Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Mary Burke at the Bray Community Center

September 21, 2014 Mary Burke on Sunday continued to deflect criticism about allegations that parts of her state job plan were lifted and unattributed from other candidate and independent reports.

And later the same afternoon, during a Racine appearance, the Democratic candidate for governor encouraged supporters to work hard to get out the vote on Nov. 4 to overcome what she described as “roadblocks” that state Republicans put in place through court-upheld voter ID legislation.

All that took place during and before a Sunday town hall meeting to a friendly audience of about 100 at the Bray Community Center, 924 Center St. While she received a warm welcome inside, a group of about a dozen youthful Republicans stood outside with placards trumpeting the plagiarism allegations. The group protested silently and dispersed without incident after Burke arrived and was rushed inside.

On Friday, Burke’s campaign acknowledged that consultant Eric Schnurer, who was hired by the campaign, used portions of plans he had prepared for other political campaigns throughout the country. The Burke campaign has since cut ties with Schnurer.

“I brought in ideas I thought would work here in Wisconsin and that have worked in other places to obtain innovative ideas on how we’re going to grow Wisconsin’s economy,” Burke told reporters before Sunday’s town hall meeting at the Bray Center. “But Eric should not have used the same language that he used in providing services to other clients.”

Further allegations were surfacing Sunday that more of Burke’s plan had been lifted from other sources, including a Harvard University study, but Burke said she had not had a chance to look into those.

Protesting Republicans outside the Bray Center declined to comment and instead sent a request for comment to state Republican Party officials.  “Mary Burke needs a lesson in business ethics because even eighth-graders know that you shouldn’t copy the work of others,” Joe Fadness, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said in an email to The Journal Times. “Burke must stop pointing fingers and immediately accept responsibility for putting forward a dishonest, plagiarized jobs plan.”

In her talk to supporters at the Bray Center, Burke said the Republicans were trying to use the plagiarism allegations to deflect attention from a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Thursday that showed Wisconsin ranks 33rd in the nation in private sector job creation for a 12-month period that ended in March.

Burke’s Republican challenger in the Nov. 4 election, incumbent Gov. Scott Walker, has made job creation a key platform, promising when he was first elected in 2008 that he would bring 250,000 private-sector jobs to the state. Walker has acknowledged adding 100,000 jobs since he began serving as governor, but a monthly labor report shows the state lost 4,300 jobs between July and August.

Burke brought out reinforcements Sunday to mobilize supporters in her quest to unseat Walker. Appearing with her at the Bray Center were: running mate for lieutenant governor and state Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine; state Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha; state Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Somers; and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., who sang a lively version of a number she called the “Scott Walker Blues.”

A recent Marquette University poll shows the race to be in a near dead heat, and Burke has said several times that Racine will play a key role in pushing her to victory. Moore, a Racine native, called the campaign a “battle royale” and Lehman said Burke’s victory was not just important to Wisconsin, but was important for the progressive movement nationwide.  After the speech to the crowd at the Bray Center, which largely mirrored the one she delivered on Aug. 2 at the Racine County Democratic headquarters, Burke took questions from the audience. She voiced support for raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, supported restoring collective bargaining rights for public employees and said she would look at ways to reduce the prison recidivism rate.

Unified Leaders address Black Community on District Issues

Leaders and administrators of the Racine Unified School District held a community forum called the first of its kind Tuesday night to discuss ongoing district issues with residents.  The forum, held at the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., specifically dealt with issues facing black students in the district, such as achievement and graduation rates that fall well behind their white peers.

“We need a community effort to make all of this really work,” said Unified Superintendent Lolli Haws to about 30 residents who attended the meeting. “We need active involvement from all of the community’s stakeholders in solving all of the complex problems that go along with all of the reasons why our teens aren’t performing as they should.”

The forum was organized by Melvin Hargrove, school board member and pastor of Zoe Outreach Ministries, along with Bray Center Executive Director Jameel Ghuari, to open a dialogue with the city’s black community on district issues.  In a presentation that opened the forum, Haws and Chief of Schools Eric Gallien addressed numerous issues facing the district and especially its black students — including low achievement on test scores, low graduation rates and high expulsion rates.  Gallien also addressed the district’s most recent efforts to address these problems, such as giving teachers additional support, implementing a new discipline policy setting up a new class structure to provide high school freshmen with more attention and support.

After the presentation, Haws and six of her department leaders took questions from the residents and community leaders. About 15 attendees addressed the panel on a wide range of topics from recent initiatives discussed in the presentation to overworked substitute teachers to the district’s upcoming referendum.  Hargrove said after the meeting that this was the first forum addressing the district’s black community and he hoped more would follow at other neighborhood community centers around in the district.  He noted that this type of forum not only allows residents to more easily access district administrators with issues and concerns, but also alerts administrators to worries within the community.  “Having a conversation like this, (Haws) can also hear from people she may not normally hear from at a School Board meeting,” he said.

