Month: March 2013

Keep Squares Out of Your Circle

You’re responsible for the people you allow to be in your circle.  When you’re constantly frustrated about the people you choose to accept in your circle, then you deserve to be frustrated—you have no one to blame but yourself.  Keep people around you who are going to help you to progress.  Don’t attempt to disassociate with individuals who are going to hold you accountable to high standards and who offer you substantive critiques you need to hear.  Too many people cast away those who they should retain in their circle and discard those they need to keep.

The people you have in your circle are going to play an instrumental role in your success and continued success.  If you’re a truly mature adult, you will deal with those in your circle in a straightforward way.  When you’re a mature adult, you will not communicate with them in third person and send indirect messages to them using various social media platforms.

Although it’s vital to surround yourself with positive people, this does not mean you should have a bunch of head nodding yes men around you.  You shouldn’t want the majority of the people in your circle to sit around in awe of you; you should want people around you who merit awe too.  Many people maintain a circle of friends and associates who aren’t going to threaten their weak self-esteem, but the truth is you need people around you who are candidly willing to tell you that you need to do something to ameliorate your low self-esteem.  While you don’t want someone who is persistently trying to maliciously attack you to stay around you, you should want people in your circle who aren’t afraid to offer you constructive criticism even when you don’t solicit it.

Arguing

Too often people are so concerned about associating with “rubber stamp” people that they don’t give much focus to the tangible signs revealing those individuals aren’t really their supporters.  The reality is when “rubber stamp” people hang around one another, especially all the time, it becomes nothing more than a futile competition between themselves.

While some people like to boast about having an extensive circle of close friends, the truth is you really don’t have but a few true close friends, and when you recognize this, you free yourself from a certain incapacitating ignorance.

Make an honest assessment of the individuals you consider to be in your circle.  If those individuals add no value to your life, then you may want to consider removing them for your circle—just make sure you’re not eliminating someone from you circle who refuses to accept mediocrity from you.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Reduce the NCAA’s Power

Northern Iowa v Michigan State

(Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) functions as a cartel.  One of the most significant ways to check the powers of the NCAA is to form a body of composed university presidents from each conference and division, former college student-athletes, and professional coaches to vote to approve, modify, and/or reject rules and decisions rendered by the NCAA.  Essentially, this new body would have line-item veto power over the NCAA.  For rules and decisions of the NCAA to be vetoed, this new body would have to arrive at a two-thirds majority agreement.  By creating this new governing body, the NCAA’s current absolute power would be eliminated.  Although this is not a panacea to the problems in intercollegiate athletics, it does provide critical oversight for the NCAA.

A governing body with real oversight powers over the NCAA is needed.  When the NCAA recently evinced that it cannot abide by its own rules during the investigation of the University of Miami, no substantive consequences ensued.  The reason why no consequences followed for the organization is there’s no oversight body in place to address the NCAA.

The NCAA constantly produces rules and decisions that aren’t beneficial to student-athletes and the schools they attend.  Although the NCAA markets itself as a zealous advocate for student-athletes, the organization’s marketing is completely phony.  If the NCAA was serious about being an advocate for student-athletes, then it would supply student-athletes with all the resources they need to be successful academically and would allow student-athletes to receive stipends.

Higher education administrators, students, student-athletes, fans, alumni, and policymakers must federate to call for an oversight body for the NCAA.  An oversight body for the NCAA would help to improve phenomena in intercollegiate athletics and significantly benefit student-athletes and the schools they attend.

If you care about student-athletes and reforming intercollegiate athletics, then you will join the effort to institute a new oversight body for the NCAA.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Perceptions of Black Male Student-Athletes on Predominantly White Campuses

Black Athlete

(Photo Credit: sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

In “‘Athleticated’ Versus Educated: A Qualitative Investigation of Campus Perceptions, Recruiting and African American Male Student-Athletes,” C. Keith Harrison (2008) conducted a study to explore students’ narratives about the college recruitment of high-profile Black male high school student-athletes.  Harrison had participants to watch a scene about college athletic recruiting from The Program (1994).  The research questions posed in this study are as follows: (1) Are the recruiting visit perceptions by students about student-athletes based on stereotypes and athlete biases?  (2) How will students respond to images that represent the intercollegiate athletic ritual(s) to sign major recruits in revenue sports (i.e. football and/or basketball)?  (3)  What type of discussion and dialogue about academics and athletics does the qualitative data (narratives) reveal?

