Marshall University is ready to kick off Black History Month with first event

Marshall University is very excited to help kick off Black History Month and help inform all students about the history of accomplishments of many members of the Black community.

Marshall will have multiple events throughout February covering everything one may want to know about Black History Month and its relationship with the university. 

The Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum will host the “2023 Black History Month Kickoff” event on Tuesday from 4:30 p.m.- 6 p.m. in Room 206 in the Marshall University Visual Arts Center on Third Avenue at the Marshall University Visual Arts Center on Third Avenue at Pullman Square.

There will be a reception just before the event, from 4 p.m.-4:30 p.m., co-sponsored by The Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum, John Deaver Drinko Academy, School of Art & Design, the School of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Birke Fine arts Symposium.

Burnis Reginald Morris, Carter G. Woodson Professor & Director of The Woodson Lyceum, will give greetings for the event, followed by a welcoming from Dr. Avi Avinandan, Provost & Senior Vice President of Marshall University.

            There will be remarks from multiple Marshall staff numbers, including Dr. Ray Saxe, Superintendent of Cabell County Schools, Dr. Wendell Dobbs, Interim Dean of the College of Arts & Media, Dr. Montserrat Miller, Professor & Executive Director of the Drinko Academy, Sandy York, Interim Director of the School of Journalism & Mass Communications and Mark Zanter, Director of the School of Art.

            Dr. Leonard White, Physician, and the Assistant Dean of the School of Medicine, will be the Keynote Speaker for the event and focusing his discussion on Black contributions in medical history. He will be introduced by the Mayor of Huntington, the Honorable Steve Williams.

            During the event, the Official 2023 Black History Poster will be unveiled, and awards will be presented by Dr. Carline Waugh, Assistant Professor of the School of music, and Sandra Reed, Professor of the School of Art & design. They will be joined in shaking the hands of the winners by Provost, Morros, Dobbs, White and York. 

After the awards have been handed out, the event will close with a proclamation given by Mayor Williams. If anyone has any questions about the event, please contact Professor Burnis Morris at morrisb@marshall.edu.

The event is a beautiful way to kick off Black History Month and help get more people informed on the many achievements of the Black Community. 

This is beneficial to people of all ages and races, because, as a country, we need to be informed on the history of the Black community. So many people have risked their lives, to take a stand and prove others wrong who doubted them for no other reason than the color of their skin. 

            All Americans should know the name Charles G. Woodson and all his accomplishments over his lifetime. He was the second African American in history to graduate from Harvard with a Ph.D. Without Woodson, we would not be able to celebrate Black History Month, for it may have never been created.

Woodson had felt like young African Americans needed to be taught about their history of achievements by anyone, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

            Woodson discussed the idea of teaching African Americans that were interested in learning about their history to his brother of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. In 1924, with his vision and help from his brothers, they created the Negro History and Literature Week.

This would be changed in 1976 from one week in February to the entire month by President Gerald Ford. Since the change, Woodson has adopted the nickname as “The Father of Black History Month.”

I am thankful to Professor Morris for providing me with the information needed to produce this article.

Marshall Athletics Department will host event for Black History Month

    With so many well-known Black athletes having played for the Herd, Marshall University will hold multiple events to Show support for Black History Month in February.

 The Athletics Department will play host to an event to inform those about the many Black athletes who have played at Marshall. The list is long--including National Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, NBA Hall of Famer Hal Greer, former NBA star Hassan Whiteside, etc.

None of this would be possible without the “Father of Black History Month” and Huntington native, Carter G. Woodson. Woodson moved with his family from Canton, Virginia, to Huntington, West Virginia, at a young age to attend an all-Black school.

Later in life, Woodson would become the second African American in history to graduate from Harvard University with a Ph.D.

Woodson would go on to create the first-ever Negro History week, which was ultimately turned into Black History Month by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Thankful to Woodson’s effort and endeavors, we can unite as a country and learn the true history of Black culture in America.

 

The Athletics Department event is titled “Spotlight on Athletics: Black History.” It will take place in the Henderson Center on Feb. 8 at 8:30 a.m.

