Atlanta Daily World

This year has seen a lot of highs and a lot of lows for celebrities and their fanbases, but nothing can compare to when high-profile figures pass away. 2023 in particular marked the deaths of some of the extremely influential Black actors, musicians, sports stars, activists, politicians, and other notable figures. Some of these stellar individuals have left behind a long-lasting legacy, while others were taken just as they were making waves in their respective scenes.

Regardless of how these people left this world, one thing was for certain: they were loved. This is dedicated to the Black stars we lost in 2023.

Tina Turner

Jacky Oh!

Harry Belafonte

Lance Reddick

Ray Lewis III

Andre Braugher

DJ Casper

Hughes Van Ellis

Zoleka Mandela

Clark Haggans

Richard Roundtree

Magoo

Cedric ‘Beastie’ Jones

Irish Grinstead

Sheila Oliver

Tasha Butts

Brandon Hunter

Elise Finch

Willis Reed

Clarence Avant

Mike Williams

Mutulu Shakur

DJ Mark The 45 King

Rudolph Isley

Dopeboy Ra / Young Capone

Grace Bumbry

C.J. Harris

Gangsta Boo

James Ingram

Kristoff St. John

Danielle Ballard

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The post Rest In Power: The Black stars we lost in 2023 appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

By Aubrey Bruce | Atlanta Daily World

I must begin this column by putting all the readers on high alert because this is not, nor do I intend it to be, a Black History moment.  This piece is strictly dedicated to Black sports reality. On June 11, 2023, author Debra Bell posted an article on usnews.com titled: “George Wallace Stood in a Doorway at the University of Alabama 50 Years Ago Today.” The following quote is an excerpt from the article.

“In January of 1963, following his election as Governor of Alabama, George Wallace famously stated in his inaugural address: ‘segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.’  The staunch conservative demonstrated his loyalty to the cause on June 11, 1963, when black students Vivian Malone and James A. Hood showed up at the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa to attend class. In what historians often refer to as the ‘Stand in the Schoolhouse Door,’ the governor literally stood in the doorway as federal authorities tried to allow the students to enter.”

On September 12, 1970, USC fullback Sam Cunningham and the USC Trojans routed the University of Alabama at Legion Field in Birmingham by the score of 42-21. The following year Alabama Head Coach, Paul “Bear” Bryant, featured two Black players, junior college transfer John Mitchell and Wilbur Jackson. According to Mike Puma’s biography of Bryant on ESPN.com “By 1973, one-third of Alabama’s starters were Black. That same year, Alabama went 9-0-1 and won its third national championship.”

Segregation forever, yeah right. Alabama admitted Black players under “diluted” scholarships knowing that educating these athletes was at the very bottom of their list of priorities. It would take decades before the University of Alabama would tailor their student body admission policies for racial inclusion.

Since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abe Lincoln, young men of color and their families could no longer “legally” be expected to provide free labor in the cotton fields, the new modus operandi shifted to obtaining cost-free labor from the football fields. The NCAA became the new “overseer” making and supervising laws to penalize young athletes for receiving such petty allowances as a free meal, a plane ticket, or a lousy T-shirt. However, the NCAA refused to acknowledge and address the “unsportsmanlike conduct” of many of the “ethnically insensitive” and even blatantly racist policies that have at times and in many cases continued to govern college football. On October 15, 2018, the college portal transfer program was officially launched, ending the decades-old tradition of a college athlete being forced to sit out a year before being permitted to transfer to another school. However, coaches were allowed to resign and accept higher-paid and more lucrative positions at other colleges and universities without even the blink of an eye. On June 30, 2021, ESPN staff writer Dan Murphy posted the following on espn.com. “The doors to a new era of college sports officially opened Thursday. For the first time, all NCAA athletes are now able to make money from a wide variety of business ventures without losing their eligibility. A mixture of state laws and NCAA rule changes have removed prohibitions that prevented athletes from selling the rights to their names, images and likenesses (NIL). The transformative shift comes after more than a decade of legal, political, and public pressure to give athletes access to a bigger piece of the billions of dollars generated by college sports each year.”

What about a piece of the “Vegas Pie?” Ya know, “FanDuel” and the remainder of the numbers runners.