Cutting crime through basketball

Eight middle students anxiously waited in a meeting room of the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., Tuesday night, April 28, 2014, with energy and athletic clothes better suited for playing basketball in the gymnasium downstairs than playing the game of Jeopardy they were about to start. That changed when Jeopardy started. Focusing solely on trivia about the criminal justice system in Wisconsin, the game quickly captured their attention as students excitedly recalled answers to questions while some recounted their own interactions with police and court.  “It’s sad to say, they can relate,” said Jennifer Bias, deputy trial division director for the State Public Defender’s Office. “They have their own personal stories, unfortunately.”  Bias leads these students through a 30-minute course, called a life-skills session, every Tuesday and Thursday as part of the Bray Center’s Jacob Lott Middle School Basketball League.

The league, in its second year, offers students the opportunity to play basketball in the league free of charge — so long as they sit through this 30-minute life skills session before their game once a week, according to Jameel Ghuari, director of the center and organizer of the league.  Funded by a grant from the Department of Justice to divert youth away from gangs and violence, the program is designed to educate students on the consequences of being charged and convicted of crimes and how to avoid being part of the criminal justice system in the first place. “A lot of these young kids in middle school are at risk of being incarcerated,” he said. “We’re trying to do all we can the help them avoid that.”  Students are transported to the Bray Center twice a week from the city’s five other neighborhood centers, which Ghuari said have played a vital role in the program. Ghuari stressed that basketball is just a way to get students in the door for the life skills sessions.  While last year’s sessions focused on a wide variety of subjects and teachers, Bias now leads most sessions in a curriculum solely about the criminal justice system.

Noting the high stakes for inner-city students and especially young black males, Ghuari said that being convicted of a crime and serving time in prison is a black mark that can make getting a job or a loan much more difficult years into the future.  “Once you get involved with the system, it’s with you for life,” he said. “Every aspect of your life is negatively affected by that involvement, even after you serve your commitment.” While the sessions focus on the criminal justice system, Bias noted that the long-term goal is to keep these students in school.  After a session earlier this month, J’Quail Hanks, 13, of McKinley Middle School, commented on how he stays away from influences that would get him into trouble.  “Walk away, play basketball, don’t get into the negative,” Hanks said.

Marshaun Emery, a 13-year-old student at Mitchell Middle School, noted how he had already received a citation for being in a fight and now tries to avoid situations that would lead him further down that path.  “I know better things than to fight,” he said.



COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER

STARTING DRILL TEAM, TEEN MOM

Imagine a drum and bugle corps performance, with the instruments replaced by clapping, stomping and chanting, and you have drilling. That’s one of the two programs for young people that Brenda Petty is starting to organize at the Bray Community Center, 924 Center St. Petty, who recently returned to her hometown from Minnesota, said she’s also starting a supportive program at the center for teenage mothers.

Petty, now 50, said she learned drilling locally in about 1979.  “It was very popular in the ’70s and ’80s,” she said.  She started a team at the Bray Center, the Jammers, in the 1980s. Petty started another, the South Side Strutters, at the Bryant Community Center in 1992, and she said it won competitions in the Chicago and Milwaukee areas. They had about 40 to 50 girls and as many boys.  “We kept kids off the streets,” she said.  “Their kids and grandkids are on the (new) team now,” Petty said.

She recently put out word that she was organizing a drilling team at the Bray Center and attracted about 30 girls to the first practice on Wednesday.  And she said quite a few more are talking about it on Facebook.  Meanwhile Petty, who is on long-term disability pay and uses her time to do community service, is also laying plans for a teenage mother program that she said will start in June at the Bray Center.  “It will be set up like a class,” Petty said. “Each young mother will pick an advocate she likes, like a Big Sisters thing.”

The classes will be taught by professionals on a volunteer basis, and Petty said she already has seven enlisted.  Petty said her passion for community service was instilled by being raised in a loving foster home, by parents who taught her to share her God-given talents with others.  “If I can get one child off the streets and doing something positive that they like, it makes me smile,” she said. “So if I can get 30 kids to do it, you know I’m all smiles!”

Petty plans to hold fundraisers and get company sponsors for drill team uniforms and any costs for the teenage mother program, such as buying bus passes.  “I’m trying to get the community to help with these kids, Petty said. “Because it’s their kids.”  She said anyone interested in the drill team should go to the Bray Center between 4:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.

Bill Cartwright at Racine Storm Practice

March 8, 2014 Former Chicago Bulls player and head coach Bill Cartwright, left, watches Racine Storm practice with Storm General Manager Ken Hasty on Saturday at the Bray Center, 924 Center St., Racine.

