FORUM
Eddie Robinson, 'a Good American Football Coach'
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Motivational Moments
Nigel Alston
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?Anonymous
? Eddie Robinson: College
...Football's Winningest Coach. 408
,165-15. This was the headline on
the front page of The Tinies
-Picayune this past Sunday. Eddie
Robinson had ended a 55-year
career in the Bayou Classic against
Southern University.
Southern won the game, but
, Coach "Rob" won the hearts of all
in attendance. He was the center of
attention all week, rightfully so. as
he has influenced and touched so
many lives.
He started his career Nov. 15.
1941. at what was then known as
Louisiana Negro Normal
Agriculture and Industrial
institute. During his tenure as the
Dean of college football coaches,
he won 408 games, 17
Southwestern Athletic Conference
titles, eight black college football
championships and sent 210 play
ers to the NFL ? more than any
one else.
Impressive numbers, but
coaching is more than wins, losses
and pep talks. It is about life, hard
work, developing confidence, deci
sion-making and much more. It's
?about the intangible things you
ican't register in wins and losses
'.that develop character. That's
;what Eddie Robinson did and
what so many other coaches do
jevery week.
? I had a conservation with my
? little league baseball coach last
weekend. I was 12 years old when
he coached the Reds. I remember a
game played at Fairview
Elementary School on a hot
Saturday afternoon. It was the
bottom of the last inning and we
were at bat and losing. Coach
Mitchell told each player what was
going to happen, including my
home run.
I don't know if he really
belie\ed what he said, but we must
have We did exactly what he said
and won that game. I can recall
that emotional victory, the never
give-up attitude as we jumped up
and down and celebrated at home
plate.
As we sat in the airport and
talked about the influence of
coaches on their players. Coach
Mitchell mentioned that he want
ed to instill confidence in his play
ers. 1 hat game was a confidence
builder, arid he has been at it for 24
years.
Coaches not onlv have an
impact on their players, they touch
others through the lessons their
players have learned former NFL
tight end Keith Jackson, an
announcer with TNT. had this to
say about Eddie Robinson. "I had
the opportunity to play with a
number of his former players, and
they all spoke highly of him, so 1
wanted to meet him. I wanted to
meet and ialk with a man of
(Robinson's) stature."
You develop character playing
sports and learn how to overcome
obstacles and stay focused on your
objective. It has been said that
obstacles reveal what you believe
and who you are.
The hard work and long hours
of practice help prepare you for
the challenges of life. The days of
running up and down that hill
behind Kennedy Junior High
School on all fours, the fourth
quarter drills after practice at
Reynolds High School and the
intense August practices at
Livingstone College helped shape
who I am.
Coaches Cuthrell,
Hollingsworth, Crater, Bryson,
Marshall, Holeman and many
others stressed hard work, team
work, perseverance, and commu
nicated a message that is still
appropriate today: Never quit!
You have to be motivated to
achieve, and good coaches know
how to create the environment and
the conditions to move you I
beyond what you think is possible.
Coaching is really about
preparing others to succeed. It's
understanding what you are up
against, the will to prepare and
overcoming adversity. It's about
how to live and be successful.
That's why Eddie Robinson
will be missed. He taught a lot of
people how to live and be a success
in life. He received a standing ova
tion at the conclusion of the game
on Saturday. " You can't replace
him", says Doug Williams, former
Grambling quarterback and Super
Bowl MVP, "you have to bronze
him and put him on a pedestal."
Coach Robinson represents the
coaches, men and women, every
where who are developing charac
ter in young men and women, boys
and girls, the influence of which is
yet to be known. Thanks to all
coaches for what you sacrifice and
the difference you make.
Coach Robinson practiced
what he preached; honesty, com
passion, and hard work. "I just
want to be remembered as a good
American football coach," he said.
I think he exceeded his expecta
tions. Last week was the kind that
could make a grown man cry, and
it did.
Nigel Alston is an executive for
Integon Insurance Company.
Only Real Reform Will Curtail Police Brutality
? ' ? ?
Guest Column
Daryle Lamont Jenkins
Our officials are all talk and no
action when it comes to ending
police brutality.
