October: Recognition of the 25 Greatest Impact African-American Athletes of All-Time

Article 7, Volume 3                                                                October 15, 2013
Interest: Nationwide Sports
2nd Release: May 29, 2016

The 25 Greatest Impact African-American Athletes of All-Time

The month of October is designated as the month to give recognition to the African-American athletes whose play on the fields, in the gyms, rings, tracks and other places had an impact on their individual sport. Plus, society, race relation and goodwill around the world.  Selecting the 25 greatest is one of the hardest jobs I have participated in during my journalistic career.

How can you separate one from the other? It was not easy. We really had a whole lot of top flight athletes in the mix.

Tonight I am going to name the first six and later present you with a brief narrative as to why they were chosen.

1. Jack Johnson - Heavyweight Boxing Champion

2. Jessie Owens - Track, Olympic Champion, 1936

3. Joe Louis - Heavyweight Boxing Champion

4. Jackie Robinson - Major League Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers rookie 1947.

5. Larry Doby - Major League Baseball, Cleveland Indians rookie 1947

6. Althea Gibson -Tennis - First woman of color to win a Grand Slam tournament 1956

7. Tiger Woods - Golf

8. Mohammad Ali - Boxing

9. Serena Williams - Tennis (perhaps top female player of all-time)

10. Carl Lewis - Track and Field- Participated in 4 Olympics ( won 9 gold medals) 

11. Michael Jordan - Professional Basketball

12. Jim Brown - Professional Football

   ( This listing was updated on July 28, 2016)  See Article 1, Volume 7, dated 7/30/2016

                             Copyright 2013. Grady E. Bryant, Sr.

College athletes should be paid or use their clout: Boycott the bowl games

Article 6, Volume 3                                                                        October 15, 2013

Nationwide Sports

College Seniors Can Boycott the Bowl Games

What is the risk if seniors form a union and boycott the bowl games? Minimal for the players, big for the recipients of the millions of dollars made from the virtual free labor the players generate.

Players can create little pockets of unity by forming small unions such as "All Players United" and try to get their voices heard. They will probably be heard but their request will be turned down again and again.

The reason they are turned down is because they don't have enough clout. A pocket of players here and a pocket of players there, but no united front.The players, through their hard and dedicated work, are helping some coaches make over $5 million a year. Whereas, they (the players) can't even accept a ride from the coach or get extra towels without facing some kind of repercussion. It just ain't right.

Look, they just added another layer to the football championship that will generate more than a Billion dollars when the whole economic impact is considered. What do the players get. Zero as in nothing.

My recommended solution. The seniors and top players who are planning to enter the draft can unite and hold out for some cash compensation before participating in the bowl games.. What do they have to lose? Most of them are not coming back for the next semester anyway. If so, they can pay their own tuition and expenses for the last semester or whenever they decide to come back.

They are going to the various combines or football camps anyway, so what difference will it make if they have to pay their tuition.They are going to be vying for million dollars and more contracts.

It is true everybody is not going to make a professional team. It is also true that if everybody stay in school, everybody is not going to graduate.

Just need to get some of the high profile athletes on board.

Many will feel that they owe the college. Well, you paid the college when you agreed to play football and fly all over the country and help generate funds to help sponsor none revenue sports such as tennis, softball, field hockey and a few others.The thing about that is the players on those teams don't realize that your work in football (basketball too) paid for their scholarship.

I read an excellent story by Alicia Jessop in the September edition of Forbes magazine, titled, "The Economic of College Football: A Look At the Top-25 Teams' Revenues and Expenses."

Alicia's article points out that the football revenue for the top 25 teams exceed 1.2 billion dollars a year.

Anyway you look at it, that is a lot of money.

Sean Gregory, in his September 28, 2013 article  stated that "College Athletes Need to Unionize, Now." He reported that the Big Ten commissioner and other men in key position are harden their position. Well, I believe a bowl boycott will bring them to the table in a hurry.

Look at this way, in many cases the top senior players know their draft potential, so missing a bowl game is not going to affect their draft status. They can prove their worth at the combines

Let us consider the case of Clowney, the football player at South Carolina. What if he would have decided to take the rest of the year off and let his injuries heal. He would probably be despised in South Carolina, but cheered by many others because he considered his future. Folks in the draft business said that if he had decided not to play, his draft status would have remained intact. That is business.