RACINE — Just because he’s 7-foot-1 and towered over some of the players didn’t mean members of the Racine Storm basketball team were going to listen to Bill Cartwright on Saturday.  But they did — possibly because of the three NBA championship rings he won while playing for the Chicago Bulls. Or the two additional rings he won in 1997 and 1998, while he worked as an assistant coach with the Bulls.

“One thing these guys are gonna do when Bill Cartwright is talking is listen,” Racine Storm General Manager Ken Hasty said.  The retired basketball star hit the court in Racine on Saturday, offering guidance and coaching expertise to almost a dozen men, most of whom play for the Independent Basketball Association’s Racine Storm. The team had been in Lake County, Ill., but moved to Racine this year.

“Ken likes helping these guys out,” Cartwright said. “It’s really interesting because you never know who you’re going to be looking at. Some of them drive down from Chicago.”  Cartwright, 56, and his family live in Lake Forest, Ill. If he can help the players, why not attend the practice, he said.  “What we talked about today is a basic attack. When you get the ball, you dictate the action,” said Cartwright, who was the Bulls’ head coach from 2001-04. “As an offensive player, you want to dictate the action. You don’t want the defense to dictate to you. It’s giving an idea how to post up — how to be an offensive player.”  Cartwright said he also talked about footwork with the guys.  “I’m giving them tips or ideas of what I like to see. After that it’s up to them,” he said. “If you’re going to make strides, it’s not a one-day job.”  Each player has different abilities, and they need to play to their strengths.  “Everybody has something they do well,” Cartwright said. “It’s a big difference between if (retired All-Star center Shaquille O’Neal) was out there or a skinny post guy, like (current Bulls power forward) Joakim Noah. He can’t play like Shaq, but he can get to the same spot by using his quickness. Use what you got.”

Racine resident Devron Bostick, 26, said he “grew up watching the legends” like Cartwright.  “It was nice to have him come and give us some of his wisdom,” said Bostick, a recess and cafeteria supervisor at 21st Century Preparatory School. “It made us play a lot harder with him here.”  He said when Cartwright gives them advice, they try to follow it.  “The advice he gave us today, about not giving up layups, was right,” said Bostick, who’s also the middle school basketball coach at 21st Century.  Hasty said he was coaching college basketball when Cartwright was coaching the Bulls, and they struck up a friendship.  “He’s obviously a tremendous player in the NBA. He can teach them proper maneuvers,” Hasty said. “He’s got a good heart. We’d like all the guys to get better.”

It’s early Saturday morning at the Bray Center, 924 Center St., and players on the Racine Storm men’s basketball team have already worked up a sweat.

Head coach Clinton Bryant, coming off working third shift as a truck driver for Imperial Laundry, had his players start practice early.  Game after game, a team of players with different backgrounds from different schools played five-on-five, improvising plays and running the fast break.

“It’s like I tell the players,” Bryant said, “I can’t teach you; you already have to know the game.”  The Racine Storm started as an exhibition team in Lake County two years ago.  Bryant agreed to coach the team last season, then known as the Lake County Stars, guiding them to a 15-4 record and a playoff team that came within two points in overtime of winning the Independent Basketball Association championship.

Before the start of the spring season, team owner Michael Tyler, an assistant attorney general at the Louisiana Department of Justice, made the decision to move the team from Lake County, Ill., to Racine.

Ken Hasty, general manager for the Racine Storm, said the team was moved to a better basketball community and also to attract more talent.  “Racine just has so many good players up here,” he said. “From the North Shore of Chicago to here, Racine has the best concentration of good players.”

Some of the players are familiar names from Racine Countyl basketball’s recent history: Devron Bostick and Reggie Bunch are from St. Catherine’s, Thomas Cobbs is from Case, Greg Morrisette from Horlick.

Others, like Jonathan Mandeldove, who played at the University of Connecticut from 2006-09, and Fred Durr, who played for Oklahoma Panhandle State University, represent a mix of players with major collegiate and professional experience playing overseas.  For many players, playing in the IBA is a means to staying in game shape, a chance to play professionally overseas or to get noticed by an NBA scout.  “To get a job, you need numbers and film from a credible league,” Hasty said.

League players do not command a salary. However, access to game film, league statistics and recognition playing in an established basketball league are all tools a player can use to market himself on a larger stage.  Abdul Jeelani, a program director at the Bray Center and a former Park High School standout who went on to play in the NBA as well as overseas professionally, praises Bryant’s work with area players.  “He keeps that dream alive for them,” he said. “Their careers would be all but over except for him.”  The Storm begins its 2014 spring season on Sunday, March 9, versus the Kenosha Ballers at 6:30 p.m. at the Kenosha Boys and Girls Club, 1330 52nd St., and make their home debut at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, at Case High School versus the Kankakee (Ill.) County Soldiers.

