16 • August 4, 2022 - August 10, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Religion & Spirituality Bill Russell, a superior athlete and civil rights activist By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews
Bill Russell had more rings than he had fingers, and a cluster of awards to fill the walls of his entire house. But awards and statistics tell only a portion of this NBA Hall of Famer, who died peacefully Sunday, according to a statement from his family. He was 88. One line in the statement from his family spoke volumes about his achievements: he was the most prolific winner in American sports history. They were making reference to Russell’s incomparable 11 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics, eight of them consecutively, thereby surpassing the New York Yankees’ five straight World Series championships; and the Montreal Canadiens’ five straight Stanley Cup titles. Few could speak with absolute authority of Russell’s prowess like Red Auerbach, his coach and mentor. For him Russell was “the single most devastating force in the history of the game.” There is a long list of numbers to back up this comment, including five-time NBA MVP and 12-time All-Star. He wasn’t much of a scorer but his athleticism, his speed and vertical extension made him an impregnable defensive player. And his being left handed gave him
an added advantage against the majority of right handed players, such as Wilt Chamberlain, and their battles were classic. Add the number of rebounds, assists, and blocked shots, which were not tabulated during his career, and you have a formidable team player, to say nothing of his savvy and understanding of how to run the court, set up a pick and roll, and hustle back down the court. In his 1979 book “Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man,” with Taylor Branch, he wrote this about his defense of the almost unstoppable Oscar Robertson. “When he hesitated near the foul line for the jump shot, I would take a step toward him, faking a move to block his shot or steal the ball. But what I really wanted him to do was to take the opening to drive by me for a lay-up, and I’d be able to recover in time to black the shot.” Born William Felton Russell on Feb. 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana, he like so many of his friends and family endured racist hostility and discrimination. He was eight years old when his father moved the family to Oakland, California, like many other migrants from the South. Even before he stepped on the court and handled a basketball, he became a student of the game studying players and their moves. It took him a
while to develop his skills, but by his senior year he had led McClymonds High School to two state championships. Frank Robinson, the baseball immortal, was one of his teammates. He was even more successful at University of San Francisco, where he captained the team and led them to back-to-back NCAA championships. His teammate was K.C. Jones, who would later join him on the Celtics. The two inseparable players would also lead the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Melbourne in 1956. A most impressive pattern was established and it would continue for them right into the green uniforms in Boston. And the rest of the league soon learned what a lethal combination they were, and near the end of their remarkable streak of victories, Russell became the coach, the first Black coach or manager in any major sports team in the nation. Upon hearing of Russell’s death, Michael Jordan, widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, said, “Bill Russell was a pioneer—as a player, as a champion, as the NBA’s first Black head coach, and as an activist. He paved the way and set an example for every Black player who came to the league after him, including me. The world has lost a legend. My condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by former president Barack Obama, who awarded Russell the Medal of Freedom in 2011. “Today we lost a giant,” Obama tweeted. “As tall as Bill Russell stood, his legacy rises far higher—both as a player and as a person. Perhaps more than anyone else, Bill knew what it took to win and what it took to lead. On the court, he was the greatest champion in basketball history. Off of it, he was a civil rights trailblazer—marching with Dr. King and standing with Muhammad Ali.” And there is a photo that has Russell seated with Ali, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Jim Brown, in support of Ali’s refusal to serve in the military. Russell possessed an infectious laugh, a delightful sense of humor, and always carried himself with dignity and respect for others, at the same time totally in control of his own inadequacies and his ego, as he wrote in “Second Wind.” “I’ve tried to handle my ego the way I would any other part of my character: to acknowledge it but not to let it control me or make me into something I don’t like,” he wrote. “All of us have prejudices that grow out of our egos, but that’s natural. Show me a person with no prejudice and I’ll show you a person with no taste. The struggle is to keep prejudice from turning into bigotry and hatred.”
Nichelle Nichols, the first lady of Deep Space, dead at 89 By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews
television. Nichols explained that “I just got the script and I said, ‘Oh, wow, great! We’re going to get a little romance in here!’” In the From the very first episode of “Star Trek,” “The original script the kiss was between Spock Man Trap,” Nichelle Nichols, who died of natu- and Uhura, but Bill Shatner, who portrayed ral causes July 30, at 89, was a consummate actor Kirk, said, “Oh, no! If anyone is going to kiss and that as Lt. Nyota Uhura, the communica- Nichelle, it’s going to be me.” The script was retions officer she established her place as the first written and the cast laughed about it. leading Black woman in space. In this exchange This is just an example of the camarawith Spock she made it plain that she was merely derie that made “Star Trek” such a poputrying to strike up a conversation, and not about lar show, creating a coterie of “Trekkies” moonlight on his planet of Vulcan. like the undying fans of the Grateful Dead. And this was just the beginning of their re- Nichols’ role provided an opening for Afrilationship, though her first kiss was with Cap- can Americans in sci-fi and other productain Kirk, making it the first interracial kiss on tions where the fictional future was devoid
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of Black people. Her influence was even more meaningful for Blacks on Earth and reached beyond television to NASA, where she was instrumental in recruiting female and minority candidates to be astronauts. In this capacity she made public appearances and recorded several PSAs on behalf of the agency. She was a keynote speaker in 2012 at the Goddard Space Center and lauded for helping to diversify the space program. A NASA news release underscored her contributions, noting, “Nichols’s role as one of television’s first Black characters to be more than just a stereotype and one of the first women in a position of authority [she was fourth in command of the Enterprise] inspired thousands of applications from women and minorities,” the release said. “Among them: Ronald McNair, Frederick Gregory, Judith Resnik, first American woman in space Sally Ride and current NASA administrator Charlie Bolden.” Born Grace Dell Nichols on Dec. 28, 1932, in Robbins, Ill., she asked her mother for another name and they decided on Nichelle, mainly because of its alliteration. She came of age in Chicago, and at a very early age possessed a remarkable singing voice. Her first professional performance was in a revue and occurred while she was still a student at Englewood High School. For a year, after Duke Ellington spotted her dance routine, she was hired and toured with the troupe as a dancer in his jazz suites. During the 1950s she performed at a number of nightclubs, even at the Playboy Club in New
York City, all the while waiting unsuccessfully for a chance on stage as an understudy of Diahann Carroll in the musical “No Strings.” When director Otto Preminger filmed his version of “Porgy and Bess,” Nichelle was a dancer; four years later in 1963, she made her television debut in an episode of “The Lieutenant,” and the series was created by Gene Roddenberry, who would later create “Star Trek.” Two intimations of what lay ahead for her. She had cameo appearances on a number of television shows, including “Head of the Class” and “Peyton Place.” On stage in Los Angeles she did impersonations and saluted such Black women as Lena Horne, Pearl Bailey, and Eartha Kitt. Not too long after her appearance on “Peyton Place,” she took the role on “Star Trek,” as a line on her resume since her real dream was Broadway. Roddenberry, with whom she had a brief affair, told her to think it over, and she decided to stay and the rest as they say is history. Nichelle was married twice, she and Foster Johnson had one son, Kyle, who many film buffs may remember for his starring role in Gordon Parks’ “The Learning Tree.” In her autobiography published in 1995, she revealed a lot of intimacies that she kept to herself for many years. And many of them occurred on the “Starship Enterprise.” But to get the lowdown on that check out the book, and a final word from President Biden, who said the nation lost a “trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women.”
