NFL
By: Zachary Draves
Over the last several years, the Howard University Men’s Basketball team has taken time out of their season to raise awareness of a relevant social justice issue. Among the causes they have devoted to have included voter registration, financial literacy, and black maternal mortality.
(Courtesy: Tiarra Imani)
The latter of which garnered national attention last year and evoked expressions of support from the Congressional Black Caucus to Vice President Kamala Harris, a Howard alum. All while they made their way to winning the MEAC title and appearing in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Under head coach Kenny Blakeney, who has been at the helm since 2019, he allows for his players to decide on which cause they want to prioritize.
(Courtesy: David Sierra)
“I leave it up to our players at the beginning of the season,” he told Team NBS Media. “I want them to take ownership of it. If they don’t have any skin in the game, would their time or ownership be different in doing that”
This year they are tackling an issue that hits close to home and that is juvenile justice.
Back in November, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser issued an emergency declaration that would equip the DC government to respond to two growing problems that have gotten worse in the post-pandemic period, the opioid epidemic and youth violence.
The problem of youth violence impacted the campus off Howard directly when back in August a group of students were assaulted and robbed off campus by a gang, which included the stabbing of one student.
In September, former Morgan State University player and current Rhode Island assistant coach Todd Bozman lost his son to a shooting outside a DC nightclub. In honor of his son, the Bison joined with American University to raise awareness of gun violence during an exhibition game.
“It hit us near and dear,” said Coach Blakeney. “So much has been happening in DC. I think the awareness of our players who are probably still at the age of young men committing this crime and who the crimes are being committed, really wanted to lean in.”
To do their part, the Bison will be partnering with the Youth Justice Advocates (YJA), a student-led organization that works out of the Office of the Dean of the Chapel on campus, headed by the Rev. Dr. Bernard L. Richardson. They will be volunteering for a nine-week program mentoring youth at a local youth detention center and learn to develop all the necessary skills and techniques to be effective mentors.
They will also be working closely with Assistant Dean for Religious Life and YJA Advisor Dr. Nisa Muhammad with whom Coach Blakeney
“I am excited to partner with Coach Blakeney and the basketball team,” said Rev. Dr. Richardson in an official press release. “I am extremely proud of the work they are doing and their desire to serve.” YJA has over 100 student volunteers who make weekly visits to the center, providing positive experiences for the roughly 80 young people, aged 12 to 20, who are housed there. The organization strives to offset the school-to-prison pipeline to provide skills and resources to change the lives of youth in the criminal justice system.”
(Courtesy: Daysia Carr/Howard University)
The emphasis on mentoring is particularly critical.
Studies have shown that mentoring has been an effective deterrent to youth involvement in crime and violence. It has also been connected to increased educational achievement, stable employment, and greater involvement in treatment for addiction.
The presence of healthy role models, especially highly visible members of the community, can do wonders in setting a good example.
“These athletes are some of the most prominent and well-known members of our campus community, with a commitment to social justice forged on a campus embedded with advocacy,” said Dr. Muhammad in the press release. “Their presence at the center will greatly enhance the weekly experience for the kids we meet with, as many of them look to become college athletes themselves one day.”
Last season, the Bison highlighted their efforts to address black maternal mortality during their MLK game against Morehouse. It still remains unknown as to when on the schedule they will do the same for their work with YJA.
(Courtesy: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
For Coach Blakeney, having players take part in an annual social justice initiative is part of the long-standing tradition of Howard and other HBCUs in providing a holistic educational experience.
“It is a huge part of a student’s experience,” he said. “A student’s experience is not only the journey and opportunities they have on campus, it is also being in Washington DC. We need to use the resources that we have surrounding our university to give our players more exposure to things going on in our world outside the gates at HU.”
A worldly experience that Coach Blakeney wanted having grown up in inner-city DC at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic when DC was referred to as the “murder capital of the world.”
He had the good fortune of being exposed to both basketball and education as his tickets to endless possibilities. He also had important mentors and outlets including the Boys and Girls Club of America, his high school coach Morgan Wootten, and Mike Krzyzewski at Duke who taught him about the importance of life through these two pursuits that he hopes he and his players will convey to the youth.
“They understood the basketball court as a classroom,” he said. “It made me a better student. I hope our players can gain that and give so much more in return to these young men so that it inspires them to alter their path so that they are not consistently in that justice system that they are in right now.”
