Common Knowledge

Opportunities Lost

                        

"Seize opportunity by the beard, for it is bald behind."

                                                

                                                --Bulgarian Proverb--

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."

                                                     --Demosthenes--

         Where has all the black players gone in Major League Baseball?  I am sure more than a few people that have watched the game over the past three decades have asked that question.  Baseball used to the barometer of opportunity in sports for African-Americans.  Now it is an after thought.  After the desegregation of baseball in the late 1940's the African-American representation in baseball steadily grew until it peaked at about 25% in the late 1970's. Then the representation declined until it reached its lowest point of about 10%, which is about where it stands today.  Yet that is not the sad fact.  The sad fact is that most African-Americans, especially African-Americans under the age of twenty-five, could care less.  The simple unarticulated truth is that some where between Willie Mays, Reggie Jackson, and Barry Bonds baseball became a "non black sport."

         Before any of y'all start writing comments to chasten me for writing something that appears to be racist, let me assure you that is not my intend or my point.  I do not agree with that sentiment, but the numbers speaks for themselves.  The numbers I am referring to are, for lack of better description, popularity numbers.  Baseball has struggled to keep up in popularity with basketball and football with younger folks especially young African-Americans for the past two decades.  That is a fact.  The reasons for that fact are debatable, but what is true is that baseball must compete with basketball and football in this country for attention and the best athletes.  And baseball is struggling to keep up in most American communities, particularly in the African-American community.

         The reasons for baseball's problems in shoring up its popularity within the African-American community are not as important to me in this article as the fact that the diminishing African-American presence in baseball represents missed opportunities for many athletes in the African-American community.  I am sure some young brother out there may ask the question "how does it represent missed opportunities?"  And my answer is I am glad you asked that question.

         Most good athletes are two to three sport athletes that at some point in either high school or college will choose which sport they will concentrate their attention.  Since many young African-Americans are not that interested in baseball they also may not choose to play it at the little league level through high school and into college so there is no chance of choosing that sport to try to make it as a professional.  In addition, baseball is a sport where fundamentals and technique is more important than sheer talent, which means normally in order for a player to become good or even great at baseball they need time to develop their skills.  If young brothers are not playing baseball at a young age they are tremendously disadvantaged in succeeding in the sport. 

         In 1991 a program named RBI was started with the mission to recapture the attention of the younger generation in the African-American community.  Now there are over a hundred of RBI programs all around the country.  There are at least three RBI programs in Chicago.  Yet, it has not been able to stem the tide of diminishing numbers of African-Americans in baseball.  This is a tragedy because there are a number of young brothers around the country that are missing their calling and the advantages that choosing to play baseball can give them.

         Baseball has several advantages that football (my favorite sport) and basketball does not.  I will name two.  Baseball has the best collective bargaining agreement of all of the American sports.  Its players union also has the most leverage of either of the three major American sports.  I am no expert, but I think the contracts are guaranteed and there appears to be more protection for the average player in baseball than any of the other sports.  But that is just the tip of the iceberg of the benefits to playing baseball professionally as opposed to playing either of the other two major American sports.

         In my opinion, the best benefit to playing baseball professionally is the chance to have a longer paid career.  What does that mean?  Generally speaking a baseball player has more opportunities to make it professionally than basketball and football.  I want to be clear that I am writing about overall or general odds, not specific situations.  Of course a first round draft choice in either basketball, which has a rookie salary cap, and football are much more likely to make big money quicker than a first round draft choice in baseball.  However, when you take into account that baseball players do not have to go to college to be drafted, they are able to be drafted right out high school, and that there is no rookie salary cap or any salary cap what so ever there is more opportunity for the young developing talent to take time to blossom while still making some money.  Ten years ago it was not unusual for teams to pay $100,000 signing bonus for the amateur draft.  This is a lot of money that is paid to people that may never play one game at the Major League level.  The same is not true with football and basketball, even a first round bust will normally play at least a few games before they wash out.  Furthermore, if an athlete has a strong pitching arm that is able to throw a fastball at 95+ mph even more opportunity is typically given to develop and succeed as a professional. 

         The bottom line is that both baseball and our community are losing out on opportunities.  Baseball may be losing good athletes to basketball or football or to nine to five jobs and there are a lot of young brothers out there that were good athletes that did not make it in football or basketball that could be collecting a good salary on some Major League Baseball team right now.  It is a shame.  If you do not believe me; look at last year's World Series runner up Houston Astros.  That team had no African-American players on their starting team.

It is Time to Stop the Cycle of Insanity

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

--Albert Einstein--

“Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”

--Friedrich Nietzsche--

I was all set to write an article about the diminishing African-American presence in Major League Baseball (“MLB”) and how that represents missed opportunities for both MLB and the African-American community. I guess that article will have to wait until next week. After I read the story about the eight ministers that presided over a “crisis prayer” service in Harvey, Illinois in the Star Newspaper last Sunday I was compelled to write this article. I am sorry but this must be said. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO QUIT DOING DUMB STUFF WHEN IT COMES TO HOLDING OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE?!!!