 

Jameel Ghuari explains how activists in Racine’s past have shaped the city’s history at the Racine Public Library, 75 Seventh St., Monday evening. Ghuari is Executive Director of the George Bray Neighborhood Center, one of the activists he praised at the event. Behind him are representatives to the State Assembly Mandela Barnes of Milwaukee and Cory Mason of Racine.

As Black History Month comes to a close this week, several community leaders gathered Monday night to commemorate the accomplishments of eight African-American residents of Racine throughout history.  Whether a runaway slave, a local teacher or a member of Congress, current community leaders spoke on their research or personal memories of these eight men and women who left an indelible impact on Racine and, in some cases, the country.  “We have a great tradition in this country of celebrating Black History Month in February, and we learn about many great national figures who are important at both a national and state level,” said state Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, who organized the event. “But sometimes we forget how important Racine’s contributions are to the legacy of African-American history here in this country.”  In front of an audience of about two dozen residents at the Racine Public Library, five speakers addressed the legacies of former community members including U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., a Racine native; Corrine Reid-Owens, one of the first black Racine Unified School District teachers and often described as the “Rosa Parks of Racine;” and Joshua Glover, a runaway slave captured in Racine and famously broken out of jail by local abolitionists.  While discussing the achievements of George Bray, former alderman and founder of the Racine Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Jameel Ghuari said Bray made sure Ghuari went to school by ensuring his mother knew about it when he was caught skipping class.  Ghuari is now the director of the neighborhood center that bears George Bray’s name.  “What I remember most about George Bray is that he was a humanitarian,” he said. “His spirit still is there in the Bray Center ... and all I’m trying to do is be a keeper of that vision.”  Mason announced after the event he will host a similar event next month for Women’s History Month to commemorate women who have made an impact on Racine’s history.

  

COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER: 

GEORGE BRAY NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER 

In the summer of 2013, Jameel Ghuari, Executive Director of the George Bray Neighborhood Center, reached out to extend space usage to agencies in the community that had youth programs to offer. Volunteers from Girls Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast answered the call by accepting the center’s offer to use space to hold Girl Scout troop meetings.

Currently the Bray Center provides monthly meeting space to three Girl Scout troops:

• Girl Scout Junior Troop 9371, which meets on the first and third Saturday.

• Girl Scout Cadette Troop 9314, which meets on the second and fourth Saturday.

• Girl Scout Cadette Troop 5630, which meets on the second Wednesday.

The volunteers and girls are very grateful, as the space given includes an office for supply storage, a separate private meeting room large enough for group activities and a kitchen that troop leaders especially enjoy as it allows the opportunity to infuse cooking and healthy living skills into the Girl Scout leadership experience.

Each troop is currently working on Girl Scout Leadership Journeys from one of three themes: It’s Your Planet, Love It!; It’s Your Story, Tell it; and It’s Your World, Change it! National Leadership Journeys help Girl Scouts learn and practice the three keys to leadership: girl-led, learning by doing and cooperative learning. In addition, girls aid their community while earning leadership awards. Troops add to their experience by attending events, mentoring younger girls through the Girl Scout Program Aid Training program and selecting a community concern that they can take action on by educating themselves about the issue and providing a sustainable project that impacts the community in a positive way.

The three troops are currently working diligently to meet their Girl Scout Cookie program activity goals. Participating in this program is much more than selling cookies. The girls also learn about financial literacy, earning badges on goal setting, decision making, business ethics, money management, developing people skills — aspects essential to leadership, to success and to life.

Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast is the leading organization on girl leadership, which provides a platform for girls to build courage, confidence and character to make the world a better place. Girls interested in joining these or other troops can contact their local Girl Scout Racine Service Center.

                   Handle with Care

Meshawn McClendon (left), 10, and Tony Demaio, 9, play basketball Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, during an open practice at the George Bray Community Center, 924 Center St.

Protest shuts down

Sixth Street

RACINE — Twelve Racine women effectively closed a block of Sixth Street for an hour Friday afternoon after they sat in the middle of the street in front of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s office, 216 Sixth St., to push him to take action on immigration reform.    Police blocked off the street at Main Street and allowed the women to address a crowd of several dozen that gathered in front of the Racine office for Ryan, the Janesville Republican who represents Racine County in Congress.  The women-led protest, organized by the Milwaukee-based immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, called on Ryan to work for speedy immigration reform and stop deportations.  Police wrote down each woman’s information and told them that they would be cited for the incident, according to Joe Shansky, a representative of the organization.  One of the women, 77-year-old Racine resident Luz Maria Hernández, said some of her children have been waiting in Mexico for 17 years for their visas to be approved.  “I have no fear because I’m fighting for my children and for many families who also suffer and are saddened,” said Hernández, who has nine children, 31 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.  Hernández, her one daughter who has been able to move to Racine, 57-year-old Sofia Anguiano, and her granddaughter Cecilia Anguiano were three of the women cited during the protest.

