New Book Release: True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson by Kostya Kennedy

True is a probing, richly-detailed, unique biography of Jackie Robinson, one of baseball's―and America's―most significant figures.

For players, fans, managers, and executives, Jackie Robinson remains baseball’s singular figure, the person who most profoundly extended, and continues to extend, the reach of the game. Beyond Ruth. Beyond Clemente. Beyond Aaron. Beyond the heroes of today. Now, a half-century since Robinson’s death, letters come to his widow, Rachel, by the score. But Robinson’s impact extended far beyond baseball: he opened the door for Black Americans to participate in other sports, and was a national figure who spoke and wrote eloquently about inequality.

True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson by Kostya Kennedy is an unconventional biography, focusing on four transformative years in Robinson's athletic and public life: 1946, his first year playing in the essentially all-white minor leagues for the Montreal Royals; 1949, when he won the Most Valuable Player Award in his third season as a Brooklyn Dodger; 1956, his final season in major league baseball, when he played valiantly despite his increasing health struggles; and 1972, the year of his untimely death. Through it all, Robinson remained true to the effort and the mission, true to his convictions and contradictions.

Kennedy examines each of these years through details not reported in previous biographies, bringing them to life in vivid prose and through interviews with fans and players who witnessed his impact, as well as with Robinson's surviving family. These four crucial years offer a unique vision of Robinson as a player, a father and husband, and a civil rights hero―a new window on a complex man, tied to the 50th anniversary of his passing and the 75th anniversary of his professional baseball debut.

CHECK OUT TRUE:The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson on Amazon

New LeBron James Biography: LeBron by Jeff Benedict

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Dynasty and Tiger Woods comes the definitive biography of basketball superstar LeBron James, based on three years of exhaustive research and more than 250 interviews.

LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of the twenty-first century, and he’s in the conversation with Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. The reigning king of the game and the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, LeBron wears the crown like he was born with it. Yet his ascent has been anything but effortless and predetermined— the truth is vastly more interesting than that.

What makes LeBron’s story so compelling is how he won his destiny despite overwhelmingly long odds, in a drama worthy of a Dickens novel. As a child, he was a scared and lonely little boy living a nomadic existence in Akron, Ohio. His mother, who had LeBron when she was sixteen, would sometimes leave him on his own. Destitute and fatherless, he missed close to one hundred days of school in the fourth grade. Desperate, his mother placed him with a family that gave him stability and put a basketball in his hands.

LeBron tells the full, riveting saga of how a child adrift found the will to become a titan. Jeff Benedict, the most celebrated sports biographer of our time, paints a vivid picture of LeBron’s epic origin story, showing the gradual rise of a star who, surrounded by a tight-knit group of teenage friends and adult mentors, accelerated into a speeding comet during high school. Today LeBron produces Hollywood films and television shows, has a social media presence that includes more than one hundred million followers, engages in political activism, takes outspoken stances on racism and social injustice, and transforms lives through his visionary philanthropy. He went from a lost boy in Akron to a beloved hero who uses his fortune to educate underprivileged children and lift up needy families—and brought home Cleveland’s first NBA championship.

But LeBron is more than just the origin story of a GOAT or a recap of his multi-championship, multi-MVP, gold medal–decorated career on the court. Benedict delves into LeBron’s relationship with fame and power: how he has cultivated it, harnessed it, suffered from it, and leveraged it. In these pages, we go behind the scenes of LeBron’s grappling with his seismic celebrity, from appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior to The Decision, which briefly turned the nation against him. We also watch his evolution from a player who avoided politics and was widely criticized for not joining his teammates in protesting China’s role in the Darfur genocide to becoming an athlete who partnered with President Obama; campaigned for Hillary Clinton; became an advocate against gun violence, racism, and voter suppression; and openly clashed with President Trump, empowering other athletes to speak out against social injustice.

To capture LeBron’s extraordinary life, Benedict conducted hundreds of interviews with the people who were involved with LeBron at different stages of his life. He also obtained thousands of pages of primary source documents and mined hundreds of hours of video footage. Destined to be the authoritative account of LeBron’s life, LeBron is a gripping, inspiring, and unprecedented portrait of one of the world’s most captivating figures.

CHECK OUT LEBRON ON AMAZON

Temple University names JoAnne Epps acting president

Temple University’s Board of Trustees announced today the appointment of JoAnne A. Epps as Temple’s acting president. Epps will begin serving in this role immediately.   

A member of the Temple faculty for more than 30 years, Epps has more than 15 years in leadership roles with the university, including dean of the Beasley School of Law, and executive vice president and provost, and Temple’s chief academic officer. Prior to her time at Temple, Epps served as an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia and a deputy city attorney in Los Angeles. 

“There is no one more qualified than JoAnne to assume the role of acting president during this critical moment for our university,” said board Chair Mitchell Morgan. “Her lifelong dedication to Temple and the greater Philadelphia community make us extremely confident in JoAnne’s ability to unite the Temple community and lead a focused effort on developing and implementing solutions to our key challenges. We believe her hands-on approach and high level of engagement across the institution will have an immediate impact and enable us to move forward.” 

