From the cotton fields to the football fields

The time is here to take a look at the difference in the cotton fields and the high school and college fields.
We all know the football fields in high schools and colleges all across America are dominated by black athletes. These young men are all filled with the dream of becoming a super star and going on to the pros. While in reality only about 1/10th of 1 percent make it to the pros.
The young athletes are stereotyped and some of them stereotype themselves. When the reality of the real world sets in it can be devastating to the dreams and desires of the young athletes who are not prepared academically for the real world.
The Greenville County school board has done nothing to change the goals of our young athletes who do not make it to the college level. All they are interested in is how munch money they have brought in to the treasures office.

Let’s take a look at the difference in the football field and the cotton field; the people went to the cotton fields in the 1700 and the 1800s, they slaved all day for no pay but they were fed and housed, and they were not allowed to be educated.
Jump ahead to the 20 century. The black race dominates the field of athletics. They still are not getting paid and there are very few who are getting an education. They do not get housing, they do not represent the top academically in the class as a whole.

Not much difference, we are still using them to benefit the system and we leave them without the knowledge to make a living, especially in Greenville, South Carolina where racism and bigotry is alive and well. Some of the school board members will tell anyone who asks that “color doesn’t matter anymore”. I say if it doesn’t matter, then why do the coaches often tell the black students that they can play pro ball and get rich? Why doesn’t that less than successful school superintendent, Penny Fisher, do something to change the situation? I will answer this question. They do not care what happens to the students once they have brought in all of the money they can generate.
I wonder what would happen if the minority ball players refused to play for just two weeks, would the Friday night lights still burn? I doubt if they would.
Greenville County, SC high school system has a little over 1% of the teachers who are minorities out of over 5000 teachers. They do not get the training in the different culture which is needed to cope with the minorities. This is critical in dealing with the multi-cultured school system that we have.
The teachers have no idea what the mind set of black students is unless the teachers are black and this is why we have such a high drop out rate (highest in the nation). The ratio of white teachers to black teachers is absolutely unacceptable.
There are 1 million 2 hundred thousand students in highs schools across the nation. Less than 10% of 1% ever makes it to the pros. This is the reason that its past time for the schools and coaches to stop telling the students that they can get out of the ghettos if they can make it to the pros. Stop holding up super star football players and basketball players and telling the students that this is the way out.
Start holding up people like Elijah McCoy, I know you have heard the term “that is the real McCoy.” McCoy was a black man and an inventor.
Granville T. Woods was a black man who invented the device that allowed a moving train to be able to telegraph from the moving train to the railroad station.
Garrett Augustus Morgan - We still stop at his stop lights when it turns red.
George Washington Carver - this man was a genius. Look at what he discovered from Georgia clay - peanuts and pecans.
Dr Charles Drew - SAVED MORE LIVES THAN ANYONE EXCEPT JESUS CHRIST. Dr. Drew invented a way to separate the Plasma from whole blood thus enabling the plasma to be kept longer. Dr. Charles Drew started the very first blood bank here in the US, and in England.
All we tell our young black students is to run fast and get a touchdown. And to get that win so the money will keep coming in, so we can then waste a great deal of it and over pay some school superintendent.
Folks this is wrong.
More tomorrow.

The favorite son of the Greenville County, SC school board,

Bobby