I am not a high profile writer or union organizer, but it sure appears to me that if seniors and key players unite and demand some compensation for participating in bowl games, the NCAA and college presidents will have to put the players demands on the front burner.

                                      Copyright 2013.Grady E. Bryant, Sr.

If the truth be told: Most fair skinned Afro-Americans, I believe, ancestors are Caucasians and not Indians.

Article 1, Volume 6                                                        Published: December 30. 2015

                                       

The  story of blacks being descendants of whites and not Indians

As children growing up in Suffolk, Virginia we were always told that our fore parents were mixed with Indians. I had no reason to believe anything else. Most of us accepted  that explanation from our parents and older relatives as truth. Looking back, I believe that they just told us what they were told.

As I became older, I just got more curious. I wondered, if I'm part Indian, how come I don't see any Indians in the families, neighborhood, or city mingling with the black families? I mean, with the large population of us black folks, there should be some Indians present.

My grandmother, Ada, mother of ten children,on my father side was a member of the Hayslett's family from the southern end of  Nansemond County(now Suffolk City) near Gates County, N.C. My limited research disclosed that the family was rooted in Europe. It was often said that some members of the family could pass for white.

Her husband, my grandfather, Paul was clearly a descendant of an African family. I believe his ancestors were from Ghana or Nigeria.

My grandmother, Emma, on my mother side was from the Eure family in Gates County, N.C. (it borders Suffolk). She had some features of an Indians but her roots, I believe, were blended in with the white Eure family in Gates. In fact, there is a town in Gates County, named Eure.  My fair skinned  grandmother, Emma, was the mother of seven children, was well taken care of  by her white ancestors.  She received a huge inheritance of land. (No, no, no, none of it reached my mother or her children). 

My information on my mother's side of the family is sketchy.  I just couldn't get anybody to tell me much. But then, I suspect, they ( the persons I was asking) didn't know much. 

Although we were told that grandma Emma was part Indian. Maybe part, but my limited research disclosed that her ancestors were European with  African blood in the mixed. My research is still active.

You may ask, Why bring it up?  Does it really matter?

No, it really does not matter from some viewpoints. However, history is what it is. It is good for our children to know the truth as they try to explain things to their children.

The Hayslett family is not the only mixed family near the North Carolina border. Other known mixed   African- Americans and Caucasians with European roots are the Boone, Skeeter and Brinkley families. This information is available in the history books pertaining to Suffolk, Virginia.

The history of these families can be traced back to the 1700's or earlier.

The student body at East Suffolk High, the high school for Colored Children (that is what we were recorded as back then.  If somebody call somebody black, he or she would be sent home by a teacher or the Principal), consisted of about 20 percent of us fair skinned students.  Most of us, I believe, thought we were descendents of Indians, even though we had never had any association with Indians. The only Indians most of us saw, were the Indians in the cowboy movies.  

History is what it is.  

In Part 2,  I will discuss the Afro-American, Indian and Caucasian relationship from a broader base.

                           Copyright 2015. Grady E. Bryant, Sr. All Rights Reserved.

Pleasant Hill and South Suffolk in Suffolk, VA was more violent in the fifties and sixties than now

Article 4 Volume 3                                                                   May 10, 2013

In the fifties and sixties violence occurred often in Pleasant Hill and South Suffolk. We didn't have newspapers and television covering negro news back then, like they do now. Some of my good friends were recently expressing their opinion about how calm and peaceful everything were in the good ole days in the community. 

I remember the quiet peaceful days when I grew up on Baker Street.  Also, I remember some very violent times too.

I discussed those times with my brother Al "Pete" Bryant and Frank Kahan.  We recalled murdering, robbery, rape and shootings galore.

I'm going to do a street by street review of some of the violence that occurred in what some call the " good ole days." All of these events happened in the late fifties and early sixties.

300 block of Duke Street
 A man was shot dead on his front porch while holding a baby in his arms.

300 block of Baker Street
A man was killed and his body put on the railroad track.

200 block of Webb Street
A lady was sliced to death with a knife. She ran into our backyard in the 200 block of Baker Street and died. It was all about some matter involving children.

300 block of Webb Street
My friend Bob King was gunned down by a 13 year old teenager. He died in the middle of the street.

300 block of Hunter Street
A man was killed and his body was left  in a ditch.

There was also lots of violence at both ends of Hunter Street. On the west end was Pond Town and on the east end was a community called "Little Korea."(named after the conflict in Korea).We were advised to stay out of those communities at night. Well in Pond Town, the Webb Street section was okay.

