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An Appreciation, Detroit Lions, NFL, Penn State Nittany Lions, Wayne Tripplett - November 11, 2018

Wallace Triplett is an NFL legend: honoring the first African-American to play pro ball The Detroit Lions and Penn State running back helped build the path that became a road that is now a superhighway

The more I watch the antics of Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown, the more I appreciate the life and times of Wallace Triplett, the former Penn State and Detroit Lions running back who died last week at 92. The distance between Brown, whose off-field missteps have kept him in the headlines, and Triplett, who inspired a moral […]

With ‘for colored girls,’ Ntozake Shange gave generations of black women a way to see God in themselves Saying goodbye to a black feminist who always walked like a lion

Every time I hear the chorus to the Mary Mary gospel song “The God in Me,” I can’t help but think of Ntozake Shange. Shange, who died in her sleep Oct. 27 at 70, wrote in her 1975 seminal work: through my tears i found god in myself & i loved her i loved her […]

Paul Allen: co-founder of Microsoft and accidental almost-black man The most profound black influence on Allen was rock guitar virtuoso, Jimi Hendrix

In his 2011 memoir Idea Man, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen recalled a phrase his mother coined to describe risk-takers. “That person is an edge walker,” Allen’s mom would say. Given this familial admiration for adventure seekers, it’s not surprising that Allen seemed attracted to some of the flashier products of black pop culture, namely thrill-chasing […]

The versatile George Taliaferro just enjoyed playing football The first African-American player drafted by the NFL died at the age of 91

George Taliaferro was sitting in a Windy City restaurant eating with some of the nation’s top football players when he found out his favorite team, the Chicago Bears, had selected him in the 13th round of the 1949 NFL draft. The next move by Taliaferro, who died on Monday night at the age of 91, […]

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An Appreciation, Mac Miller, Rest In Peace - September 08, 2018

For Mac Miller, life was nothing easy The rapper, who struggled with addiction, died at age 26 on Friday

When I get old I’m a be real cool Sittin’ on the porch with a fresh pair of shoes Whole bunch of stories for the neighborhood kids Tell ’em to believe, they be makin’ it big And I know That life is nothing easy (nothing easy) One day, I’m a change the world And they’ll […]

Aretha Franklin’s biggest legacy wasn’t singing; it was social justice Isiah Thomas, Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton, Cicely Tyson and more pay tribute to the Queen of Soul in Detroit

DETROIT — Respectfully, the work that Aretha Franklin has done — those foundations that her friends, contemporaries, family members and heads of states marveled about during her nearly 11-hour viewing and funeral service — isn’t enough. Not now. And not moving forward. On Friday, in her hometown of Detroit, thousands of parishioners, many of them […]

Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, no doubt, but it’s simpler just to call her Queen Never shying away from singing about the black experience, Aretha was popular but never sold the black community short or herself out

I lit a couple of candles, grabbed a bottle of wine and poured myself a modest glass of cabernet. Aretha Franklin was in hospice care, and I decided to start celebrating her life with “Dr. Feelgood” from her first live album, Aretha in Paris, recorded in 1968. Aretha hits a note at the 3:39 mark […]

When Prince sat courtside at Thunder-Warriors game Draymond Green: ‘When he walked in, no one’s attention was on the game anymore’

OAKLAND, California — Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Rihanna. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Rapper E-40. Neymar. Dave Chappelle. Russell Wilson and Ciara. Snoop Dogg. These are a few of the celebrities who have sat courtside to watch the Golden State Warriors. But of all the stars who have graced the seats at Oracle Arena, none distracted the Warriors […]

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An Appreciation, Les Payne, NABJ - March 21, 2018

Trailblazing black journalist Les Payne showed no fear in pursuit of the truth He’ll be remembered as an NABJ founder and Pulitzer Prize winner, and a mentor and role model to many

My friend Les Payne is dead. During his 38-year journalism career, Les had many close encounters with death. He once escaped the Mediterranean island of Corsica just minutes ahead of the thugs whom a drug dealer sent to his hotel to “turn out his lights.” On another occasion, Les found himself staring down the barrels […]

Clarence Beavers, last surviving member of the first black paratroop unit, dies at 96 The groundbreaking WWII program helped end segregation in the military

Clarence Hylan Beavers, the last surviving member of a pioneering “test platoon” during World War II who helped end segregation in the military, died Dec. 4 at 96 at his home in Huntington, New York. Beavers, who originally enlisted at 17 in the New York National Guard’s famous Harlem Hellfighters after working a series of […]

Remembering Perry Wallace, who broke the color barrier in SEC basketball A memorial service at Vanderbilt celebrates his life on court and off

