Black History Month Legend of the Day: James "Red" Moore

Where would baseball be without the legacy of the Negro League players. In the famous words of Negro League founder Rube Foster, "We are the ship, all else is the sea." African-Americans weren't allowed to play in the major leagues so he had the audacity to establish the Negro Leagues and made it great.

We all know about players such as Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. Did you know that Booker T. Washington High School (Atlanta, GA) graduated a respected Negro League player?

James Moore, commonly known as "Red" was born in Atlanta, GA in 1916. He played on several Negro League teams but played his best ball with the hometown Atlanta Black Crackers.

"Red" is a living legend. I have had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions listening to great stories. He expressed how proud that he was of me for establishing L.E.A.D. in his hometown.

There are thousands of African-American males in Atlanta that would love the opportunity to embrace this game that "Red" still lives for. How can it continue to be said that inner city boys don't want to play baseball? We are talking about baseball. African-Americans have been playing baseball since the days of slavery.

Our country has a problem. There are less than 8% of African-Americans playing baseball at the major league level and less than 5% in the NCAA. Every problem creates an opportunity and L.E.A.D. is the solution. Check our success rate of converting raw African-American talent to college strident-athletes at www.Lead2Legacy.org.

Thank you for inspiring me Mr. James "Red" Moore.

Black History Month Legend of the Day: A.D. Williams King

As a child and up until a month ago, I played at A.D. Williams Park in Northwest Atlanta off Hightower Road not knowing who Mr. Williams was. I knew that he had to be somebody special in order to have a park with his namesake.

A month ago, I attended a worship service at Ebenezer Baptist Church and discovered that Mr. Williams King was in fact an ordained minister and Civil Rights leader like his older brother, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Alfred Daniel Williams King (A.D. Williams) was born in Atlanta, GA on July 30, 1930 to Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr. and Mrs. Alberta Williams King and died July 21, 1969.

I am far from a historian. I am however making it a habit to learn about the legacy of men that did so much for society and called Atlanta home.

A.D. Williams is more than a name on a sign at park. He is one of the reasons that I can lead.

Get to know Mr. A.D. Williams King.

Black History Month Legend of the Day: Dr. Alonzo Crim

I attended Grove Park Elementary School (APS) for grades 1st through 5th. During that time, Dr. Alonzo Crim was our superintendent for Atlanta Public Schools. I never met him personally but I saw him often walking the halls at the school. My overall experience with APS was great and I associated that with the head man in charge. As an adult, I now realize that Dr. Crim was more than just the “head man in charge”.

Dr. Crim came to Atlanta Public Schools in 1973 on a mission to give every child in the district an opportunity to receive a quality education regardless of complexion or skin color. In 1972, the Atlanta Compromise was proposed as part of the settlement of the federal de-segregation suit and constituted that Atlanta Public Schools had to adjust their administrative staff so that 50% of the staff would be African American. In addition, APS had to hire an African American superintendent of schools. Cited

In 1973, Alonzo A. Crim, who was serving as the superintendent of a school county in Carmel, California at the time, became the first black superintendent of a school county in the South. He made it his mission to focus on providing quality education to every child in the district regardless of the complexion of their skin. Cited

Upon accepting his invitation, he remarked that he wanted to create a county “where students would know that people cared about them”, and provide them with the tools necessary to achieve their greatest potential. Dr. Crim turned the focus from race to that of learning by initiating what he termed a “Community of Believers” – a network that consisted of Atlanta organizations and individuals who believed in the potential of the city’s children and who were willing to invest time and money in that potential. To Dr. Crim, “belief by the community at large must include the following factors: 1.) Each student is a valuable person fully capable of learning, 2.) our school system can bring about learning, 3.) the economic failure of the nation is dependent on the academic achievement of all students, and therefore, 4.) every person in the total community is a stakeholder and has a vested interest in the Atlanta Public School System.” By 1986, Dr. Crim managed to increase the students’ performance level in basic skills to above the national average, significantly increased attendance rates to higher than 92%, and brought the graduation rate up to more than 70%. He was longest tenured African-American superintendent in the nation by 1986. Cited

My organization L.E.A.D. is a “Community of Believers”. There are currently 46,000 students in the Atlanta Public School System. 79% of the families in APS live at or below the poverty level. Without a “Community of Believers” supporting our students in APS, there will be a loss of hope and increase of bad habits. Dr. Crim has a legacy of believing and achieving. When the book is closed, I want it to be said that Coach CJ believed in us as well.

Black History Month Legend of the Day: Benjamin Elijah Mays

Benjamin Elijah Mays (August 1, 1894 – March 28, 1984) was an American minister, educator, scholar, social activist and the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA from 1940 to 1967. Mays was also a significant mentor to civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and was among the most articulate and outspoken critics of segregation before the rise of the modern civil rights movement in the United States. (Wikipedia) 

Mentorship requires knowledge, a willingness to share information and experiences and consistent availability to your mentee.

The accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are well documented but the world knows very little about the men that guided him. Benjamin E. Mays was one of those men. I remember being a 1st grader at Grove Park Elementary School (APS) in 1982 and receiving my first Quotable Quotes book by Mr. Mays. This book was like the bible to our teachers. We read inspirational quotes from it every day during school. Those quotes provided hope because of the person that said it. One of my favorites is “It must be borne in mind that the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach.”

I take my role of mentorship very seriously because there are hundreds of young men that see value in following me because of what I know and what I’m willing to expose them to. Baseball is my life. The game measures your success based on how often you fail. It trains you to overcome adversity and the true meaning of perseverance. 

Setting a goal can be the easy part. Achieving it is extremely difficult. Having a reliable mentor makes anything possible. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and Benjamin Elijah Mays helped it become a reality.

L.E.A.D. Today…Change Tomorrow!

The legacy of a King

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died at the age of 39 but his legacy lives on through so many of us.  I remember as a child watching countless documentary’s about Dr. King.  You couldn’t live in Atlanta and attend an Atlanta Public School without knowing who Dr. King was. There were photos throughout the schools to serve as a reminder of his servant leadership.

How fascinating it is that God would choose a man and use him to empower millions.  Dr. King was here on Earth for a purpose.  He was on a tour of duty led by God the Father.

What’s your purpose in life? What will be your legacy?

What a friend we have in Jesus.  Jesus gave his life so that we may live life abundantly.  I’m living life abundantly.  Through baseball, I help shape the lives of young men and women.  Not all of my mentees will be major league baseball players like Dexter Fowler.  Some are attorneys.  Some will be entrepreneurs.  One may be the President of the United States.

God has a calling on my life to lead.  I accept the responsibility with humility.  I am willing to learn from others and be an Ambassador.  I’m not living my life for me.  I’m living my life for God and it is a pleasure to serve you.  Continue to pray for me.

If your presence on this Earth doesn’t make an impact, your absence won’t make a difference.  Thank you Dr. King for accepting the calling on your life from God.  Thank you for leaving a legacy that continues to empower me and millions of others.

I will continue to L.E.A.D. and Direct!

Like the things that you love

I've loved baseball every since I was a kid. It started with me watching games on television. I remember my dad buying me a wooden bat from Kmart and I would hit rocks outside all day.

Those of us that love baseball have so many stories to tell about getting your first glove, playing catch with your best friend or going to your first major league game.

When I was a kid, playing competitive baseball cost less than $200 per year. Today, you can't even buy a glove with that. If you don't invest at least $5,000 per year for year round baseball, you have no chance to compete for a college baseball scholarship.  There are currently less than 7% of African-Americans competing in baseball at the college level.  Click here to learn more.

L.E.A.D. uses baseball to help inner city Atlanta males access college. Our success rate has never been achieved in America prior to L.E.A.D. To date, 100% of our Ambassadors have graduated from high school and enrolled on college while 89% of them have have enrolled in college with a baseball scholarship. The state of Georgia currently graduates 45% of it's African American males from high school.

What L.E.A.D. needs now more than ever is support from communities across Atlanta and throughout America. If you love baseball, "Like" L.E.A.D.  Please share with your friends and network!

Meet The Ambassadors

Being an Ambassador is all about making the sacrifice to learn and then being willing to share what you learned with others for the sake of empowering them.

We began the process of selecting our 2012 L.E.A.D. Ambassadors in the fall of 2011 during our Legacy League fall instructional play program. Forty high school males competed for 18 L.E.A.D. Ambassador spots.

The Ambassadors represent the best of L.E.A.D. in four areas of excellence: academics, athletics, service and exposure. Since November 2011, our Ambassadors have raised funds for families in need, toured the CDC and the Jimmy Carter Center and learned the same skills of hitting like Dexter Fowler and Jason Heyward at Diamond Directors.

Today, the Ambassadors are sharing what they have learned with the Atlanta community during our annual Meet The Ambassadors event. Through L.E.A.D., we are truly transforming communities by connecting communities.

The Ambassadors are truly celebrities. These are our change agents that are invested in Atlanta and are willing to learn how to lead the way.

We all offer tremendous value to the world. We all have a story to tell that can empower others. Follow the story of L.E.A.D. in 2012 as we continue to L.E.A.D. Today and Change Tomorrow!

Meet The Ambassadors
*Elder, Mendez (Grady)
Jackson, Rhandal (Mays)
Morgan, Jerald (Mays)
Ratliff, Quinton (Washington)
Martin, Miles (North Atlanta)
Reed, Cedric (Carver)
Reed, Cornelius (Carver)
Booker, Antwain (Tri-Cities)
Booker, Darvell (Tri-Cities)
Hodge, Marcus (SW Dekalb)
Sinkfield, Marquese (Grady)
Muhummad, Earl (Grady)
Key, Santoine (Redan)
Phiffer, Julian (Mays)
Willingham, Jamarcus (Therrell)
Thompson, Dexwin (Therrell)
Mackenzie, Russell (Therrell)
Cornell (Hughes)
Hyde, Max (Hughes)

*Honorary Ambassador