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NFL drafts 1 HBCU player — There should’ve been more?

Doug Williams was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978, making him the first Black quarterback picked in the first round of the NFL draft. Williams was selected from a historically Black college. During that era, bigotry made Black quarterbacks uncommon. However, drafting Black players from HBCUs was commonplace. American society was slowly integrating, […]
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Doug Williams was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978, making him the first Black quarterback picked in the first round of the NFL draft. Williams was selected from a historically Black college.

During that era, bigotry made Black quarterbacks uncommon. However, drafting Black players from HBCUs was commonplace. American society was slowly integrating, but racial separation was still ingrained. That meant there was an abundance of talent to be found at HBCUs.

During the 1970s, the NFL drafted 318 players from HBCUs.

In the 1980s, Black quarterbacks were still rare, but the few that were drafted came from predominately White Division I schools, instead of HBCUs. After the turn of the century, Black quarterbacks were routinely drafted from predominately White Division I schools, becoming the stars of the NFL.

In 2023, two Black quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, signed contracts that made them the highest-paid players in NFL history, and three Black quarterbacks were among the top five selections in the first round of the NFL draft.

As the NFL will compensate and draft the finest players, these outcomes were expected. On the other hand, Doug Williams found a reason to complain.

Only one player from an HBCU was drafted by an NFL team in 2023.

Williams believed that at least seven players from HBCUs should have been drafted and stated, “There must be a lack of representation in the draft rooms for this to happen.  Do we have anyone fighting for these young men?”

It’s understandable for Williams to have high aspirations for HBCU players, but the odds are stacked against them, not because of a lack of representation in the draft rooms; it all comes down to talent tiers.

The top talent tier in the NCAA is Division I, which is divided into the FBS (televised teams) and the FCS (non-televised teams). There are also NCAA divisions II and III, but it is extremely uncommon for NFL teams to draft players from these lower talent tiers. According to the NCAA, there are 363 division one schools, 313 division two schools, and 442 division three schools. Most schools belong to a conference, but there are power conferences and non-power conferences.

In 2023, the NFL drafted players from 95 schools.

There were 259 total players selected. 206 players came from the power conferences in the FBS (televised teams), and 34 players came from the non-power conferences in the FBS (televised teams), totaling 240 players from the highest talent tier.

That’s almost the entire draft.

If only 34 players were drafted from the non-power conferences of the FBS (televised teams), how many would be drafted from the FCS (non-televised teams), which is a talent tier dramatically below? The strongest conferences in the FCS (non-televised teams) will only produce one or two NFL draft picks per year, if any at all.

That begs the question: in which talent tier are the HBCUs?

The majority of HBCUs belong to four conferences. Two of these conferences (CIAA and SIAC) compete in Division II of the NCAA. This effectively eliminates them from the NFL draft. The other two (SWAC and MEAC) compete in the FCS (non-televised teams). One conference (SWAC) had a player drafted, while the other did not.

However, seven other conferences in the FCS (non-televised teams) only had one player drafted in 2023, while none were drafted from the remaining six conferences. No one complained because that’s what’s expected from a lower talent tier.

There’s one additional factor: the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Joe Gilliam from an HBCU in the eleventh round of the 1972 draft. That year, the NFL draft had 17 rounds.

Today, the NFL draft only has seven.

There were 26 NFL teams in 1972. With an additional 10 rounds, 260 more players had the opportunity to be drafted. During the 1970s, a lot of HBCU players were drafted in rounds that no longer exist today. Doug Williams remembers when HBCUs were elite, but now they’re no longer in the top talent tier. Williams can’t face that fact. So, he imagines that the problem must be that there’s no one fighting for HBCUs in the draft rooms.

But there is no problem.

No one fights for the Ivy League, either.  

 

 

The post NFL drafts 1 HBCU player — There should’ve been more? appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.

The post NFL drafts 1 HBCU player — There should’ve been more? first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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#NNPA BlackPress

Trump Set to Sign Largest Cut to Medicaid After a Marathon Protest Speech by Leader Jeffries

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S.

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By Lauren Burke

By a vote of 218 to 214, the GOP-controlled U.S. House passed President Trump’s massive budget and spending bill that will add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The bill also represents the biggest cut in Medicare in history and is a threat to the health care coverage of over 15 million people. The spending in Trump’s signature legislation also opens the door to a second era of over-incarceration in the U.S. With $175 billion allocated in spending for immigration enforcement, the money for more police officers eclipsed the 2026 budget for the U.S. Marines, which is $57 billion. Almost all of the policy focus from the Trump Administration has focused on deporting immigrants of color from Mexico and Haiti.