 According to Burnis Reginald Morris, Carter G. Woodson Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications, there will be a panel of athletics community members speaking on Black History in Marshall Athletics and its impact on who we are and where we are going.      

Those who attend the event will receive free tickets to the Marshall Women’s Basketball game on Feb. 11 vs. Texas State. Anyone who has questions about the event, please get in touch with Arlin Vieira by email at vieiraa@marshall.edu.

Logan Wildcats end losing streak and prepare for big Cat battle in the Willie Akers Arena.

        The Logan High School Wildcats boys’ basketball team (8-8) ends its 3-game losing streak Tuesday night against the Wayne High School Pioneers (6-7) and is looking to start a winning streak at home in a Cardinal Conference matchup against the Nitro High School Wildcats (7-6) this Friday.

After losing to the Chapmanville Regional Tigers on Jan. 13, The Wildcats suffered back-to-back losses Friday and Saturday, losing to the Scott High School Skyhawks 68-59 and the Shady Spring High School Tigers 71-43. 

The Wildcats lost senior guard Garrett Williamson during Friday night’s loss against the Skyhawks after falling to a knee injury. Williamson will have surgery and be out for the remainder of the season.

This is a critical loss for the Wildcats since Williamson has been a key element to the team's success, leading the team in assists and being seen as a leader for the team due to his skill, IQ, and passion for the game.

Going into Tuesday’s game after losing another starter and being on a 3-game losing streak, The Wildcats left Wayne with a win against the Pioneers to snap its losing streak. The Wildcats led most of the game by 20 points, but ultimately finished the game with a 77-65 victory. 

Senior guard, Scotty Browning, had a phenomenal performance yesterday in his first game back after recovering from a concussion. Browning finished the game with 31 points, sending him into the Logan High record books by joining the 1,000-point club. 

I spoke with Browning this morning about what it meant to him once he realized he had become a member of such a prestigious club. He said, “During the game, I had completely forgotten about it, but once everyone started congratulating me, it finally kicked in. It felt great. It has always been a dream of mine, and it finally becoming a reality is such an accomplished feeling.” 

Scotty Browning rises up for the easy finish

 Many people enjoy comparing browning to his older brother, former Marshall men’s basketball star Stevie Browning, who played professional basketball overseas from 2017-2020 and won a national championship in Hungary with the Szolnoki Aloj. 

Browning was excited about becoming a member of the 1,000-point club; Browning said, “It also gives me some ammunition for my case in the conversation with my brother when people ask who is better.”

Browning is 6’1”, averaging 24.1 points per game while shooting 42.8% from behind the 3-point line, making a solid case for himself as the best guard in the State of West Virginia. Browning has received an offer from Alderson Broaddus University and a rumored interest from Navy.

Browning was more than satisfied with his performance Tuesday after returning from his injury. When asked about how he feels going into Friday’s game against Nitro and what he sees the team doing for the remainder of the season, he said, “It is a very reassuring feeling having a good game coming back from an injury. I was a little nervous going into that game just thinking about my health, but now I can put that behind me and focus on the rest of the season.  With that being said, I am very excited for Friday, and even with all the unfortunate injuries happening with our team right now, I feel that we are in a great spot, and it is only getting better as we move forward.”

The Nitro Wildcats are coming into the game off a 56-53 loss against the Scott Skyhawks, with a big performance from the Wildcats' sophomore guard, Ashton Crouch finishing 27 points and 14 rebounds. Crouch is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 14 points per game and 9 rebounds per game.

A win in Friday’s game is vital for both teams since they are in Class AAA, and each has four wins in conference play.  The game will take place at Logan High School in the Willie Akers Arena at 7:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on Facebook by Mountain Dreams Media.

Big Weekend for the Wildcats

The Logan High School Wildcats Boys’ basketball team (7-6) has a tough schedule this weekend with back-to-back games against two of the toughest teams in its Class AAA division after suffering a tough loss on Friday to its cross-county rival, the Chapmanville Regional High School Tigers (9-1).

