Coach "Prime" and the renaissance of HBCU Football

The Monday Musings!

Jackson State University Football Coach Deion “Primetime” Sanders was front and center on 60 Minutes last night and true to form, his interview did NOT disappoint.

For those who missed it, click on the link below and enjoy:

Not that I was surprised, but the day after “Coach Prime's” segment, I've read a number of social media posts where the posters opine that "HBCU Alumni don't support their schools,” which is their opinion as to why HBCU's lag behind their predominantly white (PWI) counterparts.

A few Hobbservations to the contrary:

1. That sentiment GROSSLY understates the real issue at public HBCU's, which is historic AND present day funding inequalities by state legislatures and University Regents. Jim Crow's "Separate But Equal" doctrine was separate and wholly "unequal" for nearly a century, which is why multi-million dollar settlements have been reached in recent decades in Alabama, Mississippi, Maryland; one pending in Tennessee, and a recently filed case in Florida to pay a small percentage of what was withheld and/or stolen from public HBCU's well into the 1980's.

If you didn't know that, now you do...

2. Gross income for Black graduates of both HBCU's and PWI's still lags in comparison to income for white graduates and, in many industries, whites without degrees for one major reason: SYSTEMIC RACISM! This means that discretionary cash is not as readily accessible to donate at high clips when a family is struggling with inflation and living paycheck to paycheck—even with an alphabet soup of degrees behind their names. Some will say, "well, we still buy this or that" and there is some truth to that in a vacuum, but for the majority of our people, folks are out here fighting to make ends meet.

3. As Morehouse alumnus Spike Lee brilliantly exposed in "School Daze," Blacks who did not attend a Morehouse, FAMU, Jackson State, Howard, or Hampton do not willingly donate and/or support the schools or teams of Black colleges the same way that whites that did NOT attend Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, or Florida State support those schools. When you see 100k fans chanting “Rocky Top” at Tennessee, trust, most of those in attendance have not taken a single class at the University of Tennessee—but they support "their Vols" with their time and tithes all the same.

To be honest, I've spent most of my life wondering about this issue, and still have yet to quite comprehend the "why."

4. As the years pass, Blacks who remember the glory days of HBCU football, or who are second generation and heard the stories first hand from the HBCU legends themselves, are dying off—and the stories die with them/us. Such is why there are some among us who had no clue that Jackson State has FOUR former players in the NFL Hall of Fame—as does South Carolina State!

That lost history is crucial, which is why I was so excited to get a glimpse of the Eddie Robinson museum during last week's televised FAMU vs. Grambling game, and why I enjoyed listening to Coach Prime, a star at Florida State but a graduate of Talladega College—a storied HBCU—discuss how he is trying to resurrect what was in Jackson—and take it to new heights!

Similarly, I love seeing FAMU Coach Willie Simmons, one of the most talented young coaches in the game, wear a Jake Gaither shirt in honor of FAMU's legendary Coach, during warm-ups of games.

Coach Simmons and the legend, Coach Gaither!

Indeed, paying homage to legacies is a key factor in developing and sustaining new blood into our hallowed HBCU's.

5. Whether you attended an HBCU or not, you can contribute to one or more of these legendary schools. Each year during Reunion Weekend at Spelman and Morehouse, reuniting classes give back millions of dollars to their respective alma mater. Each year at Homecoming, FAMU's entering classes, Frats/Sororities and clubs give back millions of dollars to their alma mater. These giving stories are not always told as regularly in the media as a hazing, shooting incident, or a fake news story like the FAMU Marching 100 not being fed and forced to drive round trip to North Carolina, but the truth is that HBCU Alumni DO give and encourage their fellow alumni to give MORE all of the time.

That said, if you are a non-HBCU alum but just love you some Tuskegee, Bethune Cookman, Tennessee State, Alabama State, or Southern University, when you roll up on their Homecoming sets this year to watch the bands, eat the fish and ribs, and sing "I'm So Glad" for one afternoon, Google and find out how you can Cash App or Zelle a couple few dollars to those same schools' general funds. Do it for the culture—and the ancestors whose toil opened up educational opportunities for Black folks at HBCU's and PWI's alike...