Professor at historically black college questions 'black national anthem'

Timothy Askew, Ph.D., Emory University, M.A. Yale University, B.A. Morehouse College
Associate Professor - Clark Atlanta University... American Literature, American Studies, Southern Literature, Autobiography and Biography, Advanced Grammar.

"Lift Every Voice and Sing" is an uplifting spiritual, one that's often heard in churches and popularly recognized as the black national anthem. Timothy Askew grew up with its rhythms, but now the song holds a contentious place in his mind.

"I love the song," said Askew, an associate professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college. "But it's not the song that is the problem. It's the label of the song as a 'black national anthem' that creates a lot of confusion and tension."

The song and its message of struggle and hope have long been attached to the African-American community. It lives on as a religious hymn for several protestant and African-American denominations and was quoted by the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration.

After studying the music and lyrics of the song and its history for more than two decades, Askew decided the song was intentionally written with no specific reference to any race or ethnicity.



Askew explains his position in the new book, "Cultural Hegemony and African American Patriotism: An Analysis of the Song, 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,'" which was released by Linus Publications in June. The book explores the literary and musical traditions of the song, but also says that a national anthem for African-Americans can be construed as racially separatist and divisive.

"To sing the 'black national anthem' suggests that black people are separatist and want to have their own nation," Askew said. "This means that everything Martin Luther King Jr. believed about being one nation gets thrown out the window."

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2nd Annual Paine College Golf Tournament Builds on Success

Last year's inaugural Paine College Golf Tournament was such a rousing success -- the event raised nearly $25,000 for the Lions' golf program -- that it seemed it would be hard to top in 2010.

It appears that won't be a problem. The second annual tournament, set for Aug. 31, 2010, at Jones Creek Golf Club, Evans, Georgia, already has another full field of 50 three-man teams, and sponsorship money is up from this time last year. The field filled up last week. The cost was $300 per three-man team, or $100 for an individual. "We've got a standby list again," said Kenny Larry, who is back as the chairman of the tournament committee.

Sponsorships are still being accepted. Anyone interested in sponsorships or getting on the waiting list should contact Paine College at (706) 821-8233. With sponsorship money ahead of last year's pace, thanks in part to a $3,500 donation from one area foundation, the tournament is setting a goal of $50,000 raised for the golf program.

Last year's money went for golf equipment, range finders, scholarships, assisting in recruiting and to cover expenses to send the team to the PGA Minority Golf Championships.

The Paine College Golf Tournament started in response to the fact the Paine team qualified for the minority tournament in 2008, but the trip was canceled, with the school citing lack of funds. In the wake of an outpouring of public support after word got out about the problem, Frances Wimberly and other Paine officials thought a benefit tournament might help out. It certainly has. "The tournament is doing very, very well," Larry said.

The tournament is using the same format as last year: a three-man captain's choice. Augusta native and Champions Tour winner Jim Dent will return as honorary chairman and play.

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Message From Honorary Chair Jim Dent

I am pleased to serve as Honorary Chair for the 2nd Annual Paine College Golf Tournament. It is with great pride that I express to you the success of the Inaugural Paine College Golf Tournament held in August of 2009. The overwhelming support from last year’s tournament makes me even more excited to be a part of the 2nd Annual Paine College Golf Tournament, which will be held on August 30, 2010 at Jones Creek Golf Club in Evans, Georgia.

As a supporter of Paine College I am familiar with its mission, stand behind its vision and live by the College’s core values. My interaction with the tournament committee and the Paine Men’s Golf Team has further strengthened my love for this cause. All of the proceeds raised at the Golf Tournament are donated to the College to provide scholarships and program support.

The Paine Men’s Golf Team is on the rise. The team recently placed 2nd in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament. Your support helps encourage the team to strive for excellence on and off the course.

We appreciate your support and look forward to hearing from you soon. I look forward to seeing you on the course.

Sincerely,

Jim Dent
Honorary Chair

Erbe signs with Stillman College Tigers

Former Nature Coast Technical High School (Brooksville, Florida) catcher Ryan Erbe, a 2007 gradate and an All-County selection in 2006, has received the second chance he sought. After taking a year off from his baseball career due to a shoulder injury, Erbe has signed with Stillman College, a Division II school in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

"Baseball is my life," Erbe said. "I took this year off. Yeah I was doing other things; I was down at Fort Myers, living on my own, working, going to school. But it just didn't feel the same without baseball."

The 21-year-old from Spring Hill said he will receive what essentially amounts to a full ride to man his old position, catcher, for the Tigers. "It's great," Erbe said. "That's what I want to do, I want to play baseball. I know it's a long shot, but I want to make a career out of it and this is my chance to make that happen. It meant the world to me when the coach called and said they want to give me a spot on the team. I would have went there for free."

