means that you are an upper echelon band to go off in the first section.  Unfortunately, because of the delay of the starting of the parade, the band was unable to perform a two minute routine for Mr. Obama.

Filed under: FAMU , barack obama, FAMU, inauguration parade, marching 100

Help Send The Marching 100 To Washington, DC!

Please help send America’s band to Washington, DC to participate in this historic inauguration!  No donation is too small!  Your heart will be filled with pride as Tallahassee’s own Marching 100 marches down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol.  Please go to www.famu.edu to contribute!  Thank you!

Filed under: FAMU, Politics , barack obama, FAMU, inauguration parade, marching 100, washington dc

FAMU Lives!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meredith Clark, an associate editor at the Tallahassee Democrat wrote this article a few days ago  http://tallahassee.com/article/20081219/COLUMNIST21/812190315/-1/COLUMNISTS and I’d like to answer her questions and add a few comments.  Whether you read the entire piece or not this is the crux of it: 

“I’d like to renew the discussion with a look at the role of HBCUs in an Obama-era United States. It is not a question about their legitimacy or need; this is a question of how the role, function and even existence of HBCUs across the country will change as we continue to break down barriers.”

First of all, why must we refer to FAMU as a historically black college or university?  It is simply another institution of higher learning.  Is FSU or the University of Florida considered historically white universities?  We need not get into the ugly history why FAMU was founded but focus on its mission.  Since it opened in 1887 its mission was to provide the best possible education for those students who wished to attend.  In 2008, nothing has changed.  Its mission is still to provide the best possible education for its students.

It’s role is to also provide an alternative to those students who do not want to attend what you call a mainstream university although I fail to see how FAMU is not in the mainstream.  Call it what it is.  FAMU is a predominately black university with a diverse student body and faculty.  There are some people,  believe it or not who don’t want to go to a perdominatntly white university.  I am one of them.  Not because I harbor any hostility but because of the environment that lets me speak freely that is not hostile to what I have to say.  And a lot of what I have to say would probably get me into some type of trouble at a FSU or the UF.

We may have elected the first black president of the United States of America but 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in America.  Come back with your question after I see 2 black people leaving the First Baptist Church or a white person leaving Bethel AME Church. 

There will always be a need for Florida A&M because the people of Florida recognize it’s importance to the community.  Oh,  in the future watch how you phrase your statements.  You stated the there was no need to question the need or legitimatcy of FAMU then question the need for its existence as well as other black universities in the same paragraph.  I think that you are smart enough to know the answer to your own question.

Filed under: FAMU , FAMU, florida a&M university, hbcu, rattlers, tallahassee democrat, tallahassee.com

FAMU Today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Lee Corso from ESPN’s College Gameday show would say “Not so fast my friend!”  Today’s Democrat published an article on the graduation rates of black students from various colleges around the state of Florida.  I want to focus on two schools in particular, Florida A&M University and Florida State University.  The article was written by Angeline Taylor who covers FAMU.  http://tallahassee.com/article/20081222/NEWS01/812220321  I find her coverage to be biased and basically, I hate the bitch!  In fact,  this story has been around the block before.  The Saint Petersburg Times did a similar story last year.  http://www.sptimes.com/2007/11/19/State/More_blacks_succeed_a.shtml

Out of the 41,000 students that were enrolled at FSU in the fall of 2007, 4,392 were  identified as black.  That makes the perctange of blacks at FSU as 10.7% of the population.  If we divide that number by 4 we have a total of 1098 students in each class.  This is not scientific but you can see where I am going with this.  So if  FSU is graduating 70% of it’s black students, that means that they are graduating roughly 700 blacks students per year assuming that their enrollment is static.  http://www.ir.fsu.edu/student/enrollment.cfm?ID=eth

The latest statistics I could find for  FAMU are for the 2005 enrollment year in which the student population stood  at 12,157.  That would put each class at around 3039 students.  Blacks made up 91.45 of the population.  During that school year 1,933 degrees were awarded which included 1,302 at the baccalaureate level.  That is a distinction that I did not make with the FSU stats.  http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?a=oir

My numbers may be a little off but Taylor’s notion that FSU has graduated more blacks than any other school in a six year period in the nation is misleading.  The numbers simply don’t add up.  While I do not want to take away from the high percentage rate that FSU has achieved.  The precept ion that FSU has ever produced more black graduates than FAMU is disingenuous at best and a downright lie at worst.

While FAMU can certainly emulate some of  FSU’s  success one also has to realize that FAMU does not have the resources that FSU has.  We certainly have to work on retention but there are services available at FAMU that are also available at FSU.  The Summer Studies program at FAMU would be comparable to FSU’s early admission program.  This is not intended to be a FAMU vs. FSU piece rather than one to show that both schools have room for improvement.  But the facts must be presented in an honest fashion and not be skewed.

