Dr.Boyce D Watkins’ Post

Unleashing the Potential: The Responsibility of Black Students Discover how Black students possess incredible capabilities beyond athletics. Understand the importance of reaching for your potential and performing at an exceptional level every day. Overcome societal expectations and surpass your own goals. Join us in this empowering discussion and embrace your responsibility for success. #BlackStudentPotential #AcademicExcellence #ReachingForSuccess #ResponsibilityForSuccess #ExceedingExpectations #EmbracingPotential #OvercomingSocietalExpectations #EmpoweringEducation #UnleashingCapabilities #GoalOriented

You might have noticed the diversity of the female players in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The head coaches and athletic administrators on their campuses are a lot less diverse. This report from the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center takes a look at the makeup of each team in the Sweet 16 and the overall diversity of each campus. The percentage of Black students, faculty, athletic directors, and coaches is low at all schools competing at Division 1 level, and with the recent elimination of DEI programs in states with conservative legislatures and the threat of more DEI bans in other states to come, Black athletes could soon experience even less representation and culturally competent support than they find on their campuses now. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/gcpSMM59 #NCAAwomensbasketball #sweet16womensbasketball #deiinhighereducation #representationinhighered #representationmatters

⛔ To change the trajectory of basketball in the United States, we must first address the relationship between institutional basketball and Black American athletes. 📉 💰 These two are deeply intertwined, and this entanglement makes it unrealistic to expect institutional basketball to change its ways on its own. 💸 ⏸ Over the past decade, while the total number of collegiate basketball athletes increased, the percentage of Black athletes actually decreased by 1%. This points to a stagnation in opportunities for Black American basketball players. ↔ 🔇 Despite the rise in scholarship opportunities, Black college athletes were not able to capitalize on this growth, highlighting the systemic barriers that persist. I wrote more about this issue here: https://lnkd.in/gdn42nbK

Spreading Out the Offense: Empowering Black Men for Economic Success Learn why spreading out the offense is crucial for the economic security of Black men and the impact it has on the Black family. Discover how sports analogies can be applied to economic empowerment and create opportunities beyond professional sports. Join us in exploring the importance of economic consciousness and community commitment. #EconomicEmpowerment #BlackMen #BlackFamily #SportsAnalogy #EconomicConsciousness #CommunityCommitment #EmpowermentBeyondSports #FinancialSuccess #BlackEntrepreneurs #BuildingWealth

NCAA D1 - Football teams in Texas 🇺🇸🏈🤠 "In the American football culture, there’s nothing that can replace college football. Yes, the US has the NFL and the NBA, and even Major League Baseball. These have a global presence. However, if we stop to consider the audience for college football leagues and the level of excitement these matches bring, well, college football is unmatched. College football is part of American culture. It’s played a big role in the history of civil rights in the country. In the 1960s, the football teams in colleges were the first institutions to integrate white and black players. In the past, there were all-white or all-black teams. Sports have the power to unite people, and college football is proof of that." More at: https://lnkd.in/gQFRawJv

When it comes to sports participation, too many Black and Latina students are being benched by systemic barriers and a lack of resources. It's time to draw up a game plan that ensures every athlete gets their shot. We need your help to make this comeback happen. Learn more and read the report at https://lnkd.in/ghTg4G6X

South Carolina won, with a perfect 37-0 record and new fans of women’s basketball continue repeating the tired refrain that “Caitlyn single-handedly revolutionized women’s basketball.” This discourse seems to suggest that commercials, interviews, magazine covers, sponsorships and promos invest in themselves. CC is an exceptional offensive talent, but the overinvestment in her brand is what made women’s basketball more watchable. Clark literally cannot do that herself. Just because you never watched women’s basketball before does not mean there was no prior electrifying talent worth the same investment Clark is now receiving. The fact that so many people are spending more time playing defense for Caitlyn (something she doesn’t do very well), and less time celebrating South Carolina’s 37-0 victory, shows me how and why CC has the fandom she does: we are more invested in racial narratives (about Black girls as “ghetto,” “mean,” etc. and white girls as “classy”) than we are in the beauty of the sport itself. To be clear: talking about race does not take away from Caitlyn’s greatness. It just exposes the lie that greatness never existed before her.

Preface: There are things that are off-limits in most contexts. Slurs. Words that the vast majority of the community says are harmful. S*vage. S*uaw. N*gger. for example. But as educators, we should not be afraid of using the word when are teaching about the word, about its history, or about its harm. To do so risks being a left-leaning version of the CRT/history erasure that the right is trying to accomplish. The right wants to avoid teaching about it altogether. The left wants to avoid the hard words and images out of fear of doing more harm. But both end up silencing people who are teaching and create recurring cycles of ignorance. We have made the decision to show both the difficult images, as well as images that display the word for the purpose of preventing recurring cycles of ignorance. . . TRIGGER WARNING . . . Also known as "Hit the Coon" or "Hit the N-baby," African Dodger was a common midway game at fairs, carnivals, and circuses from the late 19th century into the 1940s. Widely popular, this game was as ubiquitous as Ferris wheels and roller coasters. The purpose of the game was to hit the target with a baseball - one of your three throws. But this game had a Black human being as the target. “In St. Louis in 1913, it was reported that carnival organizers were "unable for hours today to secure an 'African Dodger' who would allow baseballs to be thrown at his cranium at the usual rate of three for 5 cents;" the reason was that future Hall of Fame fastball pitcher Walter Johnson was rumored to be at the fair ("Don't Want," 1913).” “Dodgers made headlines when they were seriously and horrifically injured-otherwise, they were nameless victims.” (Ferris State Museum, link in bio) The game was so popular that toy versions were sold for at-home play. And free DIY versions were published in magazines. This isn’t CRT. This is Black History. This is U.S. History. #thisIsntCRT #StillNotCRT #crt #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #DEI #DEIB #diversity #equity #inclusion #belonging #BlackHistory #BHM

Before the big game, learn about how organized collegiate sport has both positively contributed to and negatively detracted from the educational experiences of Black male college athletes. Check out RACE, SPORTS, AND EDUCATION by John N. Singer: https://bit.ly/3Sgitd7