Black Jesus.com

Black Football Coaches: Where Are They?

   I believe Black parents hold the key to increasing the number of Black coaches in the NCAA. When these white coaches or their recruiters come to court your Black sons about playing for their college or university, along with the important questions about academic support and graduation rates, Black parents should ask how many Black assistant coaches a program has. If they have to few or none, you need to tell that school that this is not acceptable and you  prefer that your sons or daughters choose another school that demonstrates diversity.

Black parents must understand the economics of college football. These schools make hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets sales, advertising, concessions and souvenir revenue. All of this revenue comes from fielding a competitive team. These schools and their boosters reluctantly know they must have Black players to be competitive. If your Black sons and daughters are good enough to play collegiate sports, then they are eventually good enough to coach or be the athletic director. Fredrick Douglas said "Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will." I assure you that if enough Black parents take a stand for equality, in just 2 football seasons, we will see this shameful situation change.

Why So Few Black Coaches? Numbers And Facts, Rather Than Calling Racism, Speak Louder Than Words. Of The 119 Schools In The NCAA Foot Ball Bowl Subdivision Only 4 have Black Foot Ball Coaches.

That's the lowest since 1993. Yet almost 60% of NCAA football players are Black. Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association (BCA), has said that if his organization needs to apply Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which makes it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of race, then he's willing. Perhaps that's what it will take.

Maybe the process needs a jump start that a court could give it. Keith says he would like to have 10 black coaches in the FBS, and even such a low number as that will take years under the current process.

The NCAA began an initiative last year to address its problematic approach to minority hiring, but then again, the NCAA is a weak organization with little ability to effect any real change. It can create all the initiatives it wants, but it has no power to penalize programs for passing over qualified black candidates.

The NFL has instituted what it calls the "Rooney Rule," which requires teams with a head coach opening to interview at least one black, except in select circumstances.

Even so, only seven of the 32 NFL teams have black coaches, even though about 66 percent of the league's players are black. It would help if more FBS schools would hire black coaches as their offensive and defensive coordinators.

At the beginning of the season, there were 32, including 12 on offense and 20 on defense. That's an increase from 11, which is how many there were four years ago.

From Diverse Online Current News Group Hires Lawyer To Address Dearth of Black College Football Coaches By Lois Elfman

 

The number of Black college football coaches is going in the wrong direction, according to the latest hiring report card issued Wednesday by the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA).

Hiring committees are more diverse and coaches of color are being interviewed for football head coaching positions, but the number of hires is still dismal, the report card shows. “Interviewing is not the measure of true success.

Interviewing is not hiring. The true measure of progress and success will be when athletic directors stop merely interviewing candidates of color, and when athletic directors actually hire head football coaches of color,” said Charlotte Westerhaus, vice president of diversity and inclusion of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) .

For the 2007-08 season examined in the fifth BCA hiring report card, there were only four head football coaches of color hired to fill 31 job openings. The 2008 season in both the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Division, began with eight coaches of color, six of whom were African-American.

When compared with the representation of head coaches of men’s Division I college basketball the statistics are striking. In basketball 58 percent of the players are African American and 25 percent of the head coaches are African American.

In college football, African Americans make up 50 percent of the players but only 6.7 percent of the head coaches. “The statistics reveal a cold truth: it is easier to become a head football coach in the NFL, a head basketball coach in the NCAA and a general or commissioned officer in the United States Army than it is to become a head football coach on the (college) level of the NCAA,” wrote BCA executive director Floyd Keith in the report.

The BCA, which held a teleconference Wednesday morning to coincide with the release of its report card, is working in conjunction with attorney Everette L. Scott Jr. of the law firm Spector Gadon and Rosen in Philadelphia to set up a means of understanding the problem and addressing it more effectively.

The BCA says its partnership with the law firm will serve as a “communication vehicle” that will allow administrators, coaches, coordinators, assistant coaches and potential coaches to contact the BCA through a toll free number.

The hotline will allow individuals to confidentially discuss questionable hiring practices, said Scott, a former football player at Howard University. Information received via the hotline will be monitored closely, he added.