The vote occurred as members were pressed to complete their work before the arbitrary deadline of the July 4 holiday set by President Trump. It also occurred after Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took the House floor for over 8 hours in protest. Leader Jeffries broke the record in the U.S. House for the longest floor speech in history on the House floor. The Senate passed the bill days before and was tied at 50-50, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski saying that, “my hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.” There were no changes made to the Senate bill by the House. A series of overnight phone calls to Republicans voting against, not changes, was what won over enough Republicans to pass the legislation, even though it adds trillions to the debt. The Trump spending bill also cuts money to Pell grants.

“The Big Ugly Bill steals food out of the hands of starving children, steals medicine from the cabinets of cancer patients, and equips ICE with more funding and more weapons of war than the United States Marine Corps. Is there any question of who those agents will be going to war for, or who they will be going to war against? Beyond these sadistic provisions, Republicans just voted nearly unanimously to close urban and rural hospitals, cripple the child tax credit, and to top it all off, add $3.3 trillion to the ticking time bomb that is the federal deficit – all from a party that embarrassingly pretends to stand for fiscal responsibility and lowering costs,” wrote Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) in a statement on July 3.

“The Congressional Budget Office predicts that 17 million people will lose their health insurance, including over 322,000 Virginians. It will make college less affordable.  Three million people will lose access to food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). And up to 16 million students could lose access to free school meals. The Republican bill does all of this to fund tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations,” wrote Education and Workforce Committee ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) in a statement. The bill’s passage has prompted Democrats to start thinking about 2026 and the next election cycle. With the margins of victory in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate being so narrow, many are convinced that the balance of power and the question of millions being able to enjoy health care come down to only several thousand votes in congressional elections. But currently, Republicans controlled by the MAGA movement control all three branches of government. That reality was never made more stark and more clear than the last seven days of activity in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

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WATCH: NNPA Publishers Pivot To Survive

7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

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7.2.25 via NBC 4 Washington

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9oZc5Sz0jQQ&feature=oembed

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Congressional Black Caucus Challenges Target on Diversity

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted

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By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Target is grappling with worsening financial and reputational fallout as the national selective buying and public education program launched by the Black Press of America and other national and local leaders continues to erode the retailer’s sales and foot traffic. But a recent meeting that the retailer intended to keep quiet between CEO Brian Cornell and members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force was publicly reported after the Black Press discovered the session, and the CBC later put Target on blast.

“The Congressional Black Caucus met with the leadership of the Target Corporation on Capitol Hill to directly address deep concerns about the impact of the company’s unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” CBC Chair Yvette Clarke stated. “Like many of the coalition leaders and partner organizations that have chosen to boycott their stores across the country, we found that the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted,” Congresswoman emphasized.  “Black consumers contribute overwhelmingly to our economy and the Target Corporation’s bottom line. Our communities deserve to shop at businesses that publicly share our values without sacrificing our dignity. It is no longer acceptable to deliver promises to our communities in private without also demonstrating those values publicly.”

Lauren Burke, Capitol Hill correspondent for Black Press of America, was present when Target CEO Cornell and a contingent of Target officials arrived at the U.S. Capitol last month. “It’s always helpful to have meetings like this and get some candid feedback and continue to evolve our thinking,” Cornell told Burke as he exited the meeting. And walked down a long hallway in the Cannon House Office Building. “We look forward to follow-up conversations,” he stated. When asked if the issue of the ongoing boycott was discussed, Cornell’s response was, “That was not a big area of focus — we’re focused on running a great business each and every day. Take care of our teams. Take care of the guests who shop with us and do the right things in our communities.”

A national public education campaign on Target, spearheaded by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the NNPA’s board of directors, and with other national African American leaders, has combined consumer education efforts with a call for selective buying. The NNPA is a trade association that represents the more than 220 African American-owned newspapers and media companies known as the Black Press of America, the voice of 50 million African Americans across the nation. The coalition has requested that Target restore and expand its stated commitment to do business with local community-owned businesses inclusive of the Black Press of  America, and to significantly increase investment in Black-owned businesses and media, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU, Black-owned Banks, national Black Church denominations, and grassroots and local organizations committed to improving the quality of life of all Americans, and especially those from underserved communities. According to Target’s latest earnings report, net sales for the first quarter of 2025 fell 2.8 percent to $23.85 billion compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales dropped 3.8 percent, and in-store foot traffic slid 5.7 percent.

Shares of Target have also struggled under the pressure. The company’s stock traded around $103.85 early Wednesday afternoon, down significantly from roughly $145 before the controversy escalated. Analysts note that Target has lost more than $12 billion in market value since the beginning of the year. “We will continue to inform and to mobilize Black consumers in every state in the United States,” Chavis said. “Target today has a profound opportunity to respond with respect and restorative commitment.”

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