Batters up: Reggie Williams Pitches Baseball, Lessons to African-American Youth

By Jesse F. McClure | Published 5/22/08

Batters up: Reggie Williams pitches baseball, lessons to African-American youth   As vice president of community relations for the Memphis Redbirds, Reggie Williams believes that “I can make a real, positive impact on the lives of youngsters.” (Photos by Wiley Henry)     When Reggie Williams played baseball in the 1980’s for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cleveland Indians, he was one of many African Americans in the major leagues. Today, less than eight per cent of major league baseball players are African American and interest in baseball seems to have greatly declined in the African American community. Williams, who is a vice president of the Memphis Redbirds Triple A baseball team, runs two programs designed to get inner city youth interested in baseball again.   STRIPES (Sport Teams Returning in the Public Education System) Program supports baseball and softball programs in inner city middle and junior high schools in Memphis. The baseball program is for boys and the softball program is for girls. In 1992, the city school system discontinued baseball and softball programs in junior high and middle schools. Six years later, the Redbirds – the only professional sports team owned by a community based non-profit foundation – began the STRIPES program as part of the team’s mission. During the 2007 school year, almost forty schools fielded teams in the STRIPES program and involved nearly 1000 students. Williams also leads the RBI (Returning Baseball to the Inner City) program, which focuses on summer baseball and softball. The Redbirds began the RBI program in 1998 as part of a nationwide effort to restore interest in baseball within inner city communities. Former major leaguer Reggie Williams said while helping young people develop baseball and softball skills is important, it is more important to help them develop “sound values.”   During the first year of operation, the program involved six sites in inner city Memphis and had nearly 250 youngsters on teams. In 2007, the RBI program operated on 15 sites and had more than 1,000 children on teams. When Carver High School won one of the Memphis City Schools baseball championships this year, head coach Steven Bratcher said the team won in part because so many of his players had participated in the RBI program. This year at least six students who participated in the STRIPES and RBI programs will attend college on baseball or softball scholarships. Last summer one of the RBI teams participated in the regional RBI tournament in Houston. Williams said that while developing baseball and softball skills are important, the most important part of his programs is “the efforts to instill sound values in the young people in the programs.” He said an inherent part of the programs is encouraging young people to pursue their educational goals along with baseball and softball. Williams is an example of how baseball and education can be combined. Growing up in South Memphis, Williams was a star pitcher on the Southside High School baseball team. His nickname was “Black Magic” because of the way he dominated opposing batters. After high school, Williams enrolled at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., but the former Memphis star did not make the college’s baseball team during his first year. “I cried like a baby when I didn’t make the team,” he said. Rather than quit school or give up baseball, Williams decided to work harder in school so he would be ready if his dreams of playing major league baseball did not come true. He committed himself to taking his baseball skills to a higher level. The decision and commitment worked. He led Southern University to two baseball championships, graduated cum laude and the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him. When his professional baseball playing days ended, Williams returned to his hometown and earned two masters degrees from the University of Memphis. He became a teacher in the Memphis City Schools system and prior to joining the Memphis Redbirds, was an assistant principal. For Williams, his position with the Redbird’s is another way “to work with young people. I believe that I can make a real, positive impact on the lives of youngsters.” Williams knows the important role baseball has played in African American history. “After Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947, it was one of the first places where African Americans competed on an equal basis,” he said. Baseball is an important part of the history of African Americans in Memphis. The Memphis Red Sox were a major part of the scene during the heyday of Negro League baseball. Martin Park was the place to see and be seen in African American Memphis. The Memphis Red Sox team was one of the few Negro League teams that owned its own stadium. Recently, Williams hosted a television show on WKNO-TV with former Memphis Red Sox player Joe Scott that highlighted the importance of baseball in the African American community in Memphis and around the country. Williams said the biggest challenge he faces today with the RBI program is finding good coaches. He needs men and women who cannot only teach the skills of baseball and softball, but who can be role models for the youngsters. Williams also wants coaches who will help youngsters discover baseball can be fun and exciting. And while coaches receive a small stipend, “Coaching in our programs has to be a “labor of love,” he said. Copyright 2008 -Tri-State Defender

Memphis Man Upset With Black Women

by Jesse F. McClure

R. Michael Cunningham is upset with African American women. Cunningham, an
African American man, is a former college and professional basketball player, who says he does not have children; does not use drugs; attends church regularly; has a B.A. and M.A.; is a professional model and actor; is a motivational speaker; has never physically hurt a woman; is not gay; and is an active volunteer in his community. Despite these qualities, Cunningham says he cannot find an African American woman to marry. He is so upset with African American women that he has written and recently published a book, The Five F Principle in which he lays out his complaints against African American women.

Black Women Looking for a Fairytale

The book lashes out at African American women who are looking for a “fairytale” in the men they choose. Cunningham says too many women look for “Prince Charming” who is perfect in all respects. The”Prince” will wine and dine women but will often turn out to be a “player” who is involved in multiple relationships. The other fairytale character Cunningham says many African American women choose is the “frog” who they believe can become a prince. Too often, the book says “frogs” will always be “frogs” no matter how many times they are kissed.

Find Them, Feed Them, Fool Them…………………….

The title of the book The Five F Principle refers to an old saying often heard in men’s locker rooms referring to a man’s sexual prowess. Find the woman, Feed the woman, Fool the woman, Fornicate with the woman, and Forget the woman. The book goes on describe how so many African American women go through these steps in relationships and often end up with children and no husband. Cunningham says that his argument is supported by the fact that so few adult African American women are currently married.

In the book, Cunningham says that African American women need to change their approaches if they want lasting, long-term, and healthy relationships. Too many women fall for “con men” because they are looking for a deal too good to be true. Cunningham says that if someone or something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Women who try to rehabilitate men who have had trouble in their past often end up unfulfilled and frustrated.

Cunningham based his book on his own experiences and conversations with female friends and relatives. He says he finds that African American women are angry with African American men as well. Many of the women he talked too feel that men have often treated them badly. Cunningham says that men will treat women the way a woman allows herself to be treated. Women he believes need to protect themselves from exploitation.

Cunningham says there needs to be a more honest discussion between men and women regarding the nature of relationships. The African American community needs for the relationships between men and women to improve. Too many children he says are growing up in families without men. While he believes that, it possible for single parents to raise healthy and successful children the odds are against them.

Time to Stop Playing Games

Currently, Cunningham says African American men and women are playing a game in their relationships. He says that these relationships are much too important to be a game and there needs to be much more honesty between men and women. With more honest dialogue between men and women , Cunningham not only will he be able to find his soul mate but that many of the challenges in the African American family will be addressed.

The book, The Five F Principle, is available online at www.myspace.com/fivefprinciple

copyright 2008- Tri-State Defender