A transcript of each call will be prepared, evaluated and recommendations can be formulated, Scott said. “We believe, collectively and cooperatively, with the institutions we should be able to achieve and close this final gap,” he added. The report card, which is available for download at www.bcasports.org, describes this year’s study and offers comparisons to previous studies.

When asked what it is about the culture of college basketball that provides greater opportunities, the NCAA's Westerhaus suggested such a question should be directed to college athletic directors. “They know the cultures of all their sports and the hiring cards are in their hands,” she said.

A simplistic answer may be results. African-American basketball coaches have had great successes, thus paving the way for more hires. The NCAA and BCA both maintain lists of suitable candidates that they will make readily available to any institutions with job openings.

But it is the institutions that make the hiring decisions. “Right now,” said Westerhaus, “we are keen on improving the hiring.” Email the editor: editor@diverseeducation.com

Miami's Shannon will be only black BCS coach, says things haven't changed

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ESPN.com news services

CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Of the 65 coaches leading programs affiliated with the Bowl Championship Series, Miami's Randy Shannon is about to stand alone.

A week from now, he'll be the only black man in the group.

After Sylvester Croom resigned Saturday from Mississippi State, along with the recent firings of Kansas State's Ron Prince and Washington's Tyrone Willingham -- who'll coach his final game with the Huskies on Saturday -- Shannon is one of three black coaches left in major college football, and the only one at a BCS school.

The last time there were only three black coaches at the Division I-A level was 1993, and Shannon, who waited many years before getting his first legitimate chance at becoming a head coach, simply can't understand the lack of progress in bridging the sideline race gap.

"It's sad that we keep talking about the same things," Shannon told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Maybe Sylvester was tired. I know a year or two ago he had surgery on his hip or back. But after a while, you say to yourself, how much longer can we keep going just talking about this? We can't keep talking about the same issues every year."

And yet, at this time every year, the issue keeps coming back.

Bowl season hasn't even started, but already, some marquee jobs have come open -- and, in some cases, apparently been filled.

Tennessee will name Lane Kiffin as Phillip Fulmer's replacement on Monday, and ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel is reporting that sources say Clemson will announce it has hired interim coach Dabo Sweeney as soon as contract details are worked out.

One of the few black candidates believed to have legitimate interest from a BCS school that's changing coaches is Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who has been mentioned as a replacement for Greg Robinson at Syracuse. Buffalo's Turner Gill -- who, along with Shannon and Houston's Kevin Sumlin, is one of the three black coaches who have jobs for '09 -- is also thought to be a Syracuse candidate.

The only other prominent black assistant to be mentioned so far is Notre Dame offensive coordinator Michael Haywood, who reportedly was interviewed by Washington to replace Willingham.

Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches and Administrators, has said many times he'd like to see the number of black college football coaches get to at least 10 -- but now the total is headed the other way, even though nearly half of the players at the level formerly known as Division I-A are black.

Shannon, though, knows there's no easy solution. But he likes one idea.

"If they want to give minority coaches more of a chance, they should let there be three graduate assistants and one of them has to be a minority," Shannon said. "At least then, you'd be giving a minority coach a chance to develop. If you want to address the issue, allow a third spot to be a minority position and if you can't fill it, then you can't fill it. But give them a chance."

Gill told The Buffalo News for a story published Sunday that he always heard the same thing when he interviewed for various jobs before moving to western New York.

"Not the right fit," Gill told the newspaper. "The words 'not the right fit' can be looked at in several ways. Not to say that you weren't qualified but maybe they want a guy who's going to be there for four [or] five years or has a different offensive or defensive philosophy. There's so many different dynamics to the word 'fit."

In South Florida, diversity seems to fit.

Not only does Miami have a black football coach, it has a woman -- Donna Shalala, who served as secretary of health and human services under President Bill Clinton -- as university president. And, a black men's basketball coach in Frank Haith.

A few miles away at Florida International, Cuban-Americans serve as university president (Mitch Maidique), athletic director (Pete Garcia) and football coach (Mario Cristobal).

"It's a diverse community," Shannon said. "You can see every ethnic group in Miami. Coach Cristobal, he does a good job, and white, black, Hispanic, we've been this way for years in Miami. It's a melting pot more than anything."