A mixed-method research design was used.  202 students at a highly selective Midwestern university participated in this study.  73.6% of the participants are White, 13.4% Asian, and 9% Black, 3% Hispanic, and 1% identified as “Other.”  Visual elicitation was employed to stimulate a discourse between the interviewer and the interviewees.  A survey questionnaire was used.  Hierarchical content analysis and inductive analysis were employed to analyze open-ended responses to questions posed on the survey questionnaire given to each participant after viewing only one scene from The Program.  Participants’ responses emerge from viewing this one scene.

The findings of the study indicated that both Black and White students identified Black male student-athletes in the film to be more athletic or “athleticated” than educated.  Both Black and White students viewed the Black male student-athletes on the film as sex objects.  For Black participants, two dominant themes were found: “athleticated” and “sex object.”  For White participants, four major themes were determined: “athleticated,” “sex object,” “media stereotypes,” and “unrealistic depiction.”  The most prominent themes for both Blacks and Whites were “athleticated” and “sex object.”

Harrison (2008) found important gaps in the professional literature about their being limited empirical investigations of the recruiting inventory of the student-athlete and how the general student body views the student-athlete’s recruitment process.  Since this study extended knowledge about the two aforementioned gaps in the literature, it helps to give some understanding of them.

Harrison (2008) does not offer the reader an understanding of whether this was each participant’s first time viewing the film, which is crucial to understanding potential influences on their responses to questions posed.  One significant weakness of the study is the scholar did not allow the participants to view the entire film, which impacts their ability to properly contextualize the scene the study engaged.  The study does not offer specific details about the responses Hispanic, Asian, and “Other” participants divulged.

Future research needs to resolve how the views of the recruitment of Black male student-athletes of the general student population impact their educational experiences at predominantly white higher education institutions.  Additionally, future research should be devoted to understanding how the perceptions of the recruitment of Black male student-athletes impact their interactions with faculty at predominantly white higher education institutions.  Finally, future research needs to replicate this study and allow students to watch the entire film and then ask them questions about the particular scene used by this study.

Reference

Harrison, C.K. (2008). “Athleticated” versus educated: A qualitative investigation of campus perceptions, recruiting and African American male student-athletes. Challenge: A Journal of Research on African American Men, 14(1), 39-60.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Avoiding Problems Doesn’t Remove Them

Black Man

(Photo Credit: madamenoire.com)

If you keep running from your problems, you will never find a resolution to them.  When you try to pretend like your problems aren’t there, you’re only making them worse: the longer you avoid seeking solutions to your problems, the more difficult they become to address.  Too many people attempt to sham like they have conquered the quandaries that have given them the most pain.  It’s becoming popular for many people to say they’re “reinventing themselves,” “renewing themselves,” “living a new life,” and etc., but the reality is a true change in your life materializes conspicuous signs of change—not facades.  When many people say the aforementioned things, they’re making an effort to have others to believe their lies; they want others to think they’re living a life where they’re facing their problems directly when they’re not.

If you’re really “reinventing” yourself, “renewing” yourself, and “living a new life,” then why are there no substantive ostensible changes in your life?  Why are you unwilling to truly be yourself?  What continues to hold you back from real progress?  At the core of the answers to those questions is one’s intentional effort to run away from, hide, disguise, and bury his or her problems instead of working to defeat them.

You don’t have to live your life trying to hide and evade your problems; you can conquer them.  You must, however, be willing to deal candidly with those problems.  One can make serious progress toward remedying his or her quandaries when he or she musters the courage to confront them boldly.  Too many people attempt to bury their problems behind materialistic phenomena like money, cars, clothes, jewelry, houses, jobs, degrees, and etc., but trying to camouflage those things that are eating away at you will inevitably lead to your own undoing.

Although you may fool a number of people with your efforts to present your life as devoid of problems, the majority of folks know you have some problems—no matter what you say.  Everything’s not always going good for you.  Life exposes us to occasional challenges and problems, so don’t try to act like you’re so special and exempt for this reality.  When you invest significant time in trying to prove to others that you’re living a newly “invented” and “transformed” life, you already know authentic happiness doesn’t exist in your life, and you’re the one who is preventing real happiness from existing in your life.

Don’t allow pride to keep you from asking for help from others.  Additionally, don’t let your pride be the ultimate source of your problems.

It would be so much better to see someone truly living an ameliorated life than living a life of continuous lies; a life where one dons a faux happiness.  While things may not be going great for you right now, don’t try to pretend like they are.  Make a strong effort to engender the change in your life that will produce genuine positive results and progress—not results and “progress” that have to be fictitiously manufactured.

