FORUM
Q
CIAA Tournament fever
Nigel Alston
Motivational
Moments
"It takes more than good memo
ry to have good memories."
- Chinese fortune
cookie message
It's about people, good times and
lasting memories. It's about the fans
who attended and graduated from
CIAA schools, whose parents started
a tradition and those who attended
white schools and. now converted,
participate in the fellowship and
events, renewing old friendships and
establishing new relationships.
It's about people who just heard
about the good times and want to be
part of the action. Once they attend,
they are hooked. It's some e??eri
ence. It's the CIAA Tournament.
It's about the scoreboard, which
my wife likes, with the big screen
that displays pictures of people with
bright smiles having good times and
the "kiss cam" that zeroes in on one
couple after another - to the applause
and laughter of the audience - as they
recognize their faces high above the
action on the floor and kiss each other
for all to see.
I wonder if the late John McLen
don knew what he was starting back
in 1946. when he pooled u personal
loan from Mechanics and Farmers
Bank with three other coaches and
rented a boxing arena in Washington.
D.C., to put on the first CIAA Tour
nament.
Did he have any idea that the
CIAA Tournament would become
one of the nation's largest of any con
ference? Founded in 1912 as the Col
ored Intercollegiate Athletic Associa
tion. the CIAA is the oldest black ath
letic conference in the nation and this
year celebrated 90 years of educa
tion. empowerment and excitement.
While the tournament is a week
long opportunity to watch some out
standing young men and women exe
cute a game plan in an attempt to
bring home a championship title, it is
also about the tradition of networking
- seeing old friends and meeting new
people. Basketball provides everyone
another chance to gather, reminisce
and watch Mr. CIAA change one out
fit after another. He had 22 combina
tions this year, ranging from lipstick
red to mustard yellow - each com
plete with matching umbrella, shoes
and hat.
"It's the fun, friendship, cama
raderie. and all the people just having
a good time and eating gtxxl food,"
one person recalled. In addition to a
fish fry he orchestrated - with his
brother, sister and another friend - he
cooked a big breakfast tine morning
that consisted of fried potatoes, grits
cooked in chicken broth, bacon, link
sausage, pork chops, beef sausage
patties and something healthy, fruit.
He's a veteran of the togpnament,
having attended since 1970.
His brother found it difficult to
explain what he liked most about
attending the tournament. "You know
that's hard to explain, to be honest
with you.'Vhe said, lost in thought for
a moment. "Just mingling with the
people and having a good time. I
enjoy cooking and fixing food for
people." he continued. "I really do."
Another fan. who attended her
first tournament nine years ago. had
the opportunity to meet a few more
new people this year and was thrilled
to go to the games and see another
team win. a team that was not
expected to win. "That was really
neat." she said with excitement in her
voice.
"Nobody is a stranger," she said.
"Everybody truly wishes everybody
gtxxl will." She comes back from the
games renewed each year and is
looking forward to celebrating her
10th next year.
"I enjoy talking to people and
meeting people,',' said the friend who
exposed her to the tournament. The
fellowship, food and seeing everyone
getting along and coming together
having a good time that impress her.
Having played basketball (back in the
day), she and her husband (her son
and daughter-in-law attended this
year too) arrive early in the week to
see the women kick off the games.
"Oh no," was the immediate
response of another veteran of 12
tournaments, as she answered the
phone and my question about what
she enjoyed most about her CI A A
experience. It's the variety of things
to do - like playing .games, shopping
and being sociable.
Her advice for those who have
not attended a CIAA Tournament
before: "Please make plans to go.
Once you do, you get that fever and
you gotta go again. You just can't *
help yourself."
She had a marvelous tinW. as we
all did. "I just enjoy getting away,
relaxing, relating, releasing, meeting
friends, fraternizing and just talking
about old times," she said.
That just about says it all. for an
event that started in a rented boxing
arena.
Nigel Alston is a radio talk show
host, columnist and motivational
speaker. Visit his Weh site at
www. motivationalmoments. com.
Round two for Louima?
Earl Ofari
Hutchinson
Guest
The instant the three-judge
panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals tossed the con
viction of three New York City
cops accused of beating Haitian
immigrant Abner Louima, his
attorney and black activists
demanded that the Justice Depart
ment retry the officers. The court
didn't rule out the possibility of
another trial for at least one of the
officers. But if past Justice Depart
ment actions in thorny police
abuse cases are any indication,
the case may be dead in the water.
