Mo’Ne Davisjust gave us all one more reason to love her. The history-making teen athlete is pairing with M4D3, a social enterprise that collaborates with organizations and personalities to raise funds and help create social change. M4D3, which stands for Make A Difference Everyday, is currently joining forces with Because I Am A Girl, “a global initiative to end gender inequality, promote girls’ rights and lift millions of girls – and everyone around them – out of poverty.”
Through the new partnership, Davis is designing her own line of sneakers to aid girls who are victimized by poverty in developing countries. The limited edition kicks are running for $75 a pair, and 15% of all sales will go to Plan International USA’s Because I am a Girl initiative—a campaign to lift four million girls in the developing world out of poverty.
Mo’Ne Davis by M4D3, the designer’s collection, is quite stylish too. The sneakers are currently available for pre-order in three color options. They are lace-up suede and canvas, and feature symbolic baseball stitching. What’s super cool is each sneaker is marked with a fine “Mo’Ne” signature print on the sides.
“I never thought at the age of 13 I’d be a role model, but having young girls look up to me is pretty cool,” Davis said, according to Clutch. “If I can inspire them to reach their goals, that would be even cooler. Designing shoes with M4D3 is exciting and I wanted them to support Because I am a Girl to help girls and give them a chance at a better future.”
Well, there you have it. Mo’Ne Davis is officially one of our favorite humans on the planet. The sneakers are available in women and kid sizes. article by Essence Gant via blackenterprise.com
Kevin Garnett has purchased 1,000 tickets that will be given to Timberwolves fans to show his appreciation for their warm welcome to his return to Minnesota.
The team announced Sunday morning that Garnett bought the tickets for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers, reports NBA.com. Starting at 9AM Monday, the first 500 fans to claim tickets on http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/kg will receive a pair of tickets to the game.
“The response and support I’ve received from Wolves fans since my return to Minnesota has been nothing short of amazing. It’s been unbelievable,” Garnett said. “As a gesture of thanks, I would like to treat some fans to Monday night’s game against the Clippers. Love you all, and thanks for the love. Enjoy the game on me.” article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com
After showing herself to be in the elite class of female runners at the Austin Marathon, Kenyan Hyvon Ngetich hit the wall — hard. She didn’t win, despite leading for most of the day. But the way Ngetich finished the race is being celebrated, because she did it by crawling, refusing to quit.
Her fortitude paid off: Even though she crept to the finish line, Ngetich finished third, with a time of 3:04:02.68.
As the crowd realized what was happening in front of them — that the race’s former leader was refusing to be put in a wheelchair that organizers brought out onto the course, and she was insisting on finishing under her own power — they cheered her on.
“Running, always, you have to keep going, going,” Ngetich told local TV station KEYE after the race. She said that she doesn’t recall the final 2 kilometers of the marathon or crossing the finish line.
http://youtu.be/T6UG9PaABc8
Ngetich accomplished her feat Saturday. But her story is still making headlines today and being cited as an inspiration, as more and more people discuss the elite runner who finished a marathon on all fours.
“I’ve seen athletes wobble and fall; I’ve seen athletes crawl across the finish line,” Austin Marathon Race Director Jon Conley told CBS News Monday. “But that story of her going 26 miles, and then crawling the last 450 feet or so — never seen anything like it.”
The women’s winner was Cynthia Jerop, who finished in 2:54:21.78. Ngetich finished some 10 minutes later — and just three seconds shy of second place. But after her display of will, Conley and the Austin Marathon adjusted Ngetich’s prize money to equal that of the second-place finisher. article by Bill Chappell via npr.org
Cam Newton (Image: Twitter)
With it now being NFL offseason, Carolina Panthers star quarterback Cameron Newton is returning to his old stomping grounds, Auburn University, to complete his degree.
After winning the BCS National Championship, Newton decided to forgo his senior year of college to start his career as a professional athlete. He was drafted first round in the 2011 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, which is the same year he was selected as the winner of the Heisman Trophy.
Now, returning to the university for the third straight spring semester, Newton is making strides to complete his sociology degree and is reportedly on track to graduate this coming May. article by Courtney Connley via blackenterprise.com
Don’t even attempt to front on Snoop Dogg’s Youth Football League.