 

 The Wildcats are Heading to Madison, W. Va, to face its newly found rival just one county over, the Scott High School Skyhawks (7-4), on Friday and head back home to face the Shady Spring High School Tigers (8-3) Saturday.

 

            Last Friday, the Wildcats fought hard, but ended up losing to the Tigers in overtime 70-64. Both team's star players scored at will, with the Wildcats’ Senior star, Scotty Browning, finishing with 24 points by the third quarter before having to exit the game with a concussion after falling hard while going for a rebound. The Tigers' senior star, Sal Dean, finished with 26 points, scoring 20 points in the second half and overtime.

 

            Browning is potentially out for the next week of play, which will be a hard loss for the Wildcats since Browning has been the team’s leading scorer this season, averaging 21 points per game. The team lost key players before the season started, losing its senior big man, Jaxon Cogar, for the entire season and its best defensive senior, Aiden Slack, who is expected to return in February. 

 

            With so many seniors out, the younger players on the team have had to step up under pressure. Last season, the head coach of the Wildcats, Zach Green, usually ran a seven-man rotation with the same group of players and rarely checked in the younger players on the team, but with so many players out, he has switched up his game plan and rotated his players from seniors to freshmen testing out multiple lineups. 

 

            With two crucial games coming up for the Wildcats, I spoke with a junior guard, Derek Browning, about the team's game plan for this weekend and how they can improve after the loss to the Tigers. 

 

            I asked Browning what they need to improve on from the last game, and he said, “We need to communicate more and are going to try to slow the pace down and set up our offense more.”  Browning also spoke on the team's game plan for the weekend, “We are going trap more and crash for the rebounds since we are smaller than both teams.”

 

Without the certainty of the Wildcats guard Scotty Browning being cleared to play Friday, the Skyhawks will also be without their star player, senior guard, Reece Carden, who is averaging 26 points per game on the season, but is out due to a foot injury. 

 

With both teams not having their star players and a young roster for both teams, fans expect to see a different type of play on Friday. Most are excited to see how the younger players step up during what is seen as a big game since these two teams have not played one another since they met in the first round of the West Virginia Boys Basketball State Tournament, where Scott upset Logan with Carden hitting a game-winning floater in the final seconds of the game.

 

The Scott vs. Logan game will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. at Scott High School in Madison, W. Va, and will also be streamed live on Facebook on Mountain Dreams Media.

 

After the game on Friday, the Logan Wildcats will head back home to play Saturday afternoon against the Shady Spring Tigers. Shady is coming off back-to-back state championship visits, winning the Class AAA title in 2021 and losing by 1 to Fairmont Senior in 2022.

 

The Tigers have kept all players and will have their full regular lineup come Saturday. This will be a big test for the younger guys on the Wildcats roster.

 

They will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Willie Akers Arena at Logan High School, and the game will be streamed live on Facebook on Mountain Dreams Media.

The NBA's long-lasting relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

            
            After watching the short documentary produced by ESPN titled “Michael Wilbon details the NBA’s profound relationship with Martin Luther King Jr.”, I learned a variety of new information on the history of the NBA’s support of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the civil rights movement. 

 

Many NBA legends already had a strong relationship with King before his “I Have a Dream” speech and the march. Boston Celtics great Bill Russell sat in the first row at the national mall on August 28, 1963, during King's "I Have a Dream" speech after receiving an invitation from King himself. 

 

Bill Russell was the star of the first all-African American starting lineup in the history of the NBA, but that did not mean everyone saw him as a hero. He has been open about how racist the city's people were back then, even though he was the cause of their favorite team’s success. 

 

            After King had become the foundation for the great movement, players from all sports started attending events to support other athletes who were experiencing racism or fighting for something they believed in. 

 

    On June 4, 1967, at the request of Jim Brown to support Muhammed Ali in his refusal to serve in the Vietnam war. Bill Russell sat right beside Ali as well as NBA all-time leader in regular season points, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who at the time was known by his birth name Lew Alcindor before he changed it after converting to Islam in 1971 while playing for UCLA.