Hernández and her granddaughter were arrested together in a protest in Washington, D.C., in September, but Sofia Anguiano said that Friday was the first time she has ever been ticketed in the United States.  Another protester, Luisa Morales, 25, said that deportations are of particular concern for her because she was raised in Racine by two parents who were always at risk of being deported.  “I feared everyday in my childhood because they came to this country undocumented,” she said. “I had to grow up much sooner than most kids.”  Shansky said that the organization has held similar protests in front of the offices of Ryan, Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson in the past to spur action on immigration reform.  The protest began at about 3 p.m. and lasted for about an hour, until the women concluded the protest and willingly moved out of the street.

Congratulation

Willis Wray Bray Center Alumni

Willis is now the new Program Manager @ Racine Youth Sports (RYS)

Willis is presently the Vice President of Bray Center Board of Directors

RACINE — Willis Wray is a self-described basketball junkie.

Wray says a day doesn’t go by in which he doesn’t get his basketball fix. “I love basketball,” said Wray, who was a starter for the Horlick High School basketball team during the 1996-97 season. “I eat, drink and sleep basketball.”  So, when Wray heard there was going to be a Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Racine, he immediately wanted to get involved with it. Not as a player, mind you, but as an official.

The 33-year-old Wray contacted some local Gus Macker officials and told them he would be more than willing to volunteer his services for the two-day event held behind Gateway Technical College.  Gus Macker officials were more than happy to oblige Wray who, shortly after the crack of dawn Saturday, was raring to go, ready to blow his officiating whistle.

For Wray, it was his small way of paying back.  “I wanted to help with this tournament and I’m glad I did,” said Wray, who is a management assistant for Enterprise car rental in South Milwaukee. “I wanted to help out in any way I could. I wanted to give back to the community and give back to the kids.”

Wray is one of 60 individuals who are donating their time and energy to officiate the hundreds of Gus Macker games being played on the 19 courts near the shores of Lake Michigan.  Keith Sobotka also is voluntarily officiating, noting the Gus Macker tournament is a vehicle to provide a community service. A math teacher at the Mack Alternative Center, Sobotka officiated Gus Macker games last year as well.

“This is really a good community event and it helps raise money for Racine Youth Sports,” said Sobotka, who was a member of the Milwaukee Don Bosco team that lost in double overtime to a Jim Chones-led St. Catherine’s team in the championship of the 1969 WISAA State Tournament at the Milwaukee Arena. “I really like doing this.”

Sobotka, who officiated for nearly eight hours Saturday, said the games have been easy and enjoyable to officiate — with some exceptions.  “The kids are great,” said Sobotka, who then smiled and added, “but some of the parents need to take a time out. I had to give one parent today a ‘T’. Other than that, it’s been a great tournament.”  Steve Botzau, one of the local Gus Macker organizers, said he was grateful for the officials and the many other volunteers.  “We have more than 100 volunteers in all and we appreciate what they do,” Botzau said.  As for the officials, this year’s group is an experienced group. Many of them have worked this tournament in the past.  “With them coming back and officiating again this year, it has made this an even better tournament.”

RACINE COUNTY SPORTS HALL OF FAME:

Jeelani among Racine’s greatest

HALL OF FAME

Abdul Qadir Jeelani

Date of birth: Feb. 10, 1954  Birthplace: Bells, Tenn. 

High school: Park, 1972 graduate

College: UW-Parkside, 1972-1976; did not graduate.

Family: Son Azim; daughter Kareema; seven grandchildren

Career highlights: All-time Parkside leader in scoring (2,262), rebounding (1,237) and field goals (954); scored 47 points in a game twice; is second and third in single-game rebounding (21 and 20); charter member of the Parkside Athletic Hall of Fame; scored the first points in Dallas Mavericks franchise history Oct. 11, 1980; played professionally for six years in Italy, four years in Spain and a partial season in Sweden.

Even at 59, Abdul Jeelani looks like he can post you up under the basket or break you down with a long-range jump shot.  It’s hard to believe that about 10 years ago, his life was spiraling out of control.  Things are good now for the former Park High School and UW-Parkside standout, who will be inducted into the Racine County Sports Hall of Fame Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Racine Marriott as part of the third class.  “To be immortalized while still living is truly a special honor,” Jeelani said. “To be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Racine is a particular honor and is very humbling.”  If you talk to fans of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks about Jeelani, he will be remembered as the player who scored the first points in the history of the franchise on Oct. 11, 1980.  “That’s worth the Hall of Fame,” Jeelani said with a smile. “That’s a great trivia question.”