After last week’s National Signing Day, Snoop’s gridiron program has churned out 20 more Division-I college football players, TMZ Sports is reporting. The group is led by nationally-recruited players such as defensive back Iman Marshall(USC) and Snoop’s own son, Cordell Broadus, a UCLA-bound wide receiver.
“I’m extremely proud to have coached and mentored these young men,” Snoop Youth Football League commissioner HaamidWadood told TMZ Sports. “I speak on behalf of Snoop and my entire SYFL staff and all the coaches and volunteers. We just want to thank the parents for trusting in us and believing in us in building a foundation for these kids in giving them the opportunity for helping them achieve their goals on becoming a great player and teammates.”
Of course, these committed players will all be trying to work towards an NFL contract, the way that Snoop Youth Football League alum such as running backs Ronnie Hillman and De’Anthony Thomas along with cornerbacks Kam Jackson and Greg Ducre were able to accomplish.
With increasing success, nearly 1,700 players signed up to participate in the rapper’s football program last season alone. A complete list of the 20 Division-I players to come out of Snoop’s league this season could be found below.
Cordell Broadus
Years of hard work and a reality show later, Cordell Broadus has officially announced that he’ll be playing football for the UCLA Bruins.
Ranked as the #14 Wide Receiver prospect in the country, the son of superstar rapper Snoop Dogg will join a UCLA program that made him an offer since he was just a ninth grader. He chose the Bruins over LSU, Arizona State and his father’s favorite school, USC.
The Long Beach native moved his son to Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, to give Cordell the best opportunity to grow athletically and academically. And with NFL regulations stating that a student-athlete must be at least three years removed from high school, fans will have the delight of watching the standout recruit make plays for several years to come. article by @TheKidSkoob via theurbandaily.com
At Good Black News, February is an especially invigorating time. When Black History Month rolls around, people have more interest than normal in African-American history, music and culture, and GBN inevitably benefits from the heightened exposure. We make an extra effort to provide a wide variety of information and stories (historical and current) during this time, and point to events and programming we find to be educational as well as entertaining.
Even so, we are a small operation with limited (albeit growing) reach, and we know a lot of black folks feel skeptical about BHM — it always seems like the same old, same old — Martin, Malcolm, Rosa, and the black movie, tv show or person du jour get celebrated in the national news, and then everybody forgets (or tries to forget) about African-American history until next year.
Last night, however, as I was flipping through cable before going to bed, I noticed there was not only an increased amount of black programming (and not just on BET or TV One or PBS), it was more varied than ever. So much so, I wasn’t even sure what to watch: “Angel Heart” with Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke, a horror thriller set in New Orleans and the world of voodoo (which reminded me of a time where the media considered Bonet the controversial one from “The Cosby Show”), “School Daze”, the Spike Lee movie set at an all-black college in the South, or “Iceberg Slim: Portait of a Pimp”, a 2012 documentary produced by Ice T, primarily chronicling the author’s experiences in Chicago and Los Angeles.
I had been thinking about “School Daze” earlier that day, so I took it as a sign and flipped to that. It was the scene where the light-skinned sorority girls (lead by Tisha Campbell-Martin and Jasmine Guy) bump into the dark-skinned girls (lead by Kyme and Joie Lee) and go into a full-on musical fantasy where they square off as they sing “Good and Bad Hair.”
My jaw about dropped — I saw this movie in the theatre when I was in college, but I’d forgotten how provocative the lyrics and the visuals were. I mean, this movie was released in 1988 and had black women going hard for each other over hair, calling each other “high-yellow” and “jigaboo,” holding up fans with images of Hattie McDaniel as Mammy and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett to taunt one another! Up until Chris Rock‘s 2009 documentary “Good Hair,” when had this subject matter ever received exposure in mainstream entertainment?
I’d also forgotten how talented the actors and dancers were/are, blending traditional and historical dancing styles and choreography with contemporary steps, and how creative and original Lee was to even imagine doing a number like this in what was then only his second motion picture.