Russell, Alcindor, and other professional athletes sit in support of Ali.

 

               When the Martin Luther King Federal Holiday Commission convened in the mid-1980s, the NBA hired its new commissioner David Stern, who was already a member of the Commission. Stern was a firm believer in King’s movement and message. 

 

David Stern helped show his support by debuting the NBA’s first MLK Day on January 20, 1986. MLK Day is still an annual event in the NBA that hosts not only basketball games all day long, but also community events across the country.

 

            Thanks to King for standing up for the end of Racism in America, the NBA has used its platform to continue King’s fight and create programs to help educate young African Americans and rebuild predominantly black communities that have suffered from poverty. 

 

The NBA continues to use its platform to inform people about the history of black athletes as well as to support Black history month and King by creating apparel that players wear during pre-game shoot-around and creating logos that are displayed in arenas, on courts, and even on the stanchion of the rim.

 

            The NBA has also continued to back the black community by supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and creating merch for players to wear and fans to buy. The NBA even had players wear jerseys with “Black Lives Matter” on the back where the players' last names would generally go. 

 

They let players openly voice their opinions about the movement during interviews, post-conferences, and even on social media. Players protested by kneeling during the National Anthem because they wanted a change in America and the NBA, despite mixed feedback, supported them in all efforts to make a statement. 

    

The players have more of an opportunity to create a following for support due to their celebrity status. LeBron James is one of the most-known NBA players of today’s generation and uses his platform to reach his massive group of followers and spread his beliefs in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

 

Without King and his many sacrifices, the NBA and the rest of America would be unable to stand up, arm in arm, with our brothers and sisters, who were all created equal in the fight against racism.

My Dream Job

Since I was young, I have dreamed of working in the sports industry. I grew up playing baseball and basketball and eventually added soccer and tennis to my sports resumé in high school. I love watching Basketball and football at all levels and have always marveled at the thought of working with the NBA. My goal is to become someday a play-by-play or color commentator for a team in the NBA. This dream developed from playing pick-up basketball with all my friends after I graduated high school. 

 

I suffered an injury while playing one night and could not play for a few weeks, but I was still going to watch the games because that was when we all got together to hang out. I always brought a speaker with me to play music during our games, and one of my friends suggested I bring my microphone to the gym that night and comment on the games. I agreed that the idea was fun and brought the equipment to the gym. 

 

The games that night were the most entertaining we had ever witnessed from our group. I made my best attempt to sound like the people who call play-by-play in professional sports, and at first, it was a bit slow because I was nervous, but after a couple of games had passed by, my confidence started to come. I started adding personality to the games by creating nicknames for my lifelong friends that reflected their play styles. Games that had gotten close toward the end had the most exciting finishes ever, because none of us had ever played in a game before where a spotlight effect was created. Everyone was trying to win the game and have their name echo throughout the gym for being the one to make the game-winning shot, assist, block, or steal.

 

After the night had ended, I continued to do this nightly because we all enjoyed the atmosphere so much. After weeks of commenting on our games and having an undecided major while attending my local community college, my friends suggested I pursue a career in sportscasting. I put much thought into it and decided it was something I would love to do for a career in the future, which is how I got to where I am currently. I am now working for the WMUL sports staff and gaining all the experience available to me to improve my skills in the field and develop every ability possible to become the best I can be on a professional level. I plan on taking every opportunity given to me to call games for WMUL and eventually joining the Herd Vision staff and calling Marshall basketball games for ESPN+. 

 

After graduating from Marshall University, I plan to find a job working for a D1 college as a sportscaster or ESPN in any position that will help me gain experience. I am willing to move anywhere in the US to work and help make a name for myself in the business. I know that the sportscasting business operates in a Ladder format regardless of the sport and that I must work my way up the chain to earn a job working for A professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association. I am willing to work for any Professional team in the league, but I hope to one-day call games live for the Los Angeles Lakers. I grew up watching the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-era lakers, which started my love for the franchise. It has always been a dream to live in the city and work for the team. I will do whatever it takes to make my dream come true.