According to the Department
of Justice, 47,000 cases 'of police
brutality were reported in the
United States between 1986 and
1994. Of those, 293 were prosecut
ed. In my home state of New
Jersey, a police officer has never
been incarcerated for killing a
civilian, according to the New
Jersey Coalition Against Police
Brutality.
But the August brutalizing of
Abner Louima. a Haitian immi
grant, in New York City may
finally bring action
The Congressional Black
Caucus is demanding change, as is
the New York-based Center for
'Constitutional Rights. Both
groups came to Washington. D C .,
in mid-September to call attention
to the problem.
Rep. John Conyers. D-Mich .
announced at the Congressional
Black Caucus' 27th annual confer
ence that select members of the
House Judiciary Committee will
hold hearings on police brutality.
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee. D-Texas.
and Rep. Bobby Scott. D-Va., are
on that committee and were on
hand. "We are here to listen, but
we are also here to act." Jackson
Lee told an enthusiastic crowd.
Individuals; mostly from New
York and New Jersey, went before
C-SPAN cameras, often with
tears, to tell how police have
harassed, threatened or assaulted
them, and to tell of loved ones
they have lost to policemen.
I or too long, elected officials
and police organizations', have
been turning a blind eye to these
accounts.
Why, for example, does New
York City ' Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani feel Compelled to voice
his outrage and scream for the
death penalty when a police officer
is killed, yet remain silent when
the roles are reversed? Giuliani
attacked Bronx District Attorney
Robert Johnson, a capital punish
ment opponent, for not seeking
the death penalty after an officer
chasing a suspect fell on a broken
mirror and bled to death.
However, when a navy veteran was
killed by a police officer, Giuliani
distanced himself from, the inci
dent and barely commented on it.
Then there was the case in
Elizabeth, N.J., last October in
which a police officer brutally
assaulted a 17-year-old by who
accidentally ran into his cruiser.
The local Fraternal Order of
Police attempted to wage a cam
paign to oust the judge who right
ly convicted that officer.
We seem to be on the right
track, but as we learned from the
Rodney King case, it is not that
simple. For true reform, we must
revamp the entire criminal justice
system. We must reign in vague
laws that allow police officers to
harass citizens and walk away
scot-free. Many at the
Congressional Black Caucus con
ference supported the idea of a
cpmmunity police-review board
with subpoena powers to monitor
the police, something that is set up
in New York, but was ignored by
Giuliani until the Abner Louima
case forced him to respond.
We should also call to task the
folks in Washington. Ron Daniels,
who heads the Center of
Constitutional Rights, organized a
demonstration outside the Justice
Department building on the same
day as the Congressional Black
Caucus conference and met with
Attorney General Janet Reno.
According to Daniels, the attorney
general's office is supposed to
issue a report on police brutality
each year. "We're not aware that
such a report has been issued, and
if it has been issued, we don't hear
about it," he said.
The Congressional Black
Caucus conference focused on a
number of issues, from affirmative
action to the plight of black farm
ers ? all very important subjects. [
Every other effort we make, how
ever, comes to naught if the issue
of police brutality continues to go i
unchecked.
Daryle Lamont Jenkins is a
writer and activist living in
Somerset, N. J
SCHEXNIDER
from page A10
group are thousands of poor chil
dren. Further, according to some
estimates, nearly 60 percent of all
African-American and Hispanic
children come from female-head
ed households.
A cursory review of American
history reveals a tendency toward
Ku Klux Klan-type ascendancy
during periods of perceived eco
nomic distress. We are living in
such a time, and many individuals
are feeling threats to their eco
nomic security. African
Americans and Jews are. and have
been for centuries, an unfair tar
get. One would think, though, that
as we enter what some refer to as
the new millennium, that the Ku
Klu\ K'lan would have disap
peared along with dinosaurs and
dodo birds.
The simple truth is that we are
entering not just a new century,
but a new world economic order
and thtit some dislocations are a
fact of life. We must find a way to
address the plight of the disfran
chised. Failure to do so will weak
en our resolve, dampen our moral
fiber, and reduce our capacity for
competitiveness in the global
economy.