The next scene was a frat hazing scene where pledges where being paddled and this all-too-real violence (as well as the abhorrent misogyny that would soon be coming down the pipe) made me realize the film was deeper and pointed to more problems and issues in the black community than I’d recalled. “School Daze” received its share of flak (at the time and over the years) for being the hodgepodge of styles that it is, but it’s an important, innovative part of Lee’s work as well as black cinema, as relevant as “Dear White People” is in 2015, and fully worth a re-watch and discussion with the new generation of young people and college students.
Jazzed from this rediscovery, I flipped over to the Iceberg Slim documentary. Although I’ve known about Iceberg Slim for decades, I’ve never read his work, dismissing it based on its categorization as “gangsta” literature. Having matured since my 20s however (at least I think I have), I realized I really didn’t know anything about Iceberg Slim other than my perception, so perhaps I should learn more. I’m so glad I did. Not only was the documentary particularly well-executed (creative visuals, innovative music, interesting talking heads and dynamic footage of old Slim interviews), I learned what an intelligent man (Robert Beck) lay behind the Iceberg Slim persona, and how he wrote books such as “Pimp” and “Trick Baby” as cautionary tales rather than celebrations of street life. Even though I don’t (neither does he in his later years) condone or excuse his repulsive criminal behavior and abuse of women, I do recognize he artfully captured and described a very real part of the black experience in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
I also had no idea “Trick Baby” was made into a motion picture by Universal, which helped spur the burgeoning “Blaxploitation” film boom in the 1970s, or that he lived for years only ten blocks away from my grandparents in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles/Inglewood. It was equally fascinating to learn Birdman of Cash Money Entertainment acquired the rights to “Pimp” and Slim’s other works to keep them alive on the Cash Money Content imprint via Simon & Schuster. And now I want to read those books and get that movie.
All in all, these late-night viewings made me even more excited and energized about Black History Month. And when I looked at my DVR this morning, I saw a variety of options casually waiting for me there, too: the latest episodes of the “Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore”, “How To Get Away With Murder”, “Empire”, “Black-ish” and what I hear via Twitter was an incredible performance by D’Angelo on “Saturday Night Live” last night. If that wasn’t enough, I started writing this piece while watching NFL QB Russell Wilson attempt to lead the Seattle Seahawks to back-to-back Super Bowl wins, which, if he does, will be a first for an African-American quarterback. (And btw, what an unexpected treat to see Missy Elliott featured in the halftime show with Katy Perry — Missy was fire!)
We all have the ability, even casually, to celebrate and discover (or re-discover) our history, music, literature and culture and I invite all GBN followers to comment, tweet, email or share any unexpected, positive BHM experiences you have. I’m going to continue to chronicle mine alongside more formally-presented stories and articles — looking forward to hearing yours as well!
Onward and upward! Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder/Editor-In-Chief
NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Wendell Scott Announced last May, the news finally became official: as of tonight, African-American race car driver Wendell Scott is the first black man inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Scott drove during the Jim Crow era, and he was the first African-American to win a race at NASCAR’s elite major league level. He died in 1990. His career began in 1952, and his racing team was his family. They would travel to races together from their home in Virginia, and his sons served as his pit crew. Wendell Scott’s son Frank Scott (left) and grandson Warrick Scott at StoryCorps in Danville, Va. Wendell Scott, who died in 1990, was one of the first African-American NASCAR drivers to win a race at the elite level.
“It was like Picasso, like a great artist doing his work,” says Scott’s son, Frank, 67, at StoryCorps. “And he was in that car, he was doing his work. And as children we didn’t have that leisure time, you know, we couldn’t go to the playground. He said to us, ‘I need you at the garage.’ I can remember him getting injured, and he’d just take axle grease and put it in the cut and keep working.”
But Scott wasn’t allowed to race at certain speedways. When he planned to go to Atlanta, he even received death threats.
“Daddy said, ‘Look, if I leave in a pine box, that’s what I gotta do. But I’m gonna race,’ ” Frank says. “I can remember him racing in Jacksonville, and he beat them all, but they wouldn’t drop the checkered flag. And then when they did, they had my father in third place. One of the main reasons that they gave was there was a white beauty queen, and they always kissed the driver.”