Boldly face your problems today and have a truly improved tomorrow.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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6 Things Thought Impossible that Are Possible


1.      Ending Poverty in America.  In the richest nation in the world, there’s no reason why any person should live in abject poverty.  We have to be committed to an economic system that is not going leave no one behind in poverty.  It’s a conscious choice America makes to not eradicate poverty.  If our nation was truly interested in eliminating poverty, it could be done in a matter of minutes.  For this to happen, there must be a greater will expressed by the American people, and there must be significant pressure placed on local, state and federal leaders to engender policies and legislation that will end poverty.  Although there’s a burgeoning movement to exterminate poverty, a massive number of more people must get involved in this movement for it to accomplish the essential goal of living in a nation devoid of poverty.

2.      Ending Illiteracy in America.  If we make a true commitment to education at the local, state and national level, there’s no reason why we cannot eliminate illiteracy in America.  More people could be helped with their inability to read if they would shed their pride and ask for help.  Of course, there needs to be more resources made available to assist the illiterate.

3.      Ending Homelessness in America.  In the wealthiest nation in the world, every individual should have adequate shelter.

4.      Ending Chronic Hunger in America.  America has enough money to ensure everyone has adequate food to eat.  This is why the food stamps program should be supported and not attacked.  We need to make necessary reforms to remove waste, fraud and abuse in the program, but people who don’t have money to purchase food to eat should be provided with the resources.

5.      Ending Unemployment in America.  In this nation, we have the ability to guarantee that every person who desires to work can be employed, including self-employment.

6.      Ending HIV/AIDS and Cancer.  With many of the most remarkable researchers and scholars in the world, we should remain hope that a cure to incurable diseases will emerge.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Shatter Unnecessary Comfort Zones

Antonio Maurice Daniels

Certain aspects of our day require planning and adhering to a routine.  We do, however, have many opportunities to experience the joy of life that comes from unrestricted spontaneity.  When people are beholden to comfort zones, their lives are dominated by routinization; that is, a highly regimented and scheduled life that acquiesces to the dictates of late capitalism.  Life devoid of spontaneity is mundane and uninteresting.  Although people should not go out and do things that are immature, one needs to benefit from occasional adventures.  Don’t allow your comfort zones to limit who you are and what you can become.

About three years ago, I had one of the most exciting experiences of my life: I went kayaking.  As someone who cannot swim, the thought of kayaking is something I would have never imagined I would do.  One of my best friends, Dr. Renaldo Blocker, convinced me to go kayaking, although I was opposed at first.  Even though I knew there were some potential risks associated with kayaking, I did not allow those risks to prevent me from having a truly fun adventure.  Dr. Blocker, a mutual friend at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and I went kayaking on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin.  We all had a great time.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

From this experience, I gained a deeper appreciation for the power one obtains from conquering something he fears.  I learned that when one focuses more on meeting a challenge instead of surrendering to it, he can overlook the fear related to the challenge and simply embrace the pure bliss of the moment.

It was such a wonderful day to go kayaking that summer in Madison, Wisconsin, considering it was a really hot day but the coolness of the lake assuaged the sun’s impact.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

Develop a passion for learning something new every week and doing something you’ve never done each month.  When you shatter your unnecessary comfort zones, you can discover strength, resolve, confidence, skills, knowledge, and much more you never recognized you had.

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Beyonce: Occasionally Sloppy Vocally

Beyonce

Unquestionably, Beyonce is one of the most phenomenal performers in history.   She’s also a very good singer.  During live performances, however, she sometimes devotes more focus to performing than she does to ensuring she’s giving her best vocals.  While one will never view a live Beyonce performance and honestly come away from it saying it was not crunk, one can sometimes come away from her live performances and say the vocals were not her best.  Because she’s so invested in her dance moves, she does not realize she occasionally screams instead of modulating with skill.  The most recent example of this was during her halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans.  Although Beyonce had an amazing halftime performance at Super Bowl XLVII, her singing suffered from her dominant concentration on her dancing.

It’s not often that Mrs. Knowles-Carter is sloppy with her singing, but it shouldn’t be overlooked when she is.

Beyonce

One of the unusual times when she did a horrible job singing in the studio is on the “Halo” track.  While she’s not even close to declining as a vocalist as Alicia Keys is, it’s important for those who support her, as I do, to offer her fair criticism about the times when she does not meet the standard of excellence she has set.  On the “Halo” track, the critical listener has an opportunity to hear Beyonce sounding throughout the song like she’s simply talking.  Instead of relying on her great vocal prowess, she’s vocally lazy on this song.  While some artists sound really good using their natural speaking voice, her natural speaking voice is not one of her strengths.  When she, therefore, relies too heavily on her natural speaking voice, the song will not be a quality one; “Halo” is the classic example.

