GREENSBORO — N.C. It is said that you can never go home again. Try telling that to Harold Martin . North Carolin A&T State University welcomed back alumnus and former faculty member Harold Martin on Friday morning, as its new chancellor.
“It is a great pleasure to come home,” Martin told the crowd assembled at the UNC Board of Governors meeting held on A&T’s campus.
The board unanimously approved Martin, whom system President Erskine Bowles called a mentor, colleague and friend.
He said he could not imagine a better man to lead A&T.
“Harold Martin is a proud Aggie,” Bowles said. “He personifies Aggie pride. He is not only a graduate of A&T; he has also been a faculty member, dean and provost at A&T. He knows this institution inside and out. He is of North Carolina A&T.”
Franklin McCain, who led the chancellor search committee, said this was one of the fastest searches in UNC history, leading Bowles to joke that “we didn’t have to look far.”
Martin, chancellor of Winston-Salem State University from 2000 to 2006, was widely considered the best candidate for the job by Aggies alumni. They have been frustrated by the short tenure and abrupt resignations of the school’s last two chancellors.
Martin was passed over for the job in 1999 and did not apply when it opened again two years ago. Bowles said he asked Martin to join him at UNC general administration instead, where he was chief academic officer.
Many Aggies cried openly when Martin was officially announced as their new leader.
“It’s great to see him come back home,” former student body president Marcus Bass said. “Every year at graduation they challenge us to come back to A&T and give back to the school. There’s no better way he could do that than this.”
Many Aggies said they trusted Martin with the school’s future, citing his work at Winston-Salem State. While chancellor there, Martin saw the school’s average incoming SAT score increase nearly 70 points. The school’s enrollment doubled, and he helped create some of its most successful programs.
“His being an Aggie isn’t the most important thing,” said Kitty Harrigan, a 1978 graduate who high-fived friends as the crowd gave Martin a standing ovation. “This is a man who is qualified to lead this university into the 21st century.”
Martin said he plans to continue the academic progress of outgoing Chancellor Stanley Battle, who resigned in February citing family and personal reasons.
“I want to say publicly that I thank Chancellor Battle and his staff for the progress that was made under his leadership,” Martin said.
Battle has not spoken about his resignation since it was announced in February. But some close to the chancellor and the faculty senate said Battle’s push to make sweeping changes and raise standards caused tension.
Chancellor Battle will collect his chancellor’s salary during a six-month sabbatical after he resigns — and then take a tenured faculty position at the school.
There is much work to do at the school, which has struggled financially and academically, Martin said. He expects cooperation from the staff, he said, and thinks they will trust him to make the necessary changes.
“Being a product of the institution and knowing so many people associated with the institution, I don’t believe there will be as much anxiety about trust,” Martin said. “That, I think, is a critical part of what’s needed to communicate effectively, to engage with people.”
Martin said he has high expectations for the school but knows that realizing them won’t be easy.
“No, I don’t walk on water,” Martin said jokingly to the crowd. “And yes, I will need the help of each of you.”
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Had he not been gunned down in the Audubon Ball Room on that dreadful 21st day in February of 1965, Malcolm X would be celebrating his 84th birthday on this upcoming Tuesday May 19, 2009 with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
However, nothing speaks greater as to who Malcolm X was and may have become than his his eldest daughter Ambassador Attallah Shabazz who at the tender age of six, witnessed the assassination of her father.
Today, Ambassador Shabazz carries on the work of not only her father, but her ancestors of whom she is part of the sum. Ms. Shabazz doesn’t feel burdened by her fathers legacy. “I am not under a shadow,” she told Los Angeles Times writer Lawrence Christon. “I’m under a light.”, and although she has chosen a different medium to express herself, she remains “under his light.”
Hear for yourself as Ambassador Shabazz describes in her own words, the Malcolm X she knows with Febone1960.net Presents Conversations With Ambassador Attallah Shabazz.
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Wayman Tisdale Making His Move For The Sacramento Kings Photo Courtesy of Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images
Posted May 15 2009 5:35PM
(AP) — Wherever Wayman Tisdale went, whatever he was doing, chances were he was smiling.
Tisdale was a three-time All-American at Oklahoma in the mid-1980s before playing a dozen years in the NBA and later becoming an accomplished jazz musician.
But those who knew Tisdale, who died Friday at a hospital in his hometown of Tulsa, Okla., recalled not only his professional gifts but a perpetually sunny outlook, even in the face of a two-year battle with cancer that took his life at 44.
“I don’t know of any athlete at Oklahoma or any place else who was more loved by the fans who knew him than Wayman Tisdale,” said Billy Tubbs, who coached Tisdale with the Sooners. “He was obviously, a great, great player, but Wayman as a person overshadowed that. He just lit up a room and was so positive.”
Jeff Capel, the current Oklahoma coach, noted Tisdale’s “incredible gift of making the people who came in contact with him feel incredibly special.”