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Buck O'Neil recommended Dawson to Cubs in ' 75

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The late Buck O'Neil played an instrumental role in sending some great players to the Cubs, including Ernie Banks, Lou Brock and Lee Smith. He could have had another huge find had then-GM John Holland and scouting director Vedie Himsl followed another of his recommendations.



Montreal scout Mel Didier spotted Andre Dawson playing in a 15-inning scrimmage game for the Florida A&M Rattlers before the 1975 season. He remembers him as a "skinny center fielder'' who hit two grounders with "overspin that chewed up the infield grass,'' and the Expos would take Dawson in the 11th round of the draft.

O'Neil regularly scouted Florida A&M and knew all about his potential. He even had the Rattlers' head coach move Dawson to shortstop at one point during the season for an audition as a middle infielder - "I hurt my arm throwing sidearm,'' Dawson said - and pushed the Cubs to selected Dawson, according to some interviews. But Himsl had used the second pick of the '75 draft on Lee Smith, another O'Neil recommendation, and decided not to give him two picks in the top 10.

O'Neil filled Dawson in on the background at a banquet in Chicago one winter. "There was the possibility of the Cubs drafting me,'' said Dawson, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame Sunday. "But it never manifested itself.''

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ASU Board of Trustees Approves Danley for Athletic Director Vacancy

Alabama State University’s Board of Trustees announced the hiring of the Hornets new athletic director at the University during its 2 p.m., July 23 meeting at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.

The Board named Stacy L. Danley II as the University’s new athletic director. Danley was the director of athletics at Tuskegee University from 2008-2009. He developed and managed the department’s budgets and provided fiscal overview for the athletic programs. Prior to Tuskegee, Danley was the associate athletic director and the men’s sports coordinator at Auburn University. His accomplishments include creating and serving as publishing editor for AU Connection, a biannual magazine designed to improve and restore relationships between the university and former athletes.

Danley has a bachelor’s degree in Vocational and Adult Education from Auburn University (1993) and a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Auburn University (1996).

While attending Auburn, Mr. Danley was a member of the football team and went on to play in the National Football League. The 6'-3"/216 lbs., Auburn star tailback is more famously remembered for the hit he received in a nationally televised game bowl game with Ohio State University in 1989 (See Video below).



He also completed an internship at the Southeastern Conference commissioner's office. Danley has served the Southeastern Conference (Birmingham) in the areas of compliance and championships/events management. He was previously associate athletic director for external affairs at Auburn University. He has participated in compliance seminars on both the regional and national levels, and has attended four NCAA conventions.

Danley is a member of the Black Coaches Association, the National Advising Association, the National Consortium for Academics and Sports, and the Greater Lee County 100 Black Men.

Omega men 'are about our people' in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Omega Psi Phi, one of the nation's most celebrated fraternities, took over downtown Raleigh this weekend for fun and fellowship. Moore Square became "Omega Village" Saturday, awash in the fraternity's purple and gold colors. A few thousand Omega men and family members from across the country - spending nearly a week in Raleigh for the fraternity's 76th Grand Conclave - shared food and drink under a broiling sun.

"We fed the homeless - and even the people who were driving past saw what was happening and got out of their cars to come eat with us," said Charles Hayden, a 1974 graduate of N.C. Central University who owns an investment company in New York. "We are about our people, man!" Visitors sipped cold drinks under shady oak trees and purchased everything from fraternity regalia to shaved ices at vendors' stalls. Others lined up to grub on ribs, chicken wings, hot dogs and burgers while a whole pig lay on a mammoth grill.

Fun and fellowship were only part of the reason why the fraternity descended on Raleigh last week. Omega Psi Phi, founded at Howard University in 1911, lived up to its creed of community service Saturday morning when more than 100 members showed up at the Garner Road YMCA to give it a makeover and a paint job. The real work of the convention will occur this week, when the fraternity elects officers and reviews bylaws and policies.

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Bowl 'surrender' or status quo for MEAC football?

We're into the dog days of the sports calendar, which means that feuding cyclists and the words of football coaches who haven't held a practice yet pass for news. Along those lines, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference honchos are discussing football's future postseason direction. Specifically, the league is considering opting out of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in favor of a bowl game between historically black schools.

Dennis Thomas, the MEAC's genial commissioner and the former athletic director at Hampton University, said that no conclusion has been reached, that the principals are in the midst of due diligence. He said that a decision would come this fall, and if everybody chose the bowl route, the game would take place beginning in 2011. Thomas wouldn't bite on arguments for and against a bowl versus playoff participation, politely repeating that the topic remains in the discussion phase.

Apparently, those discussions are to remain private, since North Carolina A&T athletic director Wheeler Brown said through his executive assistant that Thomas issued a gag order to league ADs about the subject. Brown is about to begin a stint on the FCS playoff selection committee.

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