A memorial service will be held Monday at Vanderbilt University for Perry Wallace, the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. Wallace, who died in December at age 69, played at Vanderbilt from 1966-70 and graduated with an engineering degree. He went on to earn a law degree from Columbia University and became an […]

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An Appreciation - January 30, 2018

Simeon Booker’s life and legacy cannot be overstated ‘Every black journalist working today should pause for a moment and thank Simeon Booker’

The life of Simeon Booker was celebrated Monday at Washington National Cathedral, a beautiful memorial service for an extraordinary journalist. Mr. Booker — and I feel compelled to call him mister — was a capital pioneer, admired by everyone who knew that he played a role in helping to better this nation. In 1952, he […]

What if the Muhammad Ali we knew had never existed? From his brief kinship with Malcolm X to the ‘Thrilla In Manila,’ five alternative universes for Ali — and the world

From Michelle Obama, Dwyane Wade and Betty White to Steve Harvey, Jan. 17 offers an embarrassment of riches for celebrity birthday followers. One name in particular, however, towers above the others: Muhammad Ali. The self-proclaimed and globally anointed “Greatest” would have been 76 today. To say Muhammad Ali is an inspiration for Team Undefeated is […]

Jo Jo White loved the Celtics and the Celtics loved him back Hall of Famer, seven-time All-Star and Finals MVP dies at 71

Cedric Maxwell got word that his old Boston Celtics teammate Jo Jo White died on Tuesday just before Maxwell was about to go on radio to give his usual analysis of the Celtics game. Sadness engulfed Maxwell during the broadcast. Not able to say much more, Maxwell left the TD Garden in Boston in the […]

Don Baylor broke barriers and never backed away from a fight World Series champion and 1979 American League MVP dies of cancer at 68

Don Baylor would walk through his O’Henry Junior High School and Austin High School hallways and hear the taunts and racial slurs that came with being one of the first three African-Americans to integrate the Austin, Texas, schools. When students didn’t feel like it was enough to hurl racial epithets at Baylor, fights would break […]

A letter of gratitude to Stuart Scott Scott was beacon of light for the athletes he covered and the North Star for aspiring black sports reporters

“See,” my Uncle John said in the summer of 1998. He pointed toward the television in his Washington, D.C., apartment. “That’s gonna be you one day.” A fluorescent light from his fish tank dimly lit the apartment. My uncle and I were up watching Stuart Scott on SportsCenter. Scott talked about sports the way we […]

‘True Blood’s’ Nelsan Ellis, dead at 39, was a unique and undeniable talent He made Lafayette Reynolds an important character rarely seen on screen

Hooker, you left way too soon. I imagine that’s what True Blood’s Lafayette Reynolds would say about the untimely death of Nelsan Ellis, the actor who created him. Ellis, a 2004 Juilliard graduate, died of heart failure at age 39, his manager said Saturday. On True Blood, which aired on HBO from 2008 to 2014, […]

Greg Marius married hoops and hip-hop to revive the Rucker summer league His Entertainers Basketball Classic in Harlem changed the streetball game

Something felt different as I came up the stairs from the 155th Street subway station in Harlem that Monday in 2001. Beneath the midafternoon July sun, the line outside Holcombe Rucker Park stretched down the block behind blue police sawhorse barriers. The crowd was mostly teens and grown men, dipped in standard summer street attire: […]

The hilarious and self-aware glory of Charlie Murphy Comedian, actor, screenwriter — and yes, Eddie Murphy’s older brother — was a funnyman in his own right

Charlie Murphy, the straight, no-chaser funnyman who died Wednesday afternoon at the age of 57 after a private battle with leukemia, pulled off the seemingly impossible. Indeed, the older brother of Eddie Murphy, a once-in-a-generation comedian and record-breaking film star, would not have been blamed if he rode the red leather tails of his sibling’s […]

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An Appreciation, Bryan Burwell, Journalism - December 07, 2016

Bryan Burwell brought a different perspective to big sports stories Writer, TV commentator and mentor died two years ago this week

It took perspective to see the Detroit Pistons the way Bryan Burwell did in the late 1980s. The Bad Boys hip-checked the small of Larry Bird’s back, clotheslined Michael Jordan’s esophagus and tormented NBA commissioner David Stern with their bullying style of play. The world hated the Pistons and the Pistons hated the world. The […]

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An Appreciation, Don Motley, Negro League - November 29, 2016

Don Motley’s museum will keep Negro League baseball alive for black boys His love of the game and support of those pioneering black players are his legacy

In baseball circles, people said farewell Tuesday to Don Motley, one of the founding fathers of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Most folk who knew Don called him “Mr. Motley,” but I never did — not because of any arrogance or disrespect, he just felt like Don to me. I remember […]