But long-time followers of basketball in Racine and Kenosha can claim the 6-foot-8 Jeelani, the former Gary Cole, as the player who helped put Racine and Parkside basketball on the map in the mid 1970s. Even 37 years after he put on his No. 43 Rangers’ jersey for the final time, at the end of the 1975-76 season, Jeelani is the leading scorer and rebounder in Parkside history.  “He was a franchise player,” said Rudy Collum, then the Rangers’ assistant coach. “That’s what we considered him back then. He had good hands, good skills and was a very intelligent player.  “You didn’t have to tell him anything twice. He had a feel for the game and had the personality for the game. He was extremely coachable and just a joy to work with.”

Jeelani’s love of the game began early, when he was playing pickup games at Garfield Elementary School (now Julian Thomas). He didn’t play organized basketball until McKinley Middle School boys coach Ron Hoppe pulled him from the intramural program to play for the school’s seventh-grade team.

When Jeelani went to Park, he tried out for the sophomore team, but was bumped up to the junior varsity and also dressed with the varsity. He got his chance to start on varsity after an injury to another player and never left the starting lineup again.

Jeelani graduated in 1972 and earned a scholarship to Southern University in Louisiana, but “got the worst case of homesickness imaginable,” he said, and was back home before the end of the school year. He was able to get in at Parkside and play right away — and the rest as they say is history.  “I’ve seen all the best players in Racine from 1960 to now and Abdul was the best scorer I’ve ever seen in Wisconsin, including Jim Chones and Caron Butler,” said Jameel Ghuari, the former Chuck Chambliss, who played with Jeelani for a year at Park and went on to a standout career of his own (1971-74) at Parkside. “He had a very high basketball IQ and was very analytical about the game.  “He was like a sponge. If you would bring somebody around Abdul who could handle the ball, he could emulate what they were doing and add that into his game.”

Jeelani was drafted by, but never played for, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and was also waived by the Detroit Pistons the next season. After two years in Rome, the Portland Trail Blazers gave him a chance and he played for one season (1979-80) before being made available for the expansion draft and going to the Mavericks.

After one year in Dallas, he accepted a $750,000, four-year contract with Libertas, a pro team in Livorna, Italy. He spent a total of six years playing in Italy, four years in Spain and part of a season in Sweden.

But in the mid-90s, through a combination of life events, including a divorce and his mother Luna Mae’s illness, Jeelani became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was homeless in Racine for a time in 2010 before beginning to pull himself back up. He had a lot of help.  “I had my faith and believe in God and some incredible support from some great friends,” Jeelani said. “Not everyone will be as fortunate as I’ve been (to get out of it), but again, I had the love of a lot of people who were willing to reach out and help one another and give me far greater appreciation for life than I had. I’ve been able to experience that and it prepared me to be person I am today.”

Jeelani is pursuing a degree in counseling and is in the early stages of reviving a program he started during his time in Italy, Youth Color and Culture. He is also working with Ghuari, the executive director of the George Bray Community Center.  The Hall of Fame, his third, is the ultimate award for Jeelani, and not just for him.  “I’m pleased with him being inducted,” Collum said. “It couldn’t happen to a better person or player.”

Bray Center Alumni-Will Bynum
BYNUM frets about CPS downsizing

Chicago Tribune

Will Bynum beat the odds?  Undrafted after a college career that included stops at Arizona and Georgia Tech as well as a trip to the Final Four, the Crane grad spent time playing in the D-League and for an Israeli club team.  When you’re a 6-foot point guard, you have to pay some dues.

But now Bynum is 30 and an established NBA player coming off his fifth season with the Detroit Pistons.  His fame gives him a platform others don’t have, and his background gives him something to say that deserves a careful hearing.

Bynum grew up on the South Side and went to school on the West Side, attending three schools that have been closed or reorganized in the Chicago Public Schools’ ongoing downsizing.  It’s a development that he considers shortsighted at best and dangerous at worst.  “To me, it just doesn’t make sense,” Bynum said.  “I’m from the inner city.  I grew up on some these turfs.  They may look at it like, these kids can transfer five to six blocks to another school. But they’ll have to pass three different gangs.  I don’t think it was well thought out.”  He has thought about the implications of the closings, drawing from his own perspective.

He moved around as a kid, living near 41^st and Cottage Grove, 58^th and Union, and 63rd and Paulina at different times.  He doesn’t see the task of giving kids safe passage to their new schools as an abstract exercise in coordinating the efforts of multiple public agencies.  Instead, he knows it’s a problem to be faced every day:  “It’s a part of life for every inner-city kid, whether to walk this way or walk around an extra four blocks.”

Bynum considers himself one of the lucky ones.  He got a good education and remembers to this day the people who helped along the way.  “Mr. Pickens, my eight-grade teacher, he was always telling me to have a backup plan, not to put all my focus on one thing.  It was an inspiration.”  He worried that the next generation of kids might not have the chance to be as successful.  Closing traditional schools and diverting money to charter schools is a bad idea, Bynum believes.  “It’s a direct blow to African-American kids,” he said, expressing concern that students who don’t fit in at charters might wind up at alternative schools for no good reason.

