| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
Rev. Joey N. Welsh: Black History Month, More sports history Another Angle. This essay "Carter G. Woodson, Black History Month, and More Sports History" was first published 12 February 2006 in the Hart County News-Herald To see other articles by this author, enter "Rev. Joey N. Welsh," or "Another Angle," in the searchbox. The next earlier essay posted on ColumbiaMagazine.com is Carter G. Woodson, Black History Month, and Some Sports History by The Rev. Joey N. Welsh Dr. Carter G. Woodson, the historian who was father of Black History Month, never shied away from brutal honesty even as he advocated the celebration of America's diverse racial heritage in 1926. The shelves of the local video store have a couple of sports-related films that do some unflinching truth-telling as well as some entertaining celebration. I suspect Dr. Woodson would have liked both films, but for different reasons. Hoop Dreams (1994) is an absorbing documentary that follows two kids from depressed urban Chicago for several years. Both boys are developing into talented basketball players, both have dreams of a career in pro basketball. As the camera follows these two kids, they grow up into manhood before our eyes. One of them graduates from a basketball powerhouse private high school that is the alma mater of Isiah Thomas; the other goes to a public high school. The film follows their personal and family crises and triumphs, and by the end of this moving documentary one is heading to a junior college in Missouri, while the other is entering Marquette University. By this important juncture in life, neither is naive about a basketball career or life in general. Another young man in the Chicago public housing complex of Cabrini Green, where people view basketball as a ticket out of the dangerous slums, shares this insight: "People always say to me, 'when you get to the NBA, don't forget about me.' Well, I should've said back, 'if I don't make it to the NBA, don't you forget about me.'" Unfortunately, the college sports of today sometimes seem to forget that the idea of a university is to educate. Some talented athletes are used to gather crowds in the run-up to title games. Those same athletes come to the end of their playing eligibility without the ability to do much beyond their athletics, which is small comfort for the many who never break into big-time sports. Those student athletes sometimes fail to graduate, and they leave college poorly prepared for a life. They have served a purpose for the college, but they leave without fulfilling the purpose of college. Hoop Dreams would give Dr. Woodson pause, just as it should for us, as well. On a brighter, more fictionalized and more tidy note, is Remember the Titans (2000). It is inspired by the real story of school desegregation in the Virginia suburbs of our nation's capital. T. C. Williams High School, in Alexandria, VA, had some rough times as the student body became integrated in 1971 and an African-American man (Denzel Washington) became head football coach. The newly desegregated football team eventually melded together, became a rallying point for the community, and won the state championship. The story as filmed was much less rough than the original record indicates. Coarse language and many of the epithets that were heard in Alexandria in 1971 were cleaned away for this family movie. And history was greatly altered in one major way. In the film the football captain is severely injured before the title game, becoming an important symbol of triumph over adversity for the team -- and the viewer. In real life, the captain was injured, but only after the championship was won. Still, the truth of the newly forged friendships, mutual respect, and coaching leadership remains accurate to the historical record. T. C. Williams High School and its football team of 1971 remain as symbols of hope. At T. C. Williams, the goals of education, social enlightenment, and athletic achievement truthfully did blend together well for the common good. I imagine Dr. Woodson would have found the story -- and the movie it inspired -- as entertaining and stirring as I do. In Hoop Dreams and Remember the Titans we can encounter some bleak reality as well as some hope and some true delight. We can use a little of all those qualities during this Black History Month 2006. Even as this month reminds us that we still have a way to go in the realm of race relations, we also can celebrate victories and be renewed in hope. I believe that Dr. Carter Woodson instituted something quite good and valuable in 1926. Take the time to learn and experience something new for this Black History Month, and say a word of thanks for Dr. Woodson's foresight.E-mail: joey_n_welsh@hotmail.com This story was posted on 2010-02-07 05:18:35
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic News:
Adair Co., KY's Kalen Kimberland has career night at LWC Tractor Man appreciates ACGC confidence in him Large Update to Adair County Veterans Page Great Wooded South VI: Ford Falcon and propulsion Remembering Taylor Co. Korean War veterans It is this morning: Birding 101 at 10:30amCT at AC Extension Office There is now $100 reward for return of Egypt/Absher blue heeler Columbia Utilities Boil Water Advisory lifted Everyday is special in Birthdays; this day is very special Adair County Fair wins awards in state competition View even more articles in topic News |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
