Coker Journal

A Symbol of Hate

2008-12-29T18:45:00.000-08:00

As you may know, this is our first year in the AISA. For the most part, it has been a good experience, especially the higher level of competition. And before I start bantering, I want to be careful about judgement. We are new to the AISA and its teams. I have no reason to believe that the AISA doesn't mean it when they say they will not tolerate derogatory language. We have filed a formal complaint with the AISA against Jackson Academy for repeatedly calling our players "niggers" during our game at their gym. We have made it clear to the AISA and others that we will not tolerate this verbal abuse against our kids. We will see how that works out, but in this article, I want to focus more of the rebel flag, which I believe is a symbol of hate and still reflects the segregated hearts many people in Alabama.

I would like to know the percentage of Bachelor Degree Alabamians who actually view the rebel flag as a symbol of their proud "heritage." I am not a betting man, but if I was, I believe the percentage would be very small. Why? because they understand there is not a lot about which to be proud as it relates to this "heritage." Even the civil war itself is not something about which to be proud. Brothers killing brothers? Slavery? I guess one could make a case for the cause of "states rights." I guess that could be something about which to be proud.

I don't know exactly how many schools in the AISA have the mascot name, "rebels," but I know we have played several. One school rushed to put up large rebel flags around their field while our team was warming up. I wonder, are they putting those up thinking they are encouraging their team to rebel against us? I suppose that could be the case, but I doubt it. Could they be thinking about the positives of the civil war? I don't think so. Could they just consider it a picture of a "rebel?" Much like us having a flag with a Bulldog on it since bulldogs is our mascot. I guess that could be possible. Or could it mean something more sinister? Could it be a symbol of the old south; an old south about which they are proud; an old south which was completely segregated. I am willing to bet, for most of those waiving those flags, that is what it means.

Even if I had not seen videos of people waiving the rebel flag during acts such as lynchings, protest, governors standing in front of college doors; my assumption would not be baseless. The AISA made it clear to me when we joined; their association was started because of desegregation. I credit them for being honest. I really believe the current leadership of the AISA wants to distance itself from that. Since we are a mostly black school, they would not have let us in the AISA if they did not want to distance themselves from that idea. However, I believe it is time for the AISA to clamp down on rebel flags. What better way to distance yourself from the old idea of segregation! What better way to distance yourself from the unwarranted hate of black people!

I can't change the hearts of people, and it amazes me when I consider the number of people who believe in segregation and call themselves Christian. This is completely opposite of the Gospel message. Therefore, place your rebel flag on your home; you can place it on your property; heck, you can even place it on civil war memorials, but do not waive it in the faces of my kids! If I consider it a symbol of hate, what must they think. They have read the books, seen the movies and videos of the context of the rebel flag. Are you proud that they believe you hate them? I certainly hope not.

I plan to file a formal complaint with the AISA next week against schools waiving rebel flags. It is going to be interesting to see how the AISA reacts. Obviously, the waiving of rebel flags will not be difficult to prove.

2008-12-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

College Football Expo

2008-12-13T22:57:00.000-08:00

Greetings,

I just wanted to update you guys on my time at the expo today. It was a long day, but it was an extraordinary experience. I met with about 15 college coaches today, and when I say "met with," I don't mean a hand shake. There were 63 high schools from across the south there; all of us were in a large conference room, and each of us had our own table. College coaches continuously walking around the room. They would leave one table, then based on preliminary information they had, they would move to another table. I spent about 20 minutes with every coach that spoke with me at my table. I met with the following schools:

Swanee
Kentucky State
Bethune Cookman
Holy Cross
Georgia State
Minnesota
Northern Minnesota
South Eastern Louisiana
Lagrange College
Auburn
Georgia Southern
Mars Hill
North Greenville College
UAB
Alabama State

I was amazed at how eager most coaches were to build relationships. With everyone of these schools, I had a TV going with DQ's highlights and my computer going with Jerime's highlights. I had their transcripts in hand, so I was able to go over their grades with them, and we talked about their ACT scores. They wanted to know all about our kids, and they wanted to know about our school. I was able to share our school story and mission with all of them. In addition, I was able to share DQ's and others stories with them. I love sharing the RA story and the story of our kids. I spent a large amount of time with Coach Price from Auburn. He is the recruiter who has been Bessemer Academy's connection to Auburn. I told him we were going to play them next year, and he said if he was still at Auburn, he would definitely be there.

I gave all of them a highlight DVD, Bios, transcripts, and other information. Overall, they were impressed with DQ;s athleticism--his ability to plant, and his strength in relationship to his size. South Eastern Louisiana was very impressed with Jerime's ability to close on a receiver. They were concerned about his ACT, but said they had some jucos they wanted to follow up with him. We will see what happens.

I will be going back tomorrow. There will be a whole new set of college coaches there; however, I will probably leave around noon so to get back for the Christmas Party.

In another note, we visited with Lisa's brother over the weekend. His vitals are better but he looks really bad, please keep Roger in your prayers. I am able to share a lot about how much God loves him, and I can tell he understands because he squeezes my hand, but he just cant communicate with me much.

RA! A great sports story!

