By Dr. Mark James, Carma Henry

Introduction

Throughout American history, the rivers of inequality have flowed to the backs of people who were once considered three-fifths of a person and subsequently confronted the systematic force of racism, Jim Crow, and a lack of social fairness. One can argue that all of these weights continue to balance out the unavoidable weight of Black flesh in America.

Historical Lens

Beyond just being a source of amusement, sports have provided Black America with a platform. Additionally, they offer opportunities for cultural resilience, particularly in football, which draws scholarships from PWI (Predominantly White Institutions) and HBCU (Our historical only option prior to PWI’s decision that winning was more important than Bull Conners’ declaration of “Segregation, now and forever”) schools. Black male student-athletes are recruited by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as bright students who may also be talented sports.

HBCUs foster an organizational culture that promotes good academic and psychological growth among Black students, including Black student-athletes. Collegiate sports’ financial focus has repercussions for the enrollment of Black student-athletes, the lack of social tools available to Black athletes, and the lack of socialization with other Black students.

HBCU sports has shifted from being the cornerstone of the Black community in this nation, with strong athletes, to a backup option for potential athletes and families. Today, however, there is a revival taking place on HBCU campuses across the nation, which has inspired the idea that perhaps Black people can revive HBCU sports by calling on those who have been raised in these billion-dollar systems of athletic success. Because their skill, image, and personality market to various customer groups, the Black male player is probably the most important shareholder in these sporting divisions within big-time college sports teams.

Additionally, recruiting Black student-athletes is impacted by college sports’ focus on money. Today’s players in college sports have the freedom to decide for themselves and are compensated for their efforts. Yes, I must admit that my initial impression was that HBCUs might not benefit from the NIL (Name Image and Likeness) trend; however, what Coach Prime has accomplished in the past year has shed light on a path that African Americans gave up on in terms of HBCU athletics more than fifty years ago.

The Commodity’s perspective

Deion has recently brought his swagger to the western highlands of collegiate football. However, I am not writing this piece to discuss what he is doing now, but rather to discuss what he has done to change the face of Black involvement in top roles in college football. Coach Prime has created more waves than a mermaid in a swimming water during his time at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

He has renovated, re-energized, and upended the status quo with a wide brush of asking America not to see the absence and perceive it as unachievable when scrutinising the disparities evident at Historically Black Colleges. The purpose of this essay is to weave together with enlightenment the historical need for HBCU sports and its footprint in history, as well as the significance of the need to recoup that has steadily faded in the drain of haplessness and non-involvement.

When he took on his present position, Black America was split. Many people believed it was his responsibility to be the saviour of Black college sports and HBCUs in general. So, let us parse that down so that it makes sense without emotion: $300,000 vs. $29.5 million; He played at FSU/NFL/MLB–how does that convert into due anything to the HBCU culture? Why is it that the Black group is the only one that turns to celebrities as leaders rather than academics? SMH

So, while his divide caused by his exit simmered in Black barber shops and cigar rooms across America, Ed Reid has taken over as head coach of Bethune Cookman University. The same strategy that brought Deion to Jackson was used again, but with no effect. In under a month: I was hired without going through an official hiring procedure; no contract was written, but I worked and solicited; An publicly disgraced organization with hidden secrets; Players have been fired, and a protest has been called.

Ed and Deion share one trait: they are both assets. They have performed on the most crucial stages, and their expectant gaze cannot grasp the typical HBCU’s sometimes accommodation and lack of financial efficiency. Firing Reid today demonstrates how difficult it is for a commodity to genuinely grow and transform HBCUs. Their need for more familiar grounds to fight, such as buildings, recruiting funds, and financial bandwidth, eventually takes over and becomes a fact.

Reid made remarks in his rants that caught this idea, such as “he has done more in a week than others have done in many years at Cookman.” If he hadn’t been a commodity and BCU hadn’t tried to replicate JSU’s success without the required apparatus, he would have realised that BCU was once a national force in HBCU football (in the last 15 years). However, neither side believed that the position’s education was due to the leverage of his status and renown.

This year, I had the chance to talk with the BCU team while they were on the road for four weeks straight due to damage on campus and a game against JSU. I didn’t think the teachers were a problem. Instead, I assumed that the faulty infrastructure held them in motels for four weeks. So I was shocked when BCU fired Coach Simms and even more stunned when I learned who replaced him.

The lens of the HBCU

Higher education has evolved into a worldwide proposition that necessitates rivalry among countries and collegiate institutions. Because of the dread of losing traditional students, inadequacies in recruiting diverse students, flaws in organizational structure, and traditional staff resistance to change, HBCU presidents confront a variety of leadership challenges.

I sat in a room with seven HBCU head football coaches several years back at the AFCA coaching conference. I began a discussion that was unpopular with my coworkers and probably disregarded by most, but I never imagined it would have prophetic significance. I stated that HBCUs will employ assets as head coaches rather than season coaches who have worked their way up through the levels of the HBCU world. In brief, three of us are no longer coaching, and the others have all lost their head coaching jobs. FACTS!I only have one query for HBCU leaders: Why don’t we employ the fruits of our labor?

Leveling the Ground

The only way to participate in a race is to be truthful about the competition. The competition for athletic inequality between HBCUs and PWIs has been unfairly conducted by those who can govern and establish the standards for all. As PWIs continue to institutionally separate themselves from HBCUs,

HBCUs must employ the crop they produce. According to the Bible, “every seed reproduces after its kind.” If our groups become too entwined with religion, we must recall that when the knowledgeable lose their origins, they appear foolish. There is nothing wrong with hiring D1 talent to teach schools, but it cannot be the solution to a much bigger issue than college football. It all comes down to systematic money inequities. Finally, in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paolo Freire talks clearly about the circle of tyranny. If he were still living today, he would warn our cherished HBCUs not to let the downtrodden become the oppressor in the false story of freedom.

The author’s bio: Dr. James is a former Head College Football Coach with more than 20 years of expertise working with kids to achieve scholastic and athletic achievement in the classroom and in community. He is a current researcher who pushes for HBCU equality and progress.