Even though I assert that “Halo” is Beyonce’s worst song ever, it has been tremendously successful (as evidenced by just one “Halo” video on YouTube having over 158 million views).  In examining her oeuvre, I have not discovered any songs where she’s as sloppy vocally as she is on “Halo.”  This speaks to her greatness, considering the same cannot be said for the majority of the current celebrated singers.

Do you like Beyonce’s “Halo”?  What is your least favorite Beyonce song?  Do you disagree with my assessment of Beyonce?  Why or why not?

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Professional Athletes Are Worthy of Their Pay

Black Athletes

Although many people think professional athletes make too much money, they deserve the money they earn.  Professional athletes provide professional team owners with the highest quality talent and skills available in the world for the positions they fill.  When you’re hiring the best available people in the world for the positions you have, those individuals are worthy of earning lucrative salaries.  Professional sports team owners are multi-billionaires who make billions more off of the athletes they employ.  Unfortunately, the significant income disparities between professional athletes and professional team owners are overlooked.  Many people see athletes making millions and fail to realize the owners are raking in billions by giving what’s pocket change to them to the athletes responsible for their continual prosperity.  Yes, many professional athletes are rich, especially baseball, basketball, and football players.  In comparison to money their team owners receive, these professional athletes are making minimum wages or less.

Deeply underlying many people’s arguments against professional athletes earning the lucrative salaries they collect is a racist critique of the perceived realities of the professional sports economy.  One of those racist critiques of the perceived realities of the professional sports economy is it’s leading to too many black male millionaires.  While black men are becoming millionaires in the professional sports economy, it does not compare to the way white men become millionaires in the larger national economy.  Many racists contend that the professional sports economy threatens to upset white economic dominance.  This is such a ridiculous racist postmodern anxiety.  The number of black males receiving million dollar salaries in the professional sports economy is analogous to throwing pebbles in a pond—the number is insignificant in comparison to the number of whites who are millionaires.  Many racists are simply uncomfortable with seeing a black millionaire, especially a black male millionaire.  They try to camouflage their racial hatred for black people by asserting that making millions for playing sports is unjustified.

Last month, Lebron James defended the many millions he makes as a professional basketball player.  Although he’s right in explaining why he deserves to be paid such a significant amount of money, it’s time to expose the racism, prejudice and unsubstantiated arguments offered by many who question the legitimacy of professional athletes earning multi-million dollar salaries.  One has to wonder would this be such a highly discussed topic if there weren’t a conspicuous number of black men getting multi-million dollar salaries to play professional sports.

Lebron James

Professional athletes have elected to devote themselves to careers in sports and their career choices should be respected as you desire to have your career choices respected.

Do you believe professional athletes make too much money?  Why or why not?

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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It’s Time for Catholic Priests to End Celibacy Vows

Pope

It’s becoming increasingly clear that many Catholic priests aren’t able to abstain from desiring and having sexual intercourse.  Unfortunately, a number of them have elected to have sex with children, which, of course, is child molestation.  For those Catholic priests who want to marry and have sex, they should be allowed.  A change in the celibacy doctrine for Catholic priests will improve the image, mission and purpose of the Catholic Church.  While it’s certainly possible to remain faithful to a lifelong commitment to celibacy, those Catholic priests who cannot persist to honor this vow are attempting to hide their inability to keep this vow.  By having sex with innocent children, they think their misdeeds will go unrecognized.  Fortunately, their unlawful actions are being exposed.

During the current election process of a new Pope, Catholic leaders need to select someone who will help the Catholic Church to take a serious stand against child molestation.  It’s also vital for the next Pope to begin a candid global discourse about allowing priests to marry and have sex if they desire.  Although many will be resistant to giving priests the authority to marry and have sex, this is the right thing for the Catholic Church to do.  If the Catholic Church does not take meaningful steps to end child molestation from within its borders, then the Catholic Church will inevitably become associated with evil instead of good.

Why continue a practice that causes more harm than good?

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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SoulTrain.com Feature on Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Lee Mayfield was an exemplary soul, R&B and funk singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer.  Many across the globe most recognize him for writing, producing and singing on the soundtrack for Super Fly, a classic Blaxploitation film in which he appears.  The soundtrack is one of the first to generate more revenue than its corresponding film.  Mayfield’s extraordinary life and legacy earned him the Grammy Legend Award in 1994 and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995.  He’s a double inductee into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted as a member of The Impressions in 1991 and as a solo artist in 1999.  Mayfield is also a double inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Read the rest of this article at SoulTrain.com.  When you arrive at the site, “Like” it, tweet it, and share it.  Leave a comment on SoulTrain.com about the article.

Thank you for your support!

Antonio Maurice Daniels

University of Wisconsin-Madison