Filed under: FAMU , FAMU, floida state university, florida a&M university, fsu, tallahassee democrat, tallahassee.com

The Late Great Jake Gaither!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This post is dedicated to Chuck Hobbs who wrote an excellent blog on the lack of black football coaches in major college football.  Read it here:  http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=PluckPersona&U=372503919e3a42eb9b7e211b037888d5&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=372503919e3a42eb9b7e211b037888d5&plckPostId=Blog%3a372503919e3a42eb9b7e211b037888d5Post%3af81d23dc-f2ee-492e-92de-6118d2df8cc7&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 http://www.afca.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9300&SPID=7856&SPSID=69281

 

Alonzo “Jake” Gaither, Florida A&M University (FAMU) coaching legend, has been named the American Football Coaches Association’s (AFCA) recipient of the 2008 Trailblazer Award. The award will be presented posthumously to Gaither at the AFCA Kickoff Luncheon on Monday, January 12 at the 2009 AFCA convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

The AFCA Trailblazer Award was created to honor early leaders in the football coaching profession who coached at historically black colleges and universities. Past Trailblazer Award winners include Charles Williams of Hampton (2004), Cleve Abbott of Tuskegee (2005), Arnett Mumford of Southern (2006) and Billy Nicks of Prairie View A&M University (2007).  The award is given each year to a person that coached in a particular decade ranging from 1920-1970. This year’s winner coached from 1960-1970.

“Since I’ve been here, I have really found out how much of a giant of a man he really was,” Florida A&M head coach Joe Taylor said. “There are parks, buildings and streets named after him. We send out a video that names him one of the great Floridians that ever lived in the state.”

Gaither coached at the high school and junior college levels in North Carolina and Virginia from 1927-1937. In 1937, Coach Gaither was named head basketball coach at FAMU and led the team to the 1942 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) basketball title. In addition to serving as head basketball coach, he also served as an assistant football coach from 1937-1942. After the 1942 basketball season, Gaither was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The resulting surgery and recovery kept him out of coaching until 1945.

In 1945, Gaither took over as head football coach at FAMU. He held that position for 25 seasons, compiling a record of 203-36-4. This constituted a winning percentage of .844, and ranks him eighth all-time amongst college football coaches. He won 22 SIAC Conference titles along with six Black College National Championships. Gaither retired from coaching in 1969 and served as Athletic Director and Chair of Health and Physical Education at FAMU until his retirement in 1973.

The number of honors and awards compiled by Gaither are numerous. In 1961, Coach Gaither was named the AFCA College Division Coach of the Year. In 1975, he won the Walter Camp Foundation Award. He is a member of the Florida Sports, FAMU Sports, National Association of College Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and SIAC Halls of Fame. Gaither was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.

The 2008 Trailblazer award is actually Gaither’s third honor from the AFCA. In addition to the 1961 AFCA College Division Coach of the Year Award, in 1975 he was awarded the AFCA’s Amos Alonzo Stagg Award. Gather was also as an honorary member of the AFCA Board of Trustees for 22 years, serving from 1972-1993.

“Jake was a true student of the game, he was well ahead of his time,” former Alcorn State University and Southern University head coach and athletic director Marino Casem said. “Whenever I was in Florida, anywhere near Tallahassee, whether I was recruiting, vacationing or on business, I made a point to go to Jake Gaither’s house, sit at his feet and absorb knowledge from the master. I was always humbled in the presence of Jake Gaither.”

Filed under: Sports , afca, FAMU, florida a&M university, jake giather, rattlers, trailblazer award

Rattler Wrap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to thank head coach Joe Taylor and the players on this year’s team as the Florida A&M University Rattlers finished with a 9-3 record.  It could have been an 11-1 season had a couple of breaks went our way.  While we didn’t make the playoffs this year, Coach Taylor has laid down an impressive foundation for the future and I can’t wait for next year.  The seasons of 3-8 records are over.

 

I would like to point out that the Colonial Athletic Conference placed 5 teams in the 16 team playoff field so I think that the NCAA is slightly biased when it comes to Black college football.  But once again, had we taken care of Delaware State and Morgan State I wouldn’t be making these remarks.

 

 

My personal MVP of the year is Leroy Vann followed closely by newcomer quarterback Curtis Pulley.  Vann had six returns for touchdowns this year and nearly 1,500 return yards electrify the crowds every game with his hard nose running and his viciousness on the defensive side of the ball.  Pulley, who won the starting quarterback job outright towards the end of the season, is a good reason why FAMU should be one of the favorites to win the MEAC next year.