It's hardly that way everywhere. According to a recent BCA hiring report card, only 12 of 199 vacancies between 1996 and 2006 went to blacks.

But the need to label -- and track the number of -- minority coaches is still puzzling to Shannon.

"I think we all should be treated as coaches equally," Shannon said. "But it's just how society is. The minority deal is always going to be there."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report..

Brazil is one of the most racially-mixed countries on the planet. Half the population has African origins. Yet black and mixed-race people suffer discrimination. Many are fighting for better recognition of this "invisible majority".

The intent of this blog is help people of African decent to connect the racists dots. And to help whites who are in denial see that we are all God's Children. There has been a clear historical pattern that race and skin color globally continues to negatively effect people of color who are of African desent. Brazil is no different. By FRANCE 24 / Jean-François MAUREL

Brazil is one of the most racially-mixed countries on the planet: half the population has African origins. Yet black and mixed-race people suffer discrimination. Many are fighting for better recognition of this "invisible majority". In Brazil, black people are underrepresented in a society with the misleading appearance of a "racial democracy". But, gradually, minds are changing. Many are fighting for better social and political recognition of this "invisible majority".

This is particularly evident in politics. Claudette Alves is the only black woman with a seat on São Paulo's city council. In this assembly, for every 50 delegates only two are black. Town Councilor Claudette Alves says: “We have an apartheid system here, not an official one like in South Africa, but this apartheid exists and is hidden from view. It is very real, we can feel it. The only ones who notice it are the ones with black skin.

It is still said around the world that we live in a racial democracy here... but this is not true!” All socio-economic indexes related to education, employment and health show disadvantages for the Afro-descendants.

Half of the 50 million poor people here are from the black community. “It is not easy being black,“ says one black man. “There are some places you go where people are clearly looking at you... there is a lot of prejudice against black people... you can feel it.” But the community is getting organized - like here at the first and only private black university in South America.

Launched five years ago, 90% of Unipalmares University's 2000 students are of African origin. It aims to create the leaders of tomorrow. There's a spirit of vindication but also of openness. José Vicente, the university's rector, explains: “We have two thousand two hundred higher education institutions in the country. None of them belong to black people, none are run by black people, nor have among their employees a significant number of black people.

You can call it whatever you want - say racism - we prefer to say that there is a problem and that we have this university to improve the situation.” Paul, a student at Unipalmares, adds: “Here is an opportunity for all social classes - those on low income, the black class. All society is joined in this social inclusion project - not only black people!”

Racism At NASCAR Finally Has A Cost of $225 million

Ever wonder why you don't see any Black Nascar drivers or members of the cockpit crews, let alone Black NASCAR officials. NASCAR relies on corporate sponsors more than any other sport. The responsibility of corporate sponsors like Ford, Walmart, and Home Depot who Black consumers spend their dollars with is to let it be known to the Nascar teams that they sponsor, that they want to see diversity and racism won't be tolerated. With the changing demographics of America, you would think that it would be in NASCAR's long term economic interest to increase its Black and minority fan base through employment diversity, but as usual, racism tends to cloud good judgement.

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NASCAR reaches deal to settle $225 million suit filed by former employee THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: December 19, 2008 CHARLOTTE -- NASCAR has settled a $225 million lawsuit filed by a former official who said she was subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment during her two-plus years working for the stock-car organization, The Associated Press has learned. The suit was settled during a Dec. 3 mediation held in New York between Mauricia Grant and NASCAR.

Settlement terms were confidential. Grant, who is black, worked as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars in NASCAR's second-tier Nationwide Series from January 2005 until her October 2007 termination. In the lawsuit filed in June in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Grant reported 23 specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of alleged racial and gender discrimination during her employment.

Among Grant's claims, she said she was referred to as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba," by co-workers, was often told she worked on "colored people time," and was frightened by one official who routinely made Ku Klux Klan references. Grant also said she was subjected to sexual advances from male co-workers, two of whom allegedly exposed themselves to her, and graphic and lewd jokes.

The Nativity- Happy Holiday And Peace To All Of God's People!

