When Keeping It Real goes Wrong: Why Ed Reed and Bethune Cookman didn’t work.
To know where you going, you have to understand where you have been.
It pains me to mention this again; HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) do not need a savior. That’s no knock against Ed Reed and Deion Sanders, two of my favorite NFL athletes because of how they play the game but the story of HBCUs and their Athletic programs is much more complicated than what meets the eye.
A perfect example is Alabama State University. Their athletic programs are arguably the best in Southwestern Athletic Conference. Kudos does need to be given to the administrators at the University but a major factor in that was the Court Case of Knight v. the State of Alabama.
This lawsuit, filed by alumni and students at Alabama State University and Alabama A&M University (the two public HBCUs in Alabama), claimed that the higher education system in Alabama was racially discriminatory due to several policies including admissions. Two bench trials later, the court ordered a settlement plan to increase enrollment of black students at HBCUs and PWIs (predominately white institutions), This was after the court claimed that many of the state’s policies nurtured segregation. The settlement plan also was supervised by the state for 10 years to ensure progress and monitor compliance. 8 years into the supervision, the plaintiffs argued that the goal of increasing enrollment for Black students was compromised due to the underfunding of K-12 and higher education through taxes that disproportionally affected Black students which was rejected by the courts.
I left one fact out…the initial lawsuit was filed in 1981 and the final court ruling was in 2004!
The top-notch facilities that you see at Alabama State was partially due to the fact the courts agreed that the state’s policies were discriminatory against African Americans and HBCUs even though they did not agree that the property taxes were unconstitutional. With this, imagine the head start other schools in Alabama have gained in that time.
“My vision is probably moving too fast for a lot of people.”
-Ed Reed
So how does this relate to Ed Reed and Bethune Cookman?
His passion and his desire seem to be well-intentioned but there also must be an understanding that the fight for equality is often long, consistent and often unappreciated. It may be that some people are hesitant to change but they may also be working in a reality that Ed Reed is just getting abreast of.
In Florida, where Bethune Cookman is located, there is a current federal lawsuit that alleges that the state board of governors allocated less money to Florida A&M, the state’s public HBCU, compared to the other public PWIs in Florida thus falling short of the 1998 agreement with the US Department of Education to fix issues of inequalities in higher education. Even though Bethune-Cookman is a private institution that must depend on tuition, endowment funds, and individual contributions to operate, structural issues of fairness in the state’s education system may ultimately affect them as well.
To his credit, Ed Reed apologized for that being what was taken from his speech. However, something happened between him and Reggie Theus, Bethune Cookman’s Athletic Director, that we may never have the full story on that led to him to not being the head football coach. Plainly stated, it looks bad on all parties that this arrangement fell apart especially with the obvious animosity.
Perhaps Mr. Reed is right that he can accomplish more outside of the system than not. The fact that students used the opportunity to protest some of their concerns will hopefully lead to some change.
But the same accountability and business-like mindset that he wanted Bethune Cookman to have about their facilities, showed up in his dismissal. It is very likely the same fate would have happened at a PWI if he made comments that were deemed to be disparaging by school leadership before having a ratified contract.
This fact has to be emphasized. Especially dealing with students who are just beginning to be a part of the workforce regardless of how true the statement is.
This shouldn’t stop schools from hiring ex-pro players as coaches and administrators. It looks like Tennessee State has a good relationship with Eddie George and NC A&T just hired Vincent Brown as their head coach. Both sides; however, must understand each other’s reality and vision.
HBCUs don’t have the luxury of fighting just on the football field; they must fight to have the same per capita educational funding as well as fight the ludicrous notion that their schools are somehow inferior.
If all the great leaders of our time, past or present, could not solve all the issues pertaining to discrimination; then it’s impossible for Deion, Ed Reed or anyone else for that matter to put HBCUs at the level of Power 5 football, a select group of around 60 universities, in the country overnight.
While I’m rooting for one day to see the likes of Southern and LSU or Florida A&M and Florida State on the same competition level, one must ask itself is how much of a priority that goal should be given the multitude of things that must be worked on to ensure fairness and equality.
Thanks for reading!