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An Appreciation, Gwen Ifill, Rest In Peace - November 18, 2016

In appreciation: Gwen Ifill, 1955-2016 The picture of bold grace, Ifill artfully demanded truth from power

The right question — thoughtful, relevant, bold — can catch even the most prepared politician off guard. It seems a generation ago, but it was just 12 years. Barack Obama was an Illinois senator who had given a memorable speech at the summer’s Democratic National Convention. John Kerry was running against the incumbent President George […]

Former Howard University soccer star reminds us of a ‘truer and livelier’ sport Keith Aqui epitomized the team’s style of championship play

There comes a reminder — a sad reminder, alas — from the 1970s. The death of Keith Aqui brings memories flooding back of college soccer and the exploits of Howard University. Aqui, who died far too young at 71, was on the Howard team that in 1971 won the NCAA Division I title. A tremendous […]

Rod Temperton: A white guy at the soul of black pop A creative partner to Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, The Invisible Man lives on in the best music of the 20th century

In 1980, just as Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall was beginning to stick to radio airwaves like so much sonic honey, attentive radio listeners noted a curious similarity between Jackson’s seductive single and Heatwave’s 1977 disco hit, Boogie Nights. The similarity wasn’t imagined. That’s because both Off the Wall and Boogie Nights were composed by […]

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An Appreciation RSS

Wallace Triplett is an NFL legend: honoring the first African-American to play pro ball The Detroit Lions and Penn State running back helped build the path that became a road that is now a superhighway

With ‘for colored girls,’ Ntozake Shange gave generations of black women a way to see God in themselves Saying goodbye to a black feminist who always walked like a lion

Paul Allen: co-founder of Microsoft and accidental almost-black man The most profound black influence on Allen was rock guitar virtuoso, Jimi Hendrix

The versatile George Taliaferro just enjoyed playing football The first African-American player drafted by the NFL died at the age of 91

For Mac Miller, life was nothing easy The rapper, who struggled with addiction, died at age 26 on Friday

Aretha Franklin’s biggest legacy wasn’t singing; it was social justice Isiah Thomas, Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton, Cicely Tyson and more pay tribute to the Queen of Soul in Detroit

Aretha Franklin was the Queen of Soul, no doubt, but it’s simpler just to call her Queen Never shying away from singing about the black experience, Aretha was popular but never sold the black community short or herself out

When Prince sat courtside at Thunder-Warriors game Draymond Green: ‘When he walked in, no one’s attention was on the game anymore’

Trailblazing black journalist Les Payne showed no fear in pursuit of the truth He’ll be remembered as an NABJ founder and Pulitzer Prize winner, and a mentor and role model to many

Clarence Beavers, last surviving member of the first black paratroop unit, dies at 96 The groundbreaking WWII program helped end segregation in the military

Remembering Perry Wallace, who broke the color barrier in SEC basketball A memorial service at Vanderbilt celebrates his life on court and off

Simeon Booker’s life and legacy cannot be overstated ‘Every black journalist working today should pause for a moment and thank Simeon Booker’

What if the Muhammad Ali we knew had never existed? From his brief kinship with Malcolm X to the ‘Thrilla In Manila,’ five alternative universes for Ali — and the world

Jo Jo White loved the Celtics and the Celtics loved him back Hall of Famer, seven-time All-Star and Finals MVP dies at 71

Don Baylor broke barriers and never backed away from a fight World Series champion and 1979 American League MVP dies of cancer at 68

A letter of gratitude to Stuart Scott Scott was beacon of light for the athletes he covered and the North Star for aspiring black sports reporters

‘True Blood’s’ Nelsan Ellis, dead at 39, was a unique and undeniable talent He made Lafayette Reynolds an important character rarely seen on screen

Greg Marius married hoops and hip-hop to revive the Rucker summer league His Entertainers Basketball Classic in Harlem changed the streetball game

The hilarious and self-aware glory of Charlie Murphy Comedian, actor, screenwriter — and yes, Eddie Murphy’s older brother — was a funnyman in his own right

Bryan Burwell brought a different perspective to big sports stories Writer, TV commentator and mentor died two years ago this week

Don Motley’s museum will keep Negro League baseball alive for black boys His love of the game and support of those pioneering black players are his legacy

In appreciation: Gwen Ifill, 1955-2016 The picture of bold grace, Ifill artfully demanded truth from power

Former Howard University soccer star reminds us of a ‘truer and livelier’ sport Keith Aqui epitomized the team’s style of championship play

Rod Temperton: A white guy at the soul of black pop A creative partner to Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, The Invisible Man lives on in the best music of the 20th century

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