Like a lot of parents and teachers who have been fighting the CPS closing, Bynum believes the best course is to provide more resources to the public schools that currently exist.  He makes his point without having a stake in the game—other than as someone who came through the system and can offer the perspective of a kid with a dream of a better life.  Now, he talks to other kids like that on a regular basis, trying to help them understand they can be successful, too.  “Some kids believe it,” he said.  “Some kids think there’s no hope.”  Bynum is afraid the second group will grow if the closings aren’t reversed.  “There’s other ways around it,” he said, “to make the schools better, other than shutting them down.”

If CPS does downsize as much as it plans to, Bynum sees a bleak future for inner-city kids.  He fears many will not find a place in the educational system.  “They don’t want to go to school, fearing for their lives, “he said.  “The next step is the streets.  That’s what they see every day.  It’s going to create more problems.”  And the saddest part to Bynum is those problems could be avoided.

Bray Center Alumni Welcome home: Emotional Butler holds press conference on Bucks trade at Park High School

RACINE — Prior to the Milwaukee Bucks acquiring Caron Butler in a trade with the Phoenix Suns last week, Bucks general manager John Hammond and coach Larry Drew wanted to feel Butler out.

They arranged a conference call with the two-time NBA All-Star from Racine and wanted to know if he had any reservations about playing for the Bucks.
“We were basically telling Caron how bad we wanted him and how it would be a great fit for him,” Hammond said. “At one point in our conversation, Caron stopped me in my tracks and said, ‘You don’t have to convince me. I’m excited about playing for the Bucks. I want to be there.’
“The conversation went on a while and he said, ‘I just have a request, one favor.’ And we said, ‘Sure. What is it?’ “Caron said if we were going to have a presser he would like to have it in Racine. He said, ‘Can we do that?’ And we said, ‘Of course.’  “It just made sense. Racine is home for Caron.”
Thursday afternoon, the Bucks formally held a press conference at Park High School, 1901 12th St., where Butler attended and starred for the Panthers in the late 1990s.

It was held in the fieldhouse before an enthusiastic throng of Park students and teachers, friends and family members of Butler’s, including his wife Andrea and mother Mattie Paden.
For Butler, the occasion was special. Several times during the event, Butler’s emotions spilled over, with him at times crying or choking on his words.  “I just thought the kids needed to see this,” Butler said. “You always need to see positive things.  “I’m been trying to inspire my community for a decade plus now. Everything I do comes from a good place and I do it for all the right reasons. It’s something I take a lot of pride in.  “I was really excited to do this at Park High School; the other spots I would have had this were the Bray Center or Bryant Center, places that I spent a lot of time as a kid.
“But I would have done this at the corner of my old neighborhood if I would have had to, just so I could try and inspire others.  “It meant a lot to do this right here in my hometown.”  It meant a lot to his mother as well. For the last 11 seasons, her son has played for teams in various parts of the country. Butler spent his first two pro seasons in Miami with the Heat. He was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers before playing for Washington, Dallas and the Los Angeles Clippers, who last month traded him to Phoenix.

Butler had barely settled into a home in Scottsdale, Ariz., before the Bucks came calling.
He called his mother about the news.  To Paden, it was Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July all rolled into one.  “When he called me and told me he was being traded to the Bucks, I started screaming and shouting and jumping all around the house like a little kid,” Paden said. “My husband (Melvin) said, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening?’  “I told him, ‘Caron is going to play for the Bucks. My baby is coming home. I said, ‘Thank you God in the name of Jesus’ about 20 times. I was so overwhelmed, so blessed.”

The Bucks feel fortunate to have obtained the 33-year-old Butler.  He started 78 games last season, averaging 10.4 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting an impressive 39 percent from 3-point range for the Clippers, one of the best teams in the NBA.  During the press conference, Hammond made it clear that Butler would be the Bucks’ starting small forward and would play major minutes.
“We need him, we need him very badly,” Hammond said.  Drew echoed those sentiments, adding he was a major proponent of the Butler trade.  “In all the people I spoke to (before the trade), I got nothing but rave reviews about him,” Drew said of Butler. “When I saw this opportunity, I told John we got do everything we can to make this happen.  “I know our guys are going to reap great, great benefits from having this guy around.  “As a coach, I’m really excited about what Caron brings to our team, not just as a talent but as a person.”

Butler Homecoming

Caron Butler says hello to Jameel Ghuari after Butler was announced as a new member of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA basketball team during a press conference held in the Park High School gymnasium on Thursday, September 5, 2013. Butler is from Racine and attended Park High School.