I stongly suggest that you view CNN's Special "After Jesus." I've seen only short previews, so I will hold my opinion until after the total presentation. As is the case annually, Jesus and Mary are falsely presented as Caucasian. The previews do indicate more of the same misrepresenation and distortion of the truth. Here is one of the usual pictures of Jesus and his followers you will see. Here is the viewing schedule. CNN Presents: After Jesus – The First Christians After the execution of their Messiah, the followers of Jesus scattered throughout the ancient world to escape persecution and martyrdom. In a two-hour special presentation narrated by Liam Neeson, CNN Presents explores how the story of Christianity was written and re-written in the centuries following Jesus’ death. After Jesus uses historical artwork and three-dimensional technology to reveal the complex, violent and surprising world of the first Christians. Premiere: Wednesday, Dec. 20, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (ET) Replay: Friday, Dec. 22, 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. / 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. (ET) Saturday, Dec. 23, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. / 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. (ET) Sunday, Dec. 24, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. / 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. (ET) I invite those who view this special to post your intelligent and thoughtful observations in the coming days.

After viewing this CNN special, since I am not a minister or religious scholar I can not take issue with any of the information presented. But I do disagree with the continued false presentation of  Jesus as Caucasian, especially when the public airways are used to disseminate this lie.

Kwanzaa- We Must Validate Ourselves

I recently read a New York Times article describing how ashamed Jews were world wide of the Madoff $50 billion dollar financial scandal. I immediately thought  how most eithnic groups go out of their way to support their own spiritually and financially.

 Bernard Madoff

As you will read in an excerpt from this article below, Jews world wide feel a common bond and it is through this sense of one that they have been able to uplift all.

We as Black people in America today tend not to see this bond with one another, let alone with people of African decent in other countries.  Yet it is this bond that brought us through slavery and the Civil Rights Movement with the help of sympathic whites and Jews.

As American Blacks, we wonder why we remain at the bottom of the economic, social and educational ladder in the richest country in the world, while other foreigners come here and seem to thrive, while looking down at us.

At times, many of us avoid identifying and doing business with one another to our collective detriment. Other groups make no apology for looking out for one another first because they understand that united we stand and divided we fall.

New York Times article in full: In Madoff Scandal Jews Feel A Sense Of Betrayal.

"But Jews all over the country are already sending up something of a communal cry over a cost they say goes beyond the financial to the theological and the personal.

 Here is a Jew accused of cheating Jewish organizations trying to help other Jews, they say, and of betraying the trust of Jews and violating the basic tenets of Jewish law.

A Jew, they say, who seemed to exemplify the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes of the thieving Jewish banker.

So in synagogues and community centers, on blogs and in countless conversations, many Jews are beating their chests — not out of contrition, as they do on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, but because they say Mr. Madoff has brought shame on their people in addition to financial ruin and shaken the bonds of trust that bind Jewish communities.

“Jews have these familial ties,” Rabbi Wolpe said. “It’s not solely a shared belief; it’s a sense of close communal bonds, and in the same way that your family can embarrass you as no one else can, when a Jew does this, Jews feel ashamed by proxy.

I’d like to believe someone raised in our community, imbued with Jewish values, would be better than this.”

Listen and watch below the principles and beliefs of Kwanzaa.

President George Bush today sent out a public acknowledgement of the Kwanzaa Holiday. Its the first time I've heard the national media acknowledge his affirmation of the importance of  this celebration.

I wonder if it has anything to do with Obama's pending presidency:) Regardless, we must not wait for others to validate the importance of Kwanzaa before we, as people of African decent, realize that we share a common bond.  Unless we start to love and respect ourselves more, and support one another financially and emotionally, unless we define our own beauty and sense of self worth, unless we put our children, our women and our family first, then the rest of the world will continue treat us with disrespect.

Below are the 7 Principals of Kwanzaa. A Celebration Of Family,Community and Culture.

Read them to yourself, your child , your family and by all means do what ever you can to pratice them. Our future depends on it.

NGUZO SABA (The Seven Principles) --------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

2. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

3. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.

4. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

5. Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

6. Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

7. Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. ­ Maulana Karenga

Obama's election has taught us a major positive lesson "Yes We Can!"