2008-12-13T22:54:00.000-08:00

Greetings, I wanted to share with you a story about our basketball teams this week. Last week, our team experienced the worst environment ever. Our girls were pushed and punched during play and after whistles. They were called, "Nigger," "Bitch," and "whore." This continued into the boys varsity boys game. I was in Atlanta and was unable to attend that game as I normally do. However, our varsity boys coach immediately called me following the game. He is a black man, and he told me it was the worst racist environment in which he had ever been--including his days as a high school and college player. After my conversation with our coach, I immediately filled a complaint with the AISA, and I told them it would be followed by a formal complaint signed by our principal. We expressed to the AISA that Restoration Academy will not tolerate this behavior by any opposing school, and we asked for a formal investigation and appropriate penalties be awarded to the opposing school. During the preparation of our formal complaint, I watched video of the girls game and noticed one thing in particular. One of our girls, Kendall Smih, was pushed to the ground by an opposing player. No foul was called; however, Kendall did not respond to the girl. In fact, later in the game, Kendall helped one of the opposing team's girls to her feet after she fell. Over the years, both in football and basketball, I have constantly seen our kids demonstrate this sportsmanship when in difficult situations. Because we were going to play this team again last night in our gym, we met with our athletes this week. I asked them specifically pointed to Kendall's actions and asked everyone to demonstrate that kind of class, and let us fight for them with the AISA. I expressed to them how their appropriate response to inappropriate behavior would help us build our case with the AISA. Even though I knew it would be extremely difficult, especially for young people, I could see it in their eyes; they were going to outclass the opposing team. What happened last night? Here is what I saw. During the JV game, I saw one of our students, Deon Calhoun, pick up one of the opposing team's players after he fell to the ground. I saw our girls channel all of their frustration from last week to their effort in playing last nights game. During the controversial game from last week, our girls lost by 20 points. However, this week, the girls lost by 4 and was actually tied with the opposing team with just a couple of minutes left. Once again, one of their players swung a fist at one of our players, and once again, our girls did not respond in a negative way. Our varsity boys beat their team badly during the controversial game last week. So how did our coach respond after suffering the most racist environment he had ever experienced? He played our second and third string more than he did the first string. And the absolute pinnacle of Restoration Academy class came toward the end of the game. The opposing team had a mentally challenged young man on their team. Their coach put him in the game late. The young man actually hit a 3 pointer. Our students and parents cheered about as loud for him as I have ever heard them cheer. This moment was actually captured on video and will be added to You Tube soon. I will let everyone know when it is available. I try not to make statements like this in public; however, I am going to do it anyway. You will not find a better administration, better teachers, better coaches, or certainly a better student body anywhere in this city. I am so proud of our teachers, administration, coaches, and our students. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

Get this boys some ink!

2008-12-13T22:51:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you guys know that I was totaling the stats for last friday nght. DQ had 470 all-purpose yards. He was 11-16 passing for 350 yards, and he had 110 yards rushing. I haven't counted the amount of total tackles he had on defense yet. I know he had several solo tackles. These are just rediculous numbers. AND HE IS ONLY ABOUT 70%. RIGHT NOW. He doesn't have the break away speed that we saw before his groin injury. DQ is a great story. We need to get him some ink. That wasn't a top 10 AISA team friday night, but it wasn't the worst team either.

RA Wins National Championship

2007-12-07T10:02:00.001-08:00

Updated soon

Why can't we go to a game withouth being shot?

2007-09-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

It seems to happen to often; however, once would be too many times. Four young kids were shot after attending the Parker/Huffman game last week. Apparently, the kids were just shot randomly--no purpose at all! The shooters just yelled out, "Loveman's Village" which is the name of a housing project, and then started shooting.

I could say so much about this, but since this is a journal, I am just going to say what is most prevelant on my heart. Looking at the big picture, it seems to me that the middle class has just given the city to criminals and said, "here just do your crime here--kill one another or whatever, but just stay in this area." I realize that is a generalization and doesn't speek to all of the subtopical reasons why criminals can just shoot kids in the street and get away with it. However, it seems to me that the average person is just willing to pile up all the murder up in the city and post a sign on top which says, "The Hood." I am sorry, but that is not going to keep the average person safe. I am sure you you have noticed, but when you keep stacking stuff up in one area, eventually, it starts spilling over and the pile gets wider.

What are They Doing?

2007-08-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

I recently tried to help a young man get into RA who has had a difficult road. He was coming to us as a Senior, and he wanted to make sure that we put him in the 12th grade. After reviewing the transcript with Mr. Sciacca, we learned that he had only one English credit for his entire High School career. In addition, he did not fail English, he just didn't take it; yet, his school, which is a local public city school, continued to promote him. We came up with a plan for him, but it would include repeating the 11th grade and summer school. This was the only way for him to have the four required English credits. He did not want to go to 11th grade, so he went to another city school, where not only did they allow him to be a Senior, but they are letting him go home at 12:00 p.m. every day.

I am truly amazed at the state of the city system. This kid, even if he passes the exit exam, which I doubt he will be able to do, is not going to eligible for college. It is really sad. He is a tremendous basketball player, but he will never get the chance to play college ball, but the public system is not willing to tell him that. When I think about this, I get extremely angry, because this young man is being robbed of his future. It is a shame, and it is a disgrace!

Who is this guy?

2007-08-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

We have a kid that came to us from Fairfield H.S. I won't say his name at this point. However, he is making quite a name for himself. He did something in class the other day that I have been looking for someone to do for ten years at RA. Another student who had just got in trouble came back to the class and said, "this school is stupid with stupid rules." The young man from Fairfield who is a 11th grader and super basketball player said, "Man you need to hush. It is a priviledge to go to this school." Wow!

Two Senior Football Players playing in College!

2007-08-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

I have talked to Shelton Maye. He is doing very well at West Alabama. They may red shirt him. In addition, they are considering a move to wide receiver. The coaches are pleased with his efforts, and they have expressed to some people associated with our school that he is going to help them.

I received an email about Tyrone Davis as well. He is at the Naval Academy and is playing on the offensive line. He is doing well and has promised to report to us all that is going on with him.