Franz Jones
Denzel Washington: Actor and Matinee Idol...
The Fulfillment of Every Black Woman’s Dream
Or Lover Man Oh Where Can You Be?

For many, but not all, African American women of almost every age, socioeconomic level, stripe, form and fashion, he is the ultimate “Love God,” the man upon whom they hang their most romantic, domestic, sexual, and economic fantasies.... Wait a minute!   Let’s stop this cinematic vision for a moment.   Does this really happen in the films of Denzel Washington?   EXACTLY what has Brother Washington done in the movies to be lionized as the romantic hero of most Black women’s dreams?  

PJ Rain
Young Athletes to Emulate - On and Off the Field

Volleyball is one of [Oganna] Nnamani’s passions, and because her parents have instilled in her the importance of furthering her education and being well-rounded, she is able to enjoy her time as a professional athlete in the Czech Republic without feeling constrained by the pressures of having no other options.... [Myron] Rolle’s decision [to attend Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar] was questioned by many NFL executives and scouts because they were concerned about his desire to commit to playing football at a high level.   According to many of them, he had too much going for him off the playing field.   It was as if Rolle’s decision to take advantage of an opportunity to develop his mind at one of the world’s most renowned academic institutions while simultaneously preparing himself for life as a professional athlete was a sign of weakness and indecisiveness rather than of fortitude and conviction.

Franz Jones
Why Did I Get Married Too?/Just Wright

I saw the previously released Why Did I Get Married?, and while I found it a lightly entertaining comedy-drama, I didn’t think it would move the cause of African American moviemaking further in any significant way.  Therefore I was very surprised when he chose to produce a sequel.... Just Wright is a charming little comedy in which Queen Latifah plays a rabid sports fan who also happens to be a physical therapist, and in a serendipitous moment gets to meet and connect with her all time favorite basketball player.

C. Herbert Oliver
Constitutional Citizenship in America

Are we citizens? No, because the only part of the Constitution upon which our citizenship is supposed to be based – the 14^th Amendment – is itself unconstitutional. According to the Constitution of 1787, amendments must be proposed by two thirds of the states in Convention and ratified by three fourths of the states in Convention. Following this method of procedure, and after ratification, a proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution. No such procedure was followed with reference to the 14^th Amendment....Was the break with the mother country complete, or in word only. The Treaty of Paris of 1783 brought a close to the Revolutionary War. But it was written by King George III. How does the “loser” in a war write the peace treaty to conclude that war?

PJ Rain
Speaking Out, Flood's Fight for Free Agency

He [Tom Haller] wanted to know if [Curt] Flood’s decision to sue was part of some Black militancy movement against authority.   Flood acknowledged the question as a fair one and answered by saying that the reserve clause was an injustice that affected players of all races and it was time that someone did something about it....   Once it hit the national media outlets, Flood’s suit became a story of interest, and on January 3, 1970, Flood taped an interview with Howard Cosell for ABC’s Wide World of Sports.   During the interview Flood explained that there was nothing more damaging to a person’s ego as a human being than “being traded or bought and sold like a piece of property.” Cosell then asked him the question, “It’s been written…that you’re a man who makes $90,000 a year, which isn’t exactly slave wages.   What’s your retort to that?”   “A well-paid slave is nonetheless a slave,” was Flood’s reply.... Neither Judge Cooper nor the opposing counsel could rattle Jackie Robinson with their questioning.   Before the trial, Robinson had commented in the media that Flood was doing a service for all players in all leagues and commended his courage for asking for the right to negotiate.   During his testimony he claimed that “anything that is one-sided in this country is wrong” and that the reserve clause was one-sided in favor of the owners.   He went on to say that he believed the reserve clause to be so one-sided that players had no control over their own destinies.     

PJ Rain
Letter to Tiger Woods

Like you, [boxer Jack] Johnson was one of the few men of color who competed at the highest level in an individual sport whose patrons were not very accepting of his complexion.... Yet, neither you nor Johnson relented to the attempts to keep you in your place because your respective places in this world can be defined only by you and your Creator.   Your places are as champions, the best in the world at your craft during your time.   The two of you possessed just the right amount of arrogance to proclaim that conformity to someone else’s impositions would not be an option, and eventually an adjustment would have to be made for you.... Although it is understandable that Johnson did not want to be characterized as the “Black champion,” it is the compassion, resilience, and support of his Black people that may have aided him during his more troubled times.... However, I implore you to not make the same mistake as Jack Johnson.   There are many people in the Black community who feel that you do not want to be identified as such, and while I understand and respect your refusal to be categorized by someone else’s flawed system, you should recognize that there is a reason that the Creator has that brown hue radiating through your skin.   Don’t let those faulty and racist associations fool you into only partially acknowledging your heritage.   You are first and foremost of African descent, and that is your source of strength, power, and wisdom.  

Elmore Cisco James, Jr.
Make Believe: Showboating in America

Show Boat is the heartbreakingly stunning and beautiful, mixed-race woman that is, tragically for America, a rejected Julie. It’s about time—eighty some-odd years later—that we finally get to know her.... America is the land where all Europeans arrive to become “white.” And American theatre artists are invested in keeping that world “white,” even if it means creating the occasional false and misleading image. But Show Boat’s theme shatters all notions of “white” pretense by making the claim that: Whiteness is pretense.... In a Playboy interview in the early sixties, the genius trumpeter Miles Davis was asked how, if he were dying, he would like to spend the last hour of his life. Miles answered, “By choking a white person.”