Despite the wave of highly
questionable police shootings of
mostly young blacks and Latinos
the past few years, the Justice
Department has done almost noth
ing to nail shoot-first cops.
According to a 1998 report on
police misconduct by Human
Rights Watch, an international
public watchdog group, federal
prosecutors bring excessive force
charges against police officers in
less than I percent of the cases
investigated by the FBI involving
allegations of police abuse. The
group also found that there was
almost no increase in the skimpy
number of police misconduct
cases prosecuted' by the Justice
Department during the Clinton
years.
There was a glimmer of hope
this might change when President
Bush and Attorney General John
Ashcroft publicly pledged to take
a hard and long look at racial pro
filing and police misconduct.
After three days of rioting in
Cincinnati last April triggered by
the slaying m 19-year-old
unarmed Timothy Thomas by
white Cincinnati police officer
Stephen Roach during a traffic
pursuit. Ashcroft announced a full
Justice Department probe into
police violence in that city.
Months later there has been no
word what, if any. action the Jus
tice Department will take. When a
Cincinnati judge summarily
acquitted Roach of criminal
charges in the Thomas slaying last
September, the Justice Depart
ment gave no sign that it would
even consider filing civil rights
charges in the case. And since his
initial vow to do something about
police misconduct. Bush has been
mute about the need for more
aggressive federal prosecutions to
crack down on police violence.
To better aid law enforcement
agencies and federal prosecutors
track patterns of abuse, the Violent
Crime and Control Act of 1994
authorized the Justice Department
to collect data on the frequency
and types of police abuse com
plaints. The Justice Department
still has not issued a comprehen
sive report on the level of police
misconduct in America.
The Justice Department has
long had on the books a strong
arsenal of civil rights statutes to
prosecute abusive police officers.
Yet more often than not it has
taken major media attention,
large-scale protests, and even a
major riot, such as the L.A. riots
in 1992 after the Rodney King
verdict, before the Justice Depart
ment used its legal weapons. It
was only because of the intense
media focus on the police killings
of Tyisha Miller in Riverside.
Calif., in 1998 and Amadou Dial
lo in New York City in 1999. and
the threat of mass street demon
strations against police abuse, that
then-President Clinton spoke out
against police violence in the wan
ing days of his administration.
But federal prosecutors say
they can't nail more cops involved
in dubious shootings because they
are hamstrung by the lack of funds
and staff, victims who are per
ceived as criminals, the lack of
credible witnesses, and the pub
lic's inclination to always believe
police testimony. Federal prosecu
tors also claim they are pinned in
by the almost impossible require
ment that they prove an officer
had the specific intent to kill or
injure a victim in order to get a
conviction.
These are tough obstacles to
overcome, and, because the Jus
tice Department is in the business
of winning cases, many prosecu
tors are more than happy to take a
hands-off attitude toward police
misconduct cases.
Still, this is no excuse for fed
eral prosecutors not to at least
make the effort to prosecute more
officers when there is substantial
evidence that they used excessive
force. This is the ^legally and
morally right thing to do.
And it sends a powerful mes
sage to law enforcement agencies
that the federal government will
go after lawbreakers no matter
whether they wear masks or
badges.
The prosecution in the
Louima case was a near textbwk
example of the effect even a
failed, or compromised, prosecu
tion can have on police conduct.
The conviction, and the 30-year
sentence of officer John Volpe. the
main peipetrator of the violence
against Louima. still stands. This
sent a strong message that unre
strained acts by violence-prone
cops won't be tolerated.
This puts police and city offi
cials on notice that they must take
stronger actions to halt the use of
excessive force in their depart
ments.
The reluctance of federal pros
ecutors to go after cops who over
use deadly force and commit abu
sive acts perpetuates the danger
ous cycle of racial confrontation
and deepens the distrust and cyni
cism of blacks and Latinos toward
the criminal justice system. The
feds did the right thing in prose
cuting the officers who assaulted
Louima; now that a court undid
their effort, let's see if they'll go
for a round two in the case.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an
author and columnist. Visit his
news and opinion Web site:
www.thehutchinsonreport.com.
He is the author of "The Crisis in
Black and Black" (Middle Pas
sage Press).
KRT Photo
Hundreds march across the Brooklyn Bridge in 1997 to protest Abner Louima's beating.
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