Harvey, Illinois is currently embroiled in a mayoral election campaign cycle that will end in early 2007 with the local elections. The current mayor is seeking reelection after his first term has expired. He has several challengers. That is the typical election stuff. There are real issues that the City of Harvey has been experiencing for the past decade like one of the highest unemployment rates in the south suburbs, high crime rates, and a loss of investment or business development. The truth is that it does not matter who is sitting in the mayor’s office, these issues will remain and must be dealt with. Even a dedicated, highly intelligent, creative, energetic, resourceful mayor and city council would have their hands full coming up with solutions to the issues that Harvey is facing. And I don’t think I am stepping out on a limb, but judging from his record in office I do not think the current mayor fits the previous description. Now add to that a mayor that may be investigated for obstruction of justice or some other crime stemming from the disappearance of a gun in a pending felony case and all the allegations that go along with that, it is not surprising that not too many creative solutions have been forth coming over the past year or so.

What is the community response? One response was a prayer service that was attended by several ministers in the area, including a couple of ministers who are unabashed supporters of the current mayor regardless of the circumstances. According to the Star Newspaper the service was not intended to be in support or opposition of the current mayor. It was designed to ask for the Lord’s help for the community. Yeah. Right. Does this sound familiar? Once again we have a community with a myriad of issues and an elected official with a dubious track record in office with allegations of abusing his official status and a bunch of preachers come into the picture to tell the community to support him anyway. This is an old playbook. If you don’t believe me, read the American Pharaoh. If we listen to a few preachers and vote their will instead of our needs, then, as usual, our needs will go unmet, but the preachers’ wants will be taken care of.

It is not unique to our community where people buy into the name brand image mode of choosing who to elect and/or retain in office. It is not unique to our community to have politicians use preachers that lean on their alleged status as “people of god” to get people to vote for that politician. That is nothing new. If you don’t believe me, wait until the November elections get closer. However, that is no excuse. We have way too many issues in our communities across the country to continue down a road that WILL NEVER BEAR ANY REAL TANGIBLE POSITIVE RESULTS!!! Harvey, Illinois is an example of what goes on in our communities all over the country. We will never find solutions to unemployment in our communities or how to provide a globally competitive public education system in our communities without bankrupting the homeowners or how to provide safe streets in our communities without trampling upon the Constitution or how to attract more businesses back into our communities until we start ignoring the same old political tactics that are designed to get us to vote based on perception, racial solidarity, or a pseudo friendship instead of our issues.

As a criminal defense attorney I am a firm believer that in our country a person is innocent until proven guilty so the current mayor of Harvey is not guilty of any crime yet as far as I am concerned. However, that is not what is important. What is important is the direction Harvey is going. The people of Harvey must look beyond the daily spin that is in the newspapers or in press releases by the mayor or his challengers. They must look to what has been done of the past four years. They must look towards who has proposed any solution for the next four years. That is what they must use to choose their next mayor instead of what preacher supports the mayor or any of his challengers. The bottom line is that regardless of how honorable or dishonorable a politician is, he/she will serve whoever gets them into office. The question remains for the people of Harvey is will the mayor be beholden to them or a small group of preachers? The truth is we will all know the answer by who gets taken care of after the elections.

Action Campaign

“Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way... you become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, brave by performing brave actions.”

--Aristotle--

“We have too many high sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.”

--Abigail Adams--

Last Saturday a horde of politicians rushed to be a part of the Bud Billiken Parade on Chicago’s South Side. The significance of this parade is that it is likely the largest African-American parade in the country and it is essentially the cultural and political equivalent of the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. The bottom line being if you want votes from the African-American community you must attend the Bud Billiken Parade. Many of the politicians that were at the parade received warm welcomes. That was Saturday. This is today. Today the community must offer a strong message: Police Brutality or Misconduct Will No Longer Be Tolerated!

The last couple of weeks have placed a disturbing reality squarely in the newspaper headlines for everyone to see. That disturbing reality is police brutality and/or misconduct still exists. A few weeks ago a report was issued that stated that it is likely that a former Chicago police officer while he was still of the police force acted with other police officers to torture suspects into giving confessions. Yet, the writers of the report acknowledged that there was little that could be done because the statute of limitations had already run so the officers that were mentioned in the report would not have to worry about facing justice for their crimes. Last week a young man was shot by the police in the Cabrini-Green area. The police say he had a BB gun that resembled a real firearm. People from the community and the young man’s family say something different. Yesterday, another young man was allegedly beaten by the police (as reported in the Chicago Defender) after he had been arrested for allegedly committing a misdemeanor.

