“The whole world opened to me when I learned to read.”
— Mary McLeod Bethune
• • •
I
got home last night after a long and interesting day, flipped on the TV to
catch Game 6 of the Celtics-Heat battle for the NBA Eastern Conference
championship. Wow!
It
took less than two seconds of viewing to see there was a new LeBron James in
the world. Focused. Determined. There was an urgency, a sustained energy, and
an inner confidence in the man’s play
that I had never seen before.
I
guess my father was right. When I was about seventeen or so, I asked him
“how do you know when you have become a man?” I found his reply Sphinx-like at
the time: “You’ll know when you get there.”
LeBron
James was a kid as a Cleveland Cavalier. He was incredibly more talented than his
teammates, with immensely greater physical gifts, and a much higher basketball
intelligence. He said a lot of the right things because he had learned them but
they came more from his head than his heart. He didn’t own them.
Not
until last night.
Not
until, facing elimination from the post-season for the third time in recent
years [twice as a Cavalier], he had to screw his courage to the sticking point,
adopt a no-excuse attitude, and perform.
And
perform he did. He never let up, never came off the court, never hesitated even
for a moment, and by dint of his performance led his team to victory in his
best game ever. The difference was not his accuracy, which was uncanny, but his
attitude.
LeBron
reached adulthood last night.
• • •
NonProfit Thursday
PARADE THE CIRCLE
We
are a day late this week but as we constantly tell the wife, eighty percent of
success in life is showing up. And better late than never.
[Note: eighty percent is not always good enough.]
But
we can’t omit reporting on some stuff coming up this week. To begin with,
there’s tomorrow’s Parade the Circle. Since my children are long since grown
and gone, I’ve never really been a fan of the event, and not even sure if I have ever attended. But, somehow, learning recently that 75,000 people now attend
this free event annually, my curiosity has been spiked.
If you have similarly been in
the dark, or want to learn more, check here and/or here.
The
free, rain or shine event kicks off at 11AM
and runs until 4PM.
• • •
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN
NCNW
has one of the most illustrious pedigrees of all the ethnic affinity groups in
our community. It was founded in 1935 as an “organization of organizations” by
Mary McLeod Bethune [1875-1935], an adviser to President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and a confidante of his wife Eleanor.
Bethune
was succeeded as the Council’s leader by her protégé Dorothy Height, a powerful
force in her own right, on par with but often overlooked as a notch below the
so-called Big Six civil rights leaders: John Lewis (SNCC, the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee); Whitney Young (National Urban League); A.
Philip Randolph; Martin Luther King, Jr. (Southern Christian Leadership
Conference); James Farmer (CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality); and Roy
Wilkins (NAACP).
Bethune’s
story is a remarkable one. She was the 15th of 17 children born to
freed slaves; several of her older siblings were born into slavery, though she
herself arrived after Emancipation. She opened a school for girls in Daytona
Beach, Florida when she was only 29 herself. That school, which opened on $1.50
and faith in God”, and had five girl students ages 8 to 10, has evolved into
Bethune-Cookman College.
Bethune
famously crafted a Last Will and Testament as a part of her enduring legacy to
black people. Its last bequest:
I leave
you, finally, a responsibility to our young people.
The world around us really belongs to youth;
for youth will take over its future management.
The
entire document, which you can read here, is worthy of reading and
incorporating into your life.
The
Cleveland NCNW holds its annual Legacy Luncheon tomorrow at the Manor Party Center, 24111 Rockwell Ave, in Euclid.
Cleveland’s
own Jean Murrell Capers will be honored. Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey
S. Carr is the luncheon speaker. For information call 216.253.8913.
• • •
BOOKS THAT CHANGED OUR LIVES
Finally,
I was a panelist on a recent Civic Commons radio show about books that changed
our lives. Also on the panel were Richmond Heights councilwoman Miesha Headen
and Michael Gill, editor of Collective Arts Network Journal. Halfway through the show you can hear me a
bit from my selection. You can find the podcast here.
