Coaches
from page AJ
this year they made up
only seven of the 32 head
coaches (22 percent), a num
ber that's been gradually
increasing It was just 18 sea
sons ago when Art Shell was
named the first Black head
coach in the league's modem
era, following a 64-year span
of blatant shutouts
Frederick Douglass
"Fritz" Pollard, the first Black
coach in the history of profes
sional football, coached the
Akron Pros (1919-21),
Milwaukee Badgers (1922)
and Hammond Pros (1923
25) before the league put a
ban on Black coaches and
later Black players for a peri
od
Despite the fact th?t Black
head coaches in the NFL have
wan at a higher rate than their
Anglo counterparts, Black
, coaches have experienced a
history
o f
strong
resist
a n c e
and
under
repre
senta
tion in
the
league. Mehri
Seven
of the eight Blacks who have
coached or are coaching in the
modern era have taken their
team to the playoffs at least
once Four of those coaches
have reached either an AFC or
an NFC title game, Dungy in
both conferences
A 2002 report titled, NFL
Black Head jCoaches:
Superior Performances,
Inferior Opportunities, collec
tively drafted by late attorney
"Johnnie Cochran and
University of Pennsylvania
labor economist Dr. Janice
Madden revealed that Black
coaches led their teams to the
playoffs 67 percent of the
time, compared to 39 percent
for White coaches
hive previous times, Black
coaches reached either a NFC
or AFC Conference title
game , but fell short of reach
ing the Super Bowl. Twice,
coaches came within one play
of going to the Super Bowl.
Dennis Green and the
Minnesota Vikings, after hav
ing amassed a highly success
ful 15-1 regular season, were
tied 27-27 in the 1999 NFC
championship game with the
Atlanta Falcons , when
Vikings field goal kicker Gary
Anderson, who was 35-for-35
during the regular season,
missed a makeable 38-yard
field goal with two minutes
left, causing the game to go
into overtime . Atlanta got the
ball first and went on to win
30-27 in overtime with
Morten Anderson's 38-yard
field goal.
In the 2000 AFC title can
test, Dungy's Tampa Bay
Buccaneers trailed the Los
Angeles Rams 11-6. but were
driving down the field in the
final minute of play. Tampa
Bay rookie quarterback
Shawn King threw a pass to
wide receiver Bert Emanuel,
who made a dazzling shoe
string catch that was first
ruled complete by the referees
deep in St. Louis territory.
During the review of the play,
all of the camera angles
showed no conclusive evi
dence that the ball touched the
ground, thus making it incom
plete Nevertheless, the offi
cial rule overturned the catch,
for all practical purposes
killing the drive, and giving
the Rams the win.
Dungy, this time at
^Indianapolis , took the Colts to
the 2004 AFC title game
against the New England
Patriots, playing them tough
but losing 24-14
In Shell's first stint as head
coach of the Oakland Raiders,
he made it to the 1991 AFC
title game, losing to the
Buffalo Bills 51-3. Green
once again took Minnesota to
the 2001 NFC championship
battle and got shut out by the
New York Giants 41-0.
Some football advocates
feel that Smith and Dungy 's
achievements will open even
more doors for Black head
coaches. That may include
Dallas, who has never had a
Black head coach and are now
looking for a replacement for
departing coach Bill Parcells
"This is a magical day for
the sport and it just shows
what can be achieved when
talent is given a proper oppar
tunity to shine," said Cyrus
Mehri, counsel for the Fritz
Pollard Alliance, a diversity
advocacy group.
African- American Read-In events slated
BY LAYLA FARMER
thf rmtriNin f
More than a million readers
in 49 American states and
abroad have signed ail to par
ticipate in the 18th Annual
African American Read In to
be held Feb. 4-5.
Sponsored by the Black
Caucus of the National Council
of Teachers of English (NCTE)
and endorsed by the American
Reading Association, the
Read- In aims to make the cele
bration of African American
literacy an integral part of
Black History Month
Many different kinds of
organizations participate in the
Read Ins each year - from
libraries, to churches, to com
munity groups Formats range
from planned programs to
impromptu readings by audi
ence members
lhe Delta Arts Center is
hosting its second Read In this
year At the center's first Read
In back in 2005, community
members read excerpts from
books by their favorite
African-American authors.
This year, Executive Director
Dianne Caesar has invited
three local authors - Alicia T
Massey, author of "Destined
for Success," K.R Spoon,
author of "Bitter Sweet
Deceptions" and Dwight
Jones, author of "0600 Hours"
- to come and read passages
from their books.
"There is such a wealth of
talent here in the community,"
Caesar said of her motivation
to promote local authors . "Oiie
author may have her following
and another may have his fol
lowing, and they don't know
what each other's doing, so we
become a center where all of
these different writers can
come together." q
Hosting the Read In will be
beneficial to the gallery as
well, Caesar says.