We are not referring to some
distant land here. Winston-Salem
is like many American cities mov
ing from an industrial based econ
omy to an economy based on
knowledge. Work for many here
may be disappearing too, as
Wilson reports from Chicago. The
local Chamber of Commerce rec
ognizes this and is working with
institutions of higher education
and venture capitalists to adapt to
changing conditions. Winston
Salem's colleges and universities,
public and private, have major
roles to play in this restructuring
As a relative newcomer, I hope
that we have seen the last of the
EWK. but I am not naive. It is
time that we reverse course on this
seeming drift toward a return to
colored and white signs, invisible
though they may be.
|
The views expressed in this edi
torial are the views <)f Alvin J.
Schexnider, chancellor and profes
sor of political science at Winston
Salem State University, and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the
institution.
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1 ? ??
Secca Fall Film Series
Beyond the South;
December 9, 1997 - 7:30 p.m. ^P^B|
Blue-Eyed W j
This film profiles the work of diversity trainer, Jane Elliott, I 1
whose simple racism awareness exercise shocked the I I
nation with its demonstration of the devastating impact of I I
discrimination. I I
Post-screening discussion with Delores Smith, president and I I
chief executive officer of the Winston-Salem Urban League I I
McChesney Scott Dunn Auditorium I |
Tickets: $4 members $6 non-members
SECCA
iKit u.It- SECCA IS supported by The Arts Council ot
7S? ? 9 ? . Drive Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and by the * m f f A
Wln?ton-S?lem North Carolina Arts Council This program is \L| I II
910-725-1904 |also supported by the Friends ot SECCA J JfcVVfl
OlHBBaanBBS^HB] }?
1 - r>Aiij fl
I "Cellular'!, I I
I ? Low set-up fee I I
I ? No credit check I I
I ? low per minute rate ^ I ||
. JiT 380 Cwimdfc?om^B II
im . . . m ii
J 922-0868 O
3724 Reynolda Road
NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING
ON THE PROPOSED WIDENING/IMPROVEMENTS
OF LEWSIVILLE-CLEMMONS ROAD
FROM PEACE HAVEN ROAD TO US 421
TO INCLUDE US 421 INTERCHANGE REVISION
Project 8.2623601 U-3119 Forsyth County
The North Carolina Department of Transportation will hold the
above Public Hearing on Monday, December 8, 1997 at 7:00 p.m.
in the Southwest Elementary School Cafeteria located at 1631
Southwest School Drive in Clemmons.
The hearing will consist of an explanation of the proposed
location and design, right of way requirements and procedures,
and relocation advisory assistance The hearing will be open tc
those present for statements, questions, comments and/or sub
mittal of material pertaining to the proposed project Additional
material may be submitted for a period of 10 days from the date
of the hearing to NCDOT, L L Hendricks, Citizens Participation
Unit, PO. Box 25201, Raleigh, NC 27611
This project proposes to widen/improve existing Lewisville
Clemmons Road from Peace Haven Road (SR 1891) to US 421 -
a distance of approximately 2 8 miles. The recommended widen
ing consists of a four-lane roadway separated by a raised grass
median with curb and gutter from Peace Haven Road to south of
Forest Oak Drive transitioning into a five-lane facility with curb
and gutter to the US 421 interchange The bridge over US 421
will be replaced The interchange at US 421 will be revised as
part of this project. ? -
Plans setting forth the location and design and a copy of the
environmental document - Environmental Assessment - are
available for public review in the Lewisville Town Government
Complex located at 6550 Shallowford Road in Lewisville and in
the Clemmons Town Government Complex located at 3715
Clemmons Road in Clemmons.
Representatives of the Department of Transportation will be
available to discuss the proposed project with those attending the
Public Hearing. Anyone desiring additional information may write
to Mr L L Hendricks, Citizens Participation Unit, PO Box 25201
Raleigh, NC 27611 or telephone (919) 250-4092.
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services for disabled
person who wish to participate in the heating. To receive special
services, please call Mr Hendricks at the above number to give
adequate notice prior to the date of the hearing.
The Chronicle
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