After three years at Oklahoma, Tisdale played in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns. The 6-foot-9 forward, with a soft left-handed touch on the court, averaged 15.3 points for his career. He was on the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.
Gov. Brad Henry attended Oklahoma at the same time Tisdale did and later appointed him to the state’s Tourism Commission.
“Oklahoma has lost one of its most beloved sons,” Henry said. “Wayman Tisdale was a hero both on and off the basketball court. … Even in the most challenging of times, he had a smile for people, and he had the rare ability to make everyone around him smile. He was one of the most inspirational people I have ever known.”
State senators paused and prayed Friday morning after learning of his death.
Tisdale learned he had a cancerous cyst below his right knee after breaking his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007. He said then he was fortunate to have discovered the cancer early.
“Nothing can change me,” Tisdale told The Associated Press last June. “You go through things. You don’t change because things come in your life. You get better because things come in your life.”
His leg was amputated last August and a prosthetic leg that he wore was crimson, one of Oklahoma’s colors. He attended an Oklahoma City Thunder game April 7 and later that month was honored at the Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa. During the ceremony, he spoke about his cancer, saying “In my mind, I’ve beaten it.”
He recently told Tulsa television station KTUL he had acute esophagitis, which prevented him from eating for about five weeks and led to significant weight loss. Among the causes of that condition are infections, medications, radiation therapy and systemic disease.
Last month, Tisdale was chosen for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
He was the first freshman to be a first-team All-American since freshmen were allowed to play again in the 1971-72 season. He was also one of 10 three-time All-Americans. Patrick Ewing and Tisdale were the last to accomplish the feat, from 1983-85.
“On the court, he was an offensive machine that could score with the best of them,” said Dallas Mavericks president Donnie Nelson, an assistant on Tisdale’s Suns teams. “Off the court, he was grounded in faith and family.”
Tisdale played on an Olympic team that sailed to the gold medal in Los Angeles. The squad was coached by Bob Knight and featured the likes of Ewing, Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and Chris Mullin.
“Wayman was kind of a catalyst for people accepting roles,” said C.M. Newton, the manager of the ’84 team and now chairman of the NIT selection committee. “Michael was the leader of the team but Wayman was special in that way.”
Perkins and Tisdale shared a love of music and became friends during the Olympics. Perkins later was the best man at Tisdale’s wedding.
“That’s a real friend who’s got your back and would do just about anything for you,” Perkins said. “That smile just gets you.”
As a musician, Tisdale recorded eight albums. A bass guitarist who often wrote his own material, his most recent album, “Rebound,” was inspired by his fight with cancer and included guest appearances by several artists, including saxophonist Dave Koz and country star and fellow Oklahoma native Toby Keith.
His “Way Up!” release debuted in July 2006 and spent four weeks as the No. 1 contemporary jazz album. His hits included “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now,” “Can’t Hide Love” and “Don’t Take Your Love Away.”
“He was truly an inspiration to me, paving the way for an athlete like myself to pursue a passion for writing and performing music,” said Bernie Williams, the former New York Yankees star turned jazz musician. “I had the honor and privilege of having Wayman perform on the title track of my new album, and was looking forward to collaborating with him again.”
Tisdale averaged 25.6 points and 10.1 rebounds during his three seasons with the Sooners, earning Big Eight Conference player of the year each season.
He still holds Oklahoma’s career records for points and rebounds. Tisdale also owns the school’s single-game scoring mark — 61 points against Texas-San Antonio as a sophomore — and career marks for points per game, field goals and free throws made and attempts.
In 1997, Tisdale became the first Oklahoma player in any sport to have his jersey number retired. Two years ago, then-freshman Blake Griffin asked Tisdale for permission to wear No. 23, which Tisdale granted. Griffin went on to become the consensus national player of the year this past season as a sophomore.
“I spoke with him pretty frequently this past season and he helped me in ways he probably doesn’t even know,” Griffin said.
Tisdale is survived by his wife, Regina, and four children.
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TAMPA — If she had gone to court last Monday, maybe the domestic violence charge she had filed would have stuck.
Maybe her 3-month-old son, Emanuel Wesley Murray, would still be alive.
If he had shown up, the judge might have noticed he was a fugitive in a felony battery case and put him in custody.
Maybe then, Richard McTear Jr. would never have gone to the home of former girlfriend Jasmine Bedwell writes Alexandra Zayas as she reports for the St. Petersburg Times on baby Emanuel Wesley Murray being thrown to his death from a moving car by Richard McTear last week.
What Zayas’ article doesn’t report is the psychological trick bag which consumes the minds of domestic violence victims.
According to Lissette Campos shame perpetuates their imprisonment making it very difficult for victims to take the first steps to escape the bonds of domestic violence.