"It's a way of introducing
Reynold* House Photo
Dr. Felecia McMillan leads a Read-In discussion last year
at Reynolda House.
the center to a new audience,"
she remarked. Caesar says she
is expecting about 100 guests
at the Delta Arts Center Read
In this year.
The annual Read-In is part
of a long-standing tradition for
the Reynolda House, according
to Adult Programs Director
Phil Archer, who estimates that
the museum has been involved
with the event for about a
decade.
Archer, who has helped to
organize the program for the
past three yean, says that the
Reynolda House Read-In tends
to focus on amateur writing
"We invite the whole com
munity to bring their favorite
poem, piece of prose, letter,
personal memoir of their
favorite writer, or - if they
have a family story or some
thing of their own - to read
that," he explained "That's
been especially memorable in
the past, when some poets or
writers have brought their own
work and shared it ."
After the reading is com
plete, participants disperse into
the museum to view the ait on
display there.
"Having people to read
American Lit(erature) in the
museums and then look at
paintings is very much in keep
ing with our mission It's also
a way to look at the African
American past, which is
reflected in parts of our collec
tion and some of our artists."
said Archer. "This time, we
really want to look at a painting
by Horace Pippin, who is an
African American, self taught
artist "
The Reynolda House
Read In, which typically draws
a crowd of 30 40 people from
various backgrounds, has
become a favorite for many
staff members. Archer says,
including himself
"It's always a really warm,
friendly event," he remarked
"It ends up being a nice social
event as well as a sharing of lit
erary works People don't just
come in and read theirs and
leave. It's really a chance to lis
ten and to dialogue."
The Forsyth County Public
Library will be participating in
the 2007 National African
American Read In on Sunday,
Feb 4, from 2:30 - 4 pjn. in
the Central Library
Auditorium The event will be
open to all ages
Both the Delta Aits Center
Read In and the Reynolda
House Read In will be held on
Monday, Feb 5.
The Delta Arts Center
Read In will take place from
6:30-8:00 p m For more infor
mation, contact Dianne Caesar,
at 336-722-2625
The Reynolda House
Read In will take place at
11:00 am. For more informa
tion, contact Phil Archer, at
336-758-5033
Eaddv
from page A4
Eaddy is a 1979 graduate
of the Harvard Law School .
where he served as an Editor
of the Harvard Law Review
He was graduated summa
cum laude from Furman
University in 1976, where he
majored in Political Science
and received numerous hon
ors and awards, including
election to Phi Beta Kappa,
the Blue Key National Honor
Society, and Furman's
Quaternion Society.
Eaddy - who chairs
Kilpa trick Stockton's
Diversity Council - and is
recognized as a thought
leader on diversity in the legal
profession, is the principal
author of the chapter on
"Diversity" in the
Thomson/West multi -volume
treatise "Successful
Partnership Between Inside
and Outside Counsel " He has
published several articles in
legal journals, chaired or
served as a lecturer and pan
elist on numerous programs
for the continuing legal edu
cation of lawyers, and partici
pated as moderator or discus
sant for academic symposia.
Gate wood
Urom page A4
Hart for making significant
contributions to entrepreneur
ship and small business
research as individuals and as
partners of the Diana Project.
According to a joint statement
issued by members of the
Diana Project, policy makers,
practitioners , investors and
educators have used Diana
Project findings to develop
programs and initiatives that
have enhanced women entre
preneurs' access to and attain
ment of growth capital The
project is funded by the Ewing
Marion Kauffman Foundation,
the U.S. Small Business
Administration and the US
National Women's Business
Counsel
In order to enhance the
impact of its research, the
Diana Project team partnered
with the Entreprerteiirship and
Small Business Research
Institute. Sweden (ERSBO, to
organize international gather
ings of scholars to develop a
global plan for the advance
ment of women's entrepre
neurship During the last three
years, more than 35
researchers from 20 countries
have met to present research to
help establish and implement
policy, training and resources
that help improve the practice
of women entrepreneurs
In addition to the cash
award, members of the Diana
Project will receive a miniature
copy of "The Hand of God," a
sculpture by the late Swedish
sculptor Carl Milles.
Words of Wisdom
live in all of us.
How will you share yours?
In support of Black History Month,
Alltel Wireless is inviting
HBCU students to enter our
Words of Wisdom:
Lessons in Courage
essay contest
Fifty years ago. the Little Rock Nine personified courage and spirit
Write an essay showing how you will personify courage and spirit today.
Winners will receive a scholarship to the HBCU of their choice and will be
presented awards personally by Dr. Maya Angelou.
Visit www.alltel.com/wordsofwisdom
find out more.
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