“In the last two weeks, individuals from across the university reached out with their thoughts and ideas on the most important leadership qualities and priorities necessary to move Temple forward,” continued Morgan. “It was heartening to hear from so many Deans, faculty members, staff, elected officials, and community and regional leaders. Their thoughts were extremely valuable to us in thinking through the best choice for an acting president.” 

Lon Greenberg, chair of the Special Committee, noted, “It became clear that the university would be best served by a leader who knows the university well, who has a demonstrated record of leadership in higher education, who believes in Temple’s mission, and who embraces the key role the university plays not only in higher education, but also in the region and the commonwealth. The members of the board felt strongly that JoAnne met these criteria in a way that no one else could.” 

Acting President Epps has requested that the Special Committee of the Board continue its work, in support of her administration, as it seeks to address the primary challenges of safety and enrollment. 

Although Epps has agreed to serve until a new president is appointed, the Board of Trustees intends to initiate a thorough, formal search process promptly. More information about the process will be forthcoming.  

“It is an honor and privilege to serve as acting president of this institution that I love so much, that has been such an important part of my life, and always will be,” said Epps. “As acting president, my mandate is to provide the necessary leadership to focus our collective intellect and energies on the immediate challenges of safety and enrollment, and to engage with individuals and groups across the university to reinvigorate a culture of shared governance, listening and learning. 

“I recognize the importance of this moment in Temple’s 135-year history and believe that a genuinely collaborative approach that encourages and demands the best that our brightest minds have to offer, will both help bring the Temple community together and also will help us identify the best solutions to address our challenges. I am energized by this opportunity and look forward to working side by side with so many of you to move Temple forward. Let’s get to work.” 

National Reparations Organization Requests Designation for the Descendants of Persons Enslaved in the United States

The National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD) has formally requested that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designate the classification “African American” exclusively for the "Descendants of Persons Enslaved in the United States". Since 2021, NAASD has met directly with Biden Administration officials on this issue since President Biden has made equitable data collection a priority with the signing of the Executive Order On Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The OMB’s revised Statistical Policy Directive (SPD) 15 recommendation must conform to this Executive Order.

For the first time since 1997, the Office of Management and Budget is now accepting public comments on their initial proposal from the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnic Standards which was released in January 2023. The final proposal set to be unveiled by the end of this year, will revise the OMB’s Statistical Policy Directive which sets the “standards for maintaining, collecting and presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity”. The OMB’s current definition of Black or African-American is “a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa”. This current definition does not denote any specific ethnic group and does not reflect that a distinct ethnic group emerged from U.S. Slavery.

Because of the present flawed definition of Black/African-American, in addition to the growing diversity of the Black community, current data collection on our community is not accurately providing insight to the well being of African Americans.

California's AB3121 has set precedence with specificity for Descendants of Persons Enslaved in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom also signed into law SB189; Section 14 which disaggregates Black Americans and provides a category for data collection specifically for “African Americans who are descendants of persons enslaved in the United States.”

It is time for the OMB to follow suit. It is the recommendation of NAASD that the OMB’s revised SPD 15 definition of “African American” means: “a person having origins in the United States with ancestors historically classified as African, Negro, Black or Colored who were either born free or enslaved in the United States and emancipated nationally by the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”.

We urge the public to give public comment to the OMB and share this point of view through April 27, 2023 in support of our position here. If you need guidance, we have also prepared a toolkit to be shared with family, friends, and organizations within the African American Community. Now is the time for the largest Black population in the United States to unite for the disaggregation of data that will support accurate data collection and billions of dollars coming directly into our community.

The National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants was founded in 2019 to advance reparative policy and legislation for Black American Descendants of U. S. Chattel Slavery .

Texas Southern University cheerleaders become first HBCU to win national title

Houston's Texas Southern University is the first historically Black school to win a national title in collegiate cheerleading, having accomplished the feat on Friday in Daytona Beach, Florida, according to the university. The Tigers placed first in their division in the Cheer Spirit Rally competition at the NCA & NDA College National Championship, held last Wednesday through Sunday by the National Cheerleaders Association.

"To see the long hours they've dedicated come to fruition in the form of a national championship is amazing as I want to commend the coaching staff and team members for their efforts," Texas Southern athletics director Kevin Granger said in a news release from the university. "This team has made history at Texas Southern and everyone a part of TSU nation is proud of their accomplishments."

Texas Southern was among more than 10 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to compete and the only one to take home a title. Out of a maximum score of 100, the Tigers posted raw and performance scores of 96.1 and an event score of 95.5875, beating second-place Niagara University by nearly 11 points in the Cheer Spirit Rally category for Division I schools.

"I knew this was the year and the team to get the job done," Texas Southern coach Shontrese Comeaux said. "I'm so proud of them and where we're going to take the cheer program next."

[SOURCE: HOUSTON PUBLIC MEDIA]