300 block of Pleasant Street
A man was killed in a house early one Sunday morning.  The shooting was senseless.

A short period later, in the same house, the lady of the house who was confined to a wheelchair and her son, who was home on military leave was gunned down. Again, senseless, and about nothing.

200 block of Charlotte Ave
A man was cut with a razor blade by a woman. He survived.

100 block of Lewis Ave
Homicide. (reference omitted)

Cedar Street
Homicide. (reference omitted)

Woodrow Ave
Mr. Mary, a prominent barber in the community was robbed and killed.

Spruce and Lewis Ave
Guck (nickname) King was killed.

That is a total of 12 murders that occurred in our neighborhood in a short span of time.  There are more, but by choice, I elect not to cite them.

There was also a group of young men who called themselves the untouchables. They were involved in criminal activities.

A group of young men robbed a bank. Hid the money in mattress in a home on Webb Street. Somebody talked. The robbers were jailed.

Rape occurred, but it was generally a waste of time to report it to the police. The women and girls were often blamed and the rapists were seldom charged if the victim was a black woman or girl.

There was also a young man who terrorized the whole community. We prayed and prayed that he would be arrested. My sister Audrey came home one day with her dress ripped. She told us that this mean spirited  youth had cut her dress with a knife.  Eventually he was arrested for other crimes and spent a lot of his youthful years and early adult life  in confinement..

 In those days these crimes didn't get too much media attention. You might see a four line paragraph in the Suffolk News Herald. Many citizens in the community didn't read newspapers or listen to the radio.. In fact, a lot of the citizens probably never heard about these incidents.

 I doubt if there have been as many homicides in the community in the last 49 years as there were in the eight year period cited in this report.

Violence in the neighborhood is bad now, but it was probably worse in the "good ole days."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Similar story will be published on Grady Bryant's East Suffolk High Looking Back website. in June 2013.


                                Copyright Grady E. Bryant 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Golf's Tiger Woods Officiating Factor: Fans can help officiate games from their living rooms.Woe be to sports if this practice expands

Article 3 Volume 3                                                                                       May 9, 2013

                                    Tiger Woods Factor: Golf's Peculiar Rules for Officiating Games

Golf is really getting bizarre. Just think, fans calling in rules violations, and the rules committee going into action like out of control cops. What if this practice was in effect in football and basketball. What kind of officiating would we have?

Imagine, a football player scoring on a 90 yard punt return, and some arm chair guy calling the TV station and saying he spotted a clip that was not called. The play is reviewed, and the game results are changed. What a mess we would have on our hand.

Also, imagine an arm chair viewer presenting enough evidence to prove that Michael Jordan pushed off before he made his famous series determining jump shot.  As a result, of the arm chair viewer input the final outcome is reversed. What chaos that would have been.

In baseball, a pitcher was recently denied a perfect game because the umpire missed the call at first base on the 27th batter. The umpire owned up to his mistake, but on the field it didn't matter. What was called on the field is what stood.

Of course, this scenarios  could go on and on. 

But poor Tiger Woods can't get a break, because every move he makes on the golf course is recorded. Whereas, some guys are never on camera.

In reality, I have to admit that is probably going to be the way the game of golf is officiated as long as Tiger is in the spotlight. Let's hope it does not spread to other sports. If so, we may have to wait 24 hours to get the final result of a a sports contest.

Let's hope arm chair officiating doesn't become a way of the times in all sports. If so, we will have real chaos on our hands.

Copyright Grady Bryant 2012. All Rights Reserved.

I am not taking my Christmas Tree Down This Year!! I'm Going to Leave It Up Year-Round For special occasions

Article 2, Vol 3                                                January 19, 2013

The Christmas Tree Story

 Finding justification to put up the Christmas tree up every year started to cloud my mind. Why? I would ask. The answer I received from different persons would be words to this effect, "Well, you know we being doing this a long time. " Then, I ask, "Does the tree have anything to do with the birth of Jesus?"  This question would generate a lot of different answers, some would say yes, others would say no, and many would admit that they didn't know. However, most of them could not support their .

 So, I did my own research, and my findings supported my long felt belief - Christmas trees do not have anything to do with the birth of Christ.