 

 

My only hope is that the administration realizes the importance of having a fifth game at Bragg Stadium every year.  There is no place like “The Pit” on a Saturday evening with the Marching 100 in the stands.  If we want to become big time again, we must have that fifth or even a sixth game at home.  So remember Rattlers:

 

 

When the dark clouds gather on the horizon,
When thunder and lightning pierce the skies,
When fate is but a glare in the eye of a fallen Rattler,
and hope….a lost friend,
When the sinew of the chest grows weary from those hard charging linebackers,
And the muscles in the legs grow tired from those hard charging running backs,
You must always remember….the Rattlers will
STRIKE!!!
STRIKE!!!
AND STRIKE AGAIN!!!

Click on Thumbnails for a larger view.  Photos by Glen Beil/Tallahassee Democrat.

SOS Click to hear the Marching 100’s rendition of SOS.

Filed under: Sports , curtis pulley, FAMU, football, joe taylor, leroy vann, marching 100, rattlers

FAMU Saturday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being in Atlanta, I missed out on the festivities that happened on the FAMU campus Saturday.  If you have no clue, ESPN’s College Gameday came to FAMU to broadcast its weekly pre game show.  There was a rather large crowd and of course, the Marching 100 was there to perform.  While I wasn’t there personally, my spirit was as FAMU again made history by becoming the first HBCU to host the show.

 

What would have made the day even better was ESPN actually airing the game on one of its networks.  The early games on ESPN and ESPN2 were two Big Ten matchups that almost put me to sleep.  FSU’s game aired last night on ESPN.  So how was I able to watch the FAMU vs. Hampton game?  It’s a little known secret that we have our own private network known as FAMCast.  I believe that it is run by the University’s School of Journalism.  They stream the video and link it to the 96.1 radio broadcast.  So I was able to watch the game, hear Keith and Mike do commentary, see the halftime show and listen to the band throughout the game.  So if next weeks game against hated Bethune Cookman University is not televised you can click on www.famu.edu and watch the game.  The quality of the video varies but at least you get to watch.

 

I felt badly that FSU lost its game with Boston College. The Seminole offense was once again offensive.  But my bigger concern is that of the FSU Marching Chiefs.  I am sure that they give a quality halftime show but what they do in the stands is mind boggling.  Three hours of the Seminole war chop is enough to make you turn down the volume.  Don’t’ they have anything else in their repertoire that can inspire the offense or defense to do better?

 

We have different fight songs and fanfares that keep the fans going through the whole game.  And win or lose the band plays after the game is over sending the fans home with good music as they exit the stadium and head for their cars.  Most games I stick around until the post game concert is over.  We may always be the little step brother when it comes to football in Tallahassee but when it comes to the bands, we rule this town!  I hope that you enjoyed the video.

Filed under: Sports , college, espn, FAMU, fsu, gameday, marching 100, marching chiefs

Flipping the Race Card!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A recent Tallahassee.com. blogger took exception to Michelle Obama’s statement:  “There are 600,000 unregistered black voters in the state of Florida” at Saturday’s rally on the campus of FAMU.  I don’t know why this particular blogger took offense to these remarks and is trying to make an issue out of it.  Perhaps she harbors some resentment towards Mrs. Obama and blacks in general.  I don’t know.  I cannot presume to know what she thinks, nor do I care.  You can take what you want from her writing.

If Mrs. Obama’s statistics are correct, then I am personally shocked by the apathy of blacks to participate in the political process.  As I mentioned earlier I cannot say what people think but I feel safe in surmising that a lot of blacks feel like the political system does not work for them.   The youth in particular who did not grow up in the Civil Rights era.  I vote in every election not only because I want my voice heard but for all those who died, were beaten, were jailed, and water hosed in trying to get the right to vote.

With the emergence of Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee and the failures of eight years under President Bush, new voter registration is up exponentially across the country.  I don’t have the demographics but I bet that includes Asians, blacks, whites, Native Americans, and Hispanics.  Mrs. Obama should make that pronouncement everywhere she campaigns.  Every new Democratic voter is one step closer to overthrowing the Republican monopoly in Florida.

I encourage every one of those 600,000 unregistered black voters as well as all others to get up and go register to vote and make your voice heard.  The last day to register is October 6, 2008.  Together we can change Florida from red to blue.  And by voting you will be repaying a debt with honor!

Filed under: Politics , FAMU, jill biden, michelle obama, obama, rally, register to vote

Marching 100 @ Miami Dolphins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hear the 100 got off down in Miami yesterday.  This is the best video I could find.  If anyone has any better, please let me know!

Filed under: Sports , FAMU, halftime show, marching 100, miami dolphins