That means less than five years ago, if a college athlete accepted a plane ticket to go home for the holidays, that athlete could be punished or even expelled from that university. That policy was and has always been a crock. Please allow me to explain why.

Recently, Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher was awarded a $77 million buyout for his “lack of performance” as the head coach. It was also reported on cnn.com that: “When Fisher was first named head football coach at Texas A&M in 2017, the university said he had agreed to a 10-year contract worth $75 million, adding no ‘state-appropriated funds’ would be used toward his salary. The finances behind the decision to fire the coach are ‘monumental,’ Ross Bjork, Texas A&M director of athletics, said during a news conference.  ‘As the contract states, there is a buyout provision in coach Fisher’s contract and those details will be worked out,’ Bjork continued on saying: ‘We will use unrestricted contributions within the 12th Man Foundation for the first one-time payments and the athletic department will fund the annual payments for the remaining portion by growing our revenues and adjusting our annual operating budget accordingly.’ 12th Man Foundation may appear to be a not-for-profit organization. This is not the case.”

This next scenario is not a fantasy but a stark reality. Jimbo Fisher is being paid for not doing his job, whereas walk-on players must earn their scholarships. This man is being paid to sit in the back of his mansion by the pool, sipping on mint juleps, while checking his bank account and watching the interest grow on that $77 million.  A lot of folks are screaming at the top of their lungs about welfare reform.  How about corporate welfare reform?  Who is going to emancipate our children from this indentured servant athletic system? Well, I guess we are going to have to wait and see.

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By A.R. Shaw, Executive Editor, Atlanta Daily World

Brandon Smith was one day away from playing the biggest game of his high school football career. But on the eve of the big game, the 17-year-old Meriwether County football was found dead.

Smith was initially reported as missing on Saturday in his hometown Manchester, Georgia, according to authorities. He was found deceased on Sunday evening. Details surrounding his passing has yet to be released as the investigation contiues.

Smith was a defensive lineman for the Meriwether County football team. Tonight, the team will face-off against Bowdon High School at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The teams will compete for Georgia’s 1-A State Football Championship.

Following Smith’s passing, Superintendent Dr. Robert A. Griffin and Principal Mrs. Suze Neal released a joint statement.

“We are heartbroken to hear the news of the tragic and untimely death of one of our student-athletes, Brandon Smith. Manchester High School’s Celebration of playing for the Georgia Division 1-A State Football Championship has unfortunately turned into something none of us could have fathomed.

The circumstances behind this tragedy are still being investigated and will be shared publicly by local authorities.

We continue to pray for Brandon’s family, friends, teammates, and classmates. Manchester High School will have mental health support available starting on Monday morning. Brandon was a loyal teammate and friend who excelled on and off the field. He will be deeply missed.”

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A.R. Shaw, Executive Editor

André 3000’s caught most of his core fans after releasing his first solo project, “New Blue Sun.”

But while fans of André 3000 have anticipated this moment for years, it’s not a conventional rap album. The project does not feature rhymes, beats, or lyrical melodies. It’s a musical journey of André 3000  playing contrabass flute, Mayan flutes, bamboo flutes and other digital wind instruments.

During a recent interview with CBS News, the Atlanta-raised artist spoke about his ordeal with rapping during this period of his life.

“Like I’m 48 now,” he said. “I think like the older you get, you kind of get this skin or this…protective layer that’s like…things kind of roll off or you better because you have a better understanding of the rollercoaster in a way.”

He continued, “I don’t sit and try to rap every day like when I was younger, and that’s all I did when I was younger. I miss those times a lot, but it’s like: life changes, life moves on.”

André 3000 also spoke about the possibilities of creating another rap album and what it would it take.

“When people ask me about a rap album, ‘Man, I would love a rap album, I’m with you,’” he said. “But it’s like, I want to be with you when I’m really on it.”

He continued, “Maybe I haven’t found a music that’s inspiring enough for me to want to write raps to. Maybe I gotta find a new way to rap.”

Overall, André 3000 seeks to find new ways to be inspired creatively.

“Maybe I exhausted a thing,” he said. “And sometimes you have to kind of try something else.”

In its first week, “New Blue Sun” debuted at No. 1 on Billboard New Age Albums chart and No. 5 on the Top Alternative Albums chart.

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