***See my research, in part, below.

My thoughts went back to Christmas 2011. Two sisters at a local church spent about 2 hours trying to screw in the parts of an artificial Christmas tree. Two men came by and offered their help. Still, after an hour, the four of them could not figure out how to put the tree together. The men had to leave.  The women spent about another hour trying to make the parts fit. They were unsuccessful.

Finally, they gave up and went to the store and bought another tree. Hallelujah. That was a wonderful idea. One of the women, lamented, "Why didn't we do that earlier?"


Since the tree does not relate to Jesus birth or Christmas, I figure, why don't I just leave it up at home year round.

This is my story:

The Christmas Tree Redefined

"The Prosperity Tree"

Nope, I am not taking my Christmas tree down this year. Too much trouble.It's going to be a year - round special occasions tree.

In January, we are going to use it to put our gifts under for birthdays and wedding anniversaries.

The green leaves is going to mean we got a little bit of money, and some green veggies.

In February, we gonna put our Valentine Day gifts under the tree.Then we gonna Give God the praise like we always do. Them green leaves gonna represent we got a little bit of money and some Green veggies.

In March, we gonna celebrate the beginning of Spring. We gonna thank God for bringing us through another winter.Then we gonna prepare for the oncoming farming season, even if we don't farm, somebody gotta farm if we want to eat. Also, we gonna celebrate Palm Sunday, the Passover and Resurrection Sunday.

 `We gonna look at that tree and them green leaves, and in our mind they are going to represent life, grace and gratitude.

Well, that's the first quarter of the year. More to come. But that is enough for now.

So, in March my former Christmas tree will still be standing tall. But it is going to have a new name,

It's gonna be known as, "The Prosperity Tree."

*** The Christmas tree is full of symbolic meaning for the Christian tradition, but there is no immediate between Jesus and the practice. However, the evergreen has a rich history of religious significance among pagan cultures, which is why some Christians have rejected the tradition outright.   {1} see credit

Long before it was incorporated into the Christian tradition, the Solstice Evergreen was a common pagan symbol in many cultures throughout the world. The tree was a reminder of the life that never dies in pagan cultures. {2}

History clearly shows that the origin of the Christmas tree usage was started by the pagan. {3}

Today, however, Christians and Catholics have put forth justifications that sounds good to them to justify the usage of the Christmas tree during the Christmas season.

{1} {2} {3} What's in the Bible, and information from a variety of historical sources on the Internet.

Also, my research included other books and material on the subject.

  

Copyright 2013 Grady E. Bryant, Sr. All Rights Reserved. 



Providence Baptist Church, Leesburg: Watch Meeting was inspirational

Article I, Volume III                            January 1, 2013

 Providence Baptist in Leesburg, VA - Watch Meeting

The Watch Meeting on December 31, 2012 at Providence Baptist Church was very inspirational.  There were songs of praise, testimony, and prayers.

The highlight of the evening was the message by the pastor, Reverend Dr. Herbert C. Love, Jr. For scripture, he used verses from Proverbs, Chapter 4.  His text was "Ankle Deep Religion."

His message, paraphrased, included the following: 

 >  When you are in ankle deep water, you don't worry about drowning. There is hardly any risk. In your religious practice if you always resist doing the things which can show you as a Christian because somebody might criticize you or you can't do certain things because it would be inconvenient for you, then you are showing the signs of an angle deep christian. Being a Christian is going to require you to step into deep waters sometimes.

As a Christian, you have to go places or do things sometimes when you don't feel like it.

As Christians, you should learn how to swim in deep waters, and those things that seems hard will be easy. Have you ever noticed  persons who can really swim? Notice how assuredly they move in the water. In Christianity once you get anchored, you can swim in the deep waters of life.

Don't worry about the Fiscal Cliff, if it happens, it happens.  God Will provide. You are going to have food on the table and a roof over your head.  Just believe and trust, and you will be able to survive in deep waters. Do not be dismayed. Just trust in God. He will provide.<

After the message, we all gathered at the altar for prayer.

The congregation included children from age two, teens and adults of varying ages.  It was an occasion suitable for all ages.

Deacon Blount was present. Sister Marie Love was the musician. Sister Tina Ellis provided the ushering service.

The sister in the kitchen put a soulful touch on them black eye peas. The kitchen staff did a wonderful job.

To cap off the evening, we gathered in the kitchen to share black eye peas, rice, cornbread and cake before going to our various homes.

It was a wonderful way to start the New Year.




 Copyright 2013. Grady E. Bryant, Sr.