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Sparks Defeat Mercury on Pat Summitt Night

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The Los Angeles Sparks stretch their winning streak to four after routing a shorthanded Phoenix Mercury. Five Phoenix players were sidelined by injury. The Sparks franchise honored the late iconic Tennessee Lady Vols basketball head coach Pat Summitt, who won 1,098 wins during her tenure.

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By Amanda Scurlock

The Los Angeles Sparks stretch their winning streak to four after routing a shorthanded Phoenix Mercury. Five Phoenix players were sidelined by injury.

The Sparks franchise honored the late iconic Tennessee Lady Vols basketball head coach Pat Summitt, who won 1,098 wins during her tenure.

“When I played at Stanford, we’d play Tennessee every year,” Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike said. “She would encourage me even when we were playing against them. I found that very odd because I was playing against such a force of nature in a coach and a team.”

Sparks forward  Candace Parker lauded her former coach as the hardest worker she ever met in her life. She wanted Sparks fans to understand who Summitt was.

“I remember she was on me for not working hard and so I was like ‘I’m gonna beat her to the gym.’ … Practice was at six and I got there at four-thirty and she was in her office,” Parker said about Summitt. “That’s what I want people to know and remember and understand that she was able to inspire people even though she’s gone.”

Ogwumike scored 24 points and Parker secured a double-double with 11 rebounds and 12 points. Mercury center Brittney Griner scored 27 points and forward Brianna Turner grabbed 14 rebounds.

The Sparks started the game with a 9-2 run. After five regulated minutes, Nneka scored 10 points. Phoenix shoot well at the free throw line, landing all eight charity shots they were given.

The Sparks initiated aggression to a team known for their physicality, frustrating the team so much so that Mercury icon Diana Taurasi and head coach Sandy Brondello earned a technical foul each. Sparks head coach Derek Fisher mentioned how guard Tierra Ruffin-Pratt defending Mercury guard Leilani Mitchell disrupted their offense.

“I just was working on my full-court defense tonight,” Ruffin-Pratt said. “Alana (Beard) told me that was the next step in being great on defense.”

Fisher matched up guard Chelsea Gray with Phoenix forward DeWanna Bonner, who was ultimately held to four points.

“Bonner’s like a guard with forward height and we felt like having a guard on her would also allow us to be really active,” Fisher said. “[Gray] fought her hard and kept her from getting into position.”

The Mercury struggled with scoring after the half, they would not score until four minutes into the third quarter. Sparks guard Sydney Wiese knocked down two three-point shots in that time. Phoenix continued to rely on free-throws, going eight-of-nine in the third.

Turnovers also plagued the Mercury, who gave away 20 points from 13 turnovers after three quarters. The Sparks only gave up eight points from 12 turnovers in that time.

Griner and Mitchell was the core of the Mercury’s offensive surge during the final minutes of the game. They reduced a 19-point deficit to eight points. Parker and Gray would not allow Phoenix a lead as the clock ran down.

“[the Sparks are] a great defensive team, just trying to battle it out,” Bonner said. “We’ve got to go home and learn from it. It was physical, and we’ve got to find a way to beat that.”

This article originally appeared in The Los Angeles Sentinel.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …

The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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