Campos is the director of community affairs at WFTS television station. WFTS is the local ABC affiliate located in Tampa, Florida. The station known for taking action just completed a domestic violence campaign which included a one hour prime time special.
Ms. Campos, along with Deiah Riley and Wendy Ryan two female anchors at the station started the project long before the Chris Brown domestic violence scandal. The six months preparation taught the ladies a lot about the subject matter.
First of all says Campos, domestic violence does not discriminate. It can be found in all walks of life. Therefore, it can happen to anyone, including you and me.
Secondly, because of the barrage of verbal abuse designed to deflate the self esteem, victims of domestic violence live in constant fear for themselves and their children.
All the knowledge learned by these women was shared with the community each day on the air. With the support of Verizon and Allstate, the station aired the one hour prime time special in which victims who managed to escape the bondage shared their stories.
As this campaign was wrapping up, Riley, and Ryan found themselves reporting on one more despicable act of domestic violence.
Law enforcement authorities alleges that the 21 year old McTear attacked Jasmine Bedwell, then her baby Emanuel Wesley Murray who is not his child, by first throwing him down onto the concrete, then driving off with the infant and tossing him from a car onto Interstate 275.
The baby’s lifeless body was found around 4:30 AM by Jason Bird, a photographer with Fox affiliate WTVT-Ch. 13, as he traveled Interstate 275 on route to work.
Lissette Campos was readying her children for school when she heard Deiah Riley reporting it on the morning broadcast. Campos stated the news report made her sick to the stomach.
Known by his friends as Rico, McTear who is 5 feet 9, and weighs 175 pounds is now charged with first-degree murder.
McTear’s criminal history reveals that he is no stranger to domestic violence. Arrested for domestic violence at the age of 14, he has been accused by the unsuspecting women in his life of stalking, dragging and beating them unconscious, breaking into their homes and threatening murder, at least once, of a child.
None of the victims, including Jasmine Bedwell , were successful in their pursuit of a restraining order against him. According to the WFTS Domestic Violence prime time special this is not uncommon. The assailant who sometimes avoids service becomes more violent, when the victim seeks such help.
Such was the case with Rico McTear Jr.
A 17 year old Bedwell through Jennifer Liner, a guardian and next best friend of the court filed for a restraining order on the morning of April 7, 2009, after being dragged and beaten by McTear. An order for a temporary restraining order was issued by a Judge on the same day. It was also ordered that the Sheriff’ department serve McTear Jr. with the order which included a hearing date of April 20, 2009. Although no documentation appeared in the jacket at this writing, McTear Jr. was not served, prompting the issuance of an amended petition for a temporary restraining order. The hearing date was set for May 4, 2009. Once again the Sheriff’s department was ordered to serve McTear Jr. On April 21, the sheriff’s department received the paper work, and on 4/28/09 the paper work was returned and it was stated that McTear Jr. could not be found.
A young Bedwell’s failure to appear at the May 4 2009 hearing resulted in the petition being dismissed without prejudice. This meant that Jasmine through Liner, her guardian could come back and refile the petition.
Ms. Zayas speculation that had Jasmine made an appearance in court maybe the charge of domestic violence would have stuck is misleading and the statement “A restraining order would have required that he stay at least 500 feet from her home, but she didn’t show up in court Monday to proceed”, unfortunately places the blame of Emanuel’s murder on the infant’s mother who is also a victim here.
In reality , no restraining order could have been issued had Jasmine been present. The law required McTear Jr. to be served before the order had any validity. At the time of the dismissal, the order was just another piece of paper. The only thing that may have happened on the morning of May 4, 2009 had Bedwell been present is the issuance of another amended petition. If the Sheriff armed with another amended restraining order petition, had been able serve him between 10:30 AM on the May 4, when the dismissal was issued and 3:00 AM on May 5th when McTear Jr. began his deadly assault, they could have also arrested McTear Jr. on the fugitive warrant. Of course, they did not need the amended temporary restraining order to make that arrest.
Five hours later after the tragic incident, authorities found McTear at a home at 3803 Arlington Drive. He ran, but they arrested him.
As he entered custody, he continued the pressure of the psychological trick bag by saying “Tell my girl Jasmine I love her.” Further, McTear also repeated a phrase tattooed on his forearm: “It’s a dirty game.”
Domestic violence is a dirty game, but the victims don’t need to be blamed. They need to know that they are not alone, and there is help which is improving everyday with non- profit organizations who provides safe havens for the victims and their children and support from corporations like Verizon and Allstate, and people like Lissette, Deiah, Wendy and you.
Wendy Ryan (left) Lissette Campos (center) Deiah Riley (Right)
If you are in Florida and in need of help or know someone who needs help, please call the Florida Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline – 1-800-500-1119.
For all others, Please call The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799 SAFE (7233) / 1-800-787-3224(TTY For the Deaf) Here you can find the numbers for all 50 states.
Murder suspect Richard McTear
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