I will not presume to know all the objective facts about the latter two stories, but on their face both are deeply troubling. For the record I must state that I am attorney that specializes in criminal defense. I have represented more than my share of clients that have been accused of a crime where in my opinion the story that the police gave in arresting and prosecuting my client was incredible at best and a flat out lie at worst. Therefore I will not pretend that I am entirely capable of presenting a totally unbiased perspective regarding police brutality and misconduct. With that said I still firmly believe that police brutality and misconduct occurs way too often then it should and then it is portrayed by the media. This article is not about naming the problem of police brutality. This article is about what must be done to reduce it and, hopefully one day, stop it completely.

I have written several articles harping on how it is imperative that we as African-Americans stop treating political relationships like friendships. We must stop voting based on party label or alleged affinity to our community. We have to start voting solely based on issues; our issues. We must always keep our interests in mind when we go to the polls and must never let the people that are supposed to be representing us forget our interests. Well, here is one of them. The solution to police brutality must start in our community. It must start with the people that we elect to represent our interests. There is nothing wrong with marching. There is nothing wrong with having rallies, but we must never forget that police officers are held accountable by their superiors who are put in place by local politicians. Therefore we must start with the municipal politicians. We must start with our aldermen, and then we must go to our mayor. We do not need questions. We do not need answers to questions. We need results. We need a standard that certain behavior by police officers will not . . . will never be tolerated! Actions speak louder than words. It is time to take action to require action.

Bud Billiken Advice

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind."

                                                        --William James--

"I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint- and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."

                                                         --Oprah Winfrey--

            "To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act."

                                                           --Anatole France--

         The 77th Bud Billiken Parade will be held this Saturday, August 12, 2006.  It is the largest parade of its kind where over a million people will likely come to watch the parade in person as it travels down Martin Luther King Drive to Washington Park on Chicago's Southside.  Since the purpose of the Bud Billiken Parade is to encourage African-American children in the Chicago Metropolitan area to start getting ready for school, I feel a need to offer my own bit of encouragement in anticipation of the new school year.  In the spirit of the parade I would like to offer my own bit of advice to the young brothers and sisters in Chicago and around the country.

         The advice I am going to give is based on four decades of life experiences and observations.  I have been on this earth for a short while but during my brief sojourn here the one thing I am absolutely certain of is that the quality of a person's life the direct result of a collection of decisions.  If you think about it, where you are right now is a direct result of the litany of decisions that you have made and everyone that came before you.  If you want to have a happy healthy life try to make good decisions to put yourself in a position to have that kind of life.  Well with that said there are three things that affect your decision process the most so I will speak to those three.

         I know this bit of advice will sound cliche or hokie but it must be mentioned.  Young brothers and sisters dream big!  This is true for two reasons.  First in order to dream big you must first have a dream.  The line from Hustle & Flow is absolutely on point: "everybody has got to have a dream."  However how high you dream is just as important that you have a dream.  We all need something to reach for; our dreams are our own personal definitions of what constitutes being successful.  It is nearly impossible to be successful when you have never defined success.  Second, the higher you set your goals the more you will achieve.  It sounds fake, but it is true.  Believe me when I tell you.  I have lived it.  When I was younger and I did not expect much out of life, guess what happened?  Yep.  I didn't get much because I didn't push myself to try for much.  There is an old saying that nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Well, if you don't dream of anything you will not even think to try for anything so you definitely will not get anything.  Most people think that the worst thing that can happen to you is not to have your dreams come true.  That is not even close.  The worst thing that can happen to you is let life take away your ability to dream before you have had any opportunity to start to experience life. 

         My second bit of advice is once you have a dream, and it is okay if your dream changes over time, believe in your ability to make it happen.  Why is this important?  It is important because if you truly believe that you can achieve your dream then you will act like it.  There is a passage in the bible that says "faith without works is dead."  When I was a child I did not understand it until I experience more in life.  This means that if you believe in something you will act like it.  If you have faith in your ability to become a doctor then you will learn what you need to learn to go to college then to medical school.  If you have faith in your ability to become a corner back in the NFL then you will apply yourself in school and on the football field in order to raise yourself to another level athletically and academically in order to be able to compete at the college level and then at the pro level.  If you believe you can become the President of the United States then you will start acting like it.  You will use the time while you are in school to learn about our government, world affairs, history, economics, and other subject matters while you stay out of serious trouble.  The bottom line is once you truly believe in your ability to achieve your dreams you will be compelled to act.  Once you act you will likely achieve.

         My third and final bit of advice to the young brothers and sisters out there is to never, ever be afraid of hard work.  I know that sounds like something your grand momma already may have told you but it is true.  You will meet a lot of people in life who can tell you what they want, but you will meet only a few people in life who are willing to work hard to make it happen.  Don't ever let someone out work you to reach for something that you want.  There is no shame in competing against someone for a job or a scholarship or a spot on a team and that person beating you out because they were more talented, more connected, or even more focused.  However, there is shame if they beat you out because they worked harder.  If you are willing to put in the work needed to reach your dreams believe me, you will make it because that is usually what separates the winners from the losers in life.

         Well that is my advice.  Take it for what it is worth.  I hope everyone enjoys the 77th Bud Billiken Parade and has a great school year.