“Did he ever consider not racing anymore?” asks Scott’s grandson, Warrick, 37.
“Never,” Frank says. “That was one of my daddy’s sayings: ‘When it’s too tough for everybody else, it’s just right for me.’ ”
Before the Atlanta 500 in 1964, Scott was sick and needed an operation, but he refused not to race.
“And so, I said, ‘Daddy, we don’t have to race,’ ” Frank says. “He whispered to me and said, ‘Lift my legs up and put me in the car.’ So, I took my arms and put them behind his legs and kind of acted like I was hugging him and helped him into the car. He drove 500 miles that day.”
Wendell Scott (right) and his son Frank in Darlington, S.C., in 1970. Wendell Scott becomes the first African-American driver inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday. (Courtesy of the Scott family)
“How did his racing career officially end?” Warrick asks.
Scott’s career ended only because he couldn’t afford to race anymore. No one would financially support his career.
“Where other drivers that we were competing against had major sponsorships, providing them engineers, as many cars as they needed,” Frank says, “he did everything that he did out of his own pocket.
“He always felt like someday he’s going to get his big break,” Frank adds. “But for 20 years nobody mentioned Wendell Scott. At one point it was like he never existed. But he didn’t let it drive him crazy. I think that’s what made him so great. He chose to be a race car driver, and he was going to race until he couldn’t race no more.” Produced for Morning Edition by Jud Esty-Kendall and John White. To hear audio of this story, click through to npr.org.
The Chicago Cubs’ Ernie Banks poses in 1970. The Cubs announced Friday night that Banks had died. The team did not provide any further details. Banks was 83
Baseball’s Chicago Cubs report that Hall of Fame shortstop Ernie Banks has died. “Mr. Cub,” who began his career in the Negro leagues, was the first black player for the team — eighth in the majors overall — and played in 14 All-Star games in his 19 seasons, all with the Cubs.
“Forty-four years after his retirement, Banks holds franchise records for hits, intentional walks and sacrifice flies and in RBIs since 1900,” MLB.com reports. “He likely holds club records for smiles and handshakes as well. … His 2,528 games are the most by anyone who never participated in postseason play. Chicago never held him responsible for that and believed he deserved better.”
Banks, who was 83, was named National League MVP in 1958 and 1959, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
His back-to-back MVP awards were among the few given to players on losing teams, notes The Associated Press:
“Banks’ best season came in 1958, when he hit .313 with 47 homers and 129 RBIs. Though the Cubs went 72-82 and finished sixth in the National League, Banks edged Willie Mays and Hank Aaron for his first MVP award. He was the first player from a losing team to win the NL MVP.
“Banks won the MVP again in 1959, becoming the first NL player to win it in consecutive years, even though the Cubs had another dismal year. Banks batted .304 with 45 homers and a league-leading 143 RBIs.”
Boxing icon Muhammad Ali (pictured) was released from a hospital Tuesday night after being admitted nearly three weeks ago with what was presumed to be pneumonia. Now it is being reported that the champ was being treated for a severe urinary tract infection, according to NBC News.
The 72-year-old, three-time world heavyweight champ also suffers from Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating neurological illness that has practically stilled his voice and slowed his movements for the last 30 years.
Reportedly, Ali is back home with his family and is now looking forward to celebrating his 73rd birthday on January 17. Ali’s spokesperson, Bob Gunnell told ESPN, “He’s in great spirits and enjoying being back home.” Gunnell said. “He’s back in his daily routine.”
Even though Ali’s public profile has been low over the last few years, he still manages to get out every now and then. Last September Ali was spotted at an outing where he sat in the bleachers supporting his grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh, as the latter played football alongside Cordell Broadus, the son of famed rapper, Snoop Dogg. The two young players with famous bloodlines are reportedly stellar gridiron athletes with scholarship potential.
Meanwhile, according to Gunnell, the Ali family is thankful for the show of love and support for the champ from well-wishers everywhere. “The Ali family greatly appreciates the outpouring of support and continued well wishes. They also want to thank the team of doctors and nurses for their exceptional care,” he said. article by Ruth Manuel-Logan via theurbandaily.com