 

Bray Center Alumni Comes Back Home to Racine

AAU BASKETBALL: George Bray sixth-grade basketball team wins national title

July 21, 2013 11:10 pm  •  Journal Times sports staff

The George Bray Community Center sixth-grade boys basketball team played like champions. The Bray Center, led by Demonta Hudson’s 25 points and Quinn Cafferty’s double-double, won the Amateur Athletic Union Division 2 National Championship Sunday at Hampton, Va. The Bray Center defeated the Illinois Speed 54-47 in the title game. Hudson had an outstanding game. He made 7 of 14 field-goal attempts, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Hudson also recorded a game-high seven steals. Cafferty played well at both ends of the floor. He totaled 16 points, connecting on 7 of 11 field-goal attempts, and grabbed a game-leading 10 rebounds. Larry Canady scored in double figures for the Bray Center as well, finishing with 11 points. The Bray Center got off to a terrific start. It took a 15-7 lead after the first quarter and expanded their lead to 32-18 at halftime. The Speed outscored the Bray Center 16-6 in the third quarter before the Bray Center reasserted itself in the final period. The Bray Center advanced to the championship in dramatic fashion. Jerrad Townsend made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the game to give the Bray Center a 53-52 victory over the Ohio Rising Stars. Hudson topped Bray Center scorers with 18 points. He also had two steals. Canady had 13 points and Cafferty added 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

ATR x George Bray Neighborhood Center Jul 2013 Will Bynum and Above the Rim provided more than 40 pairs of ATR shoes to the middle school basketball teams of the George Bray Neighborhood Center. Bray Center is an independent non-profit 501(c)3 social service agency committed to fostering positive relationships in the area among groups of different cultural, economic and social backgrounds. The center offers programs of service and action as determined by the needs and interests of the people in the neighborhood. Basketball just so happens to be on the Center’s favorite programs. We were stoked to help out. Great program. Great cause.

Young members of the community read newspaper articles about the George Zimmerman verdict Thursday, July 18 at a forum held at the George Bray Community Center, 924 Center St., to discuss the topic. More than 40 Racine area residents, activists and spiritual leaders gathered for the forum organized for people to share their questions, concerns and solutions about the issues raised by the verdict.

Community left with questions in wake of Zimmerman verdict

RACINE — The impact of the not-guilty verdict returned by a jury Saturday in a Florida courtroom has been felt in communities throughout the country.
  On Thursday, area residents, activists and spiritual leaders gathered at the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., to share their questions and concerns about the issues raised by the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
  “I think everyone in here feels something in their heart about what happened to Trayvon Martin, peace be on his soul,” Bray Center Executive Director Jameel Ghuari said.
  “But more importantly, Trayvon Martin belongs to us. He’s a part of us and he’s a part of all the young men and ladies I see here.” Ghuari organized the event to open a peaceful dialogue about the verdict that many in the community have an opinion on and which he said has real implications for young black men locally. “Now the Pandora’s box has been opened,” Ghuari said. “Because it’s not just about this verdict, it’s about what that verdict says — you can get away with it. And that’s the scary part.”
  More than 40 people of various races and ages joined Ghuari and were encouraged to voice their opinions but also to offer up any solutions to issues raised by the case they may have had.

  Kelly Gallaher, 50, of Mount Pleasant, an organizer for Community for Change, was among those in the audience and spoke out against the prevalence of firearms in the country as well as state-level use-of-force laws. “I just want to mention to everyone that while racism has been with us for as long as we can remember and we should not stop trying to fight it, the Stand Your Ground law in Florida, as well as the Castle Doctrine law which we have in Wisconsin are fairly new laws,” Gallaher said. “And they’re state laws ... because these are state laws we can undo these laws. And so what that means we have to do is vote.”
  And while some targeted specific policies, others came with questions on how they can get involved and best express their feelings about the verdict. “The day I heard the verdict I was angry, I felt a lot of emotions,” said student Pauletta Harris, 23, of Racine. “I didn’t know what to do or where to turn or who to talk to, but the thing that was going through my mind was what do the young people my age have to say about this? Where do we start?”  Those in attendance were asked to leave their name and contact information at the Bray Center. They were also provided news clippings of USA Today articles and encouraged to stay informed. Many speakers took the microphone to condemn systemic racism and the stereotypes placed on black people in the community.    Pastor Melvin Hargrove of Zoe Outreach Ministries delivered perhaps one of the night’s most impassioned speeches, recognizing endemic problems in the community but adding, “we’ve got some stuff we have to fix ourselves,” and calling on other local pastors to address the topic with their congregations.

Concept for intersection mural heads to council

Students hope to paint pavement on May 25

RACINE — Last month a group of Walden High School students approached the city’s Public Works and Services committee with an off-the-wall idea.  Looking to brighten the sometimes troubled neighborhood around their school, they asked for permission to paint a mural on the pavement where 10th and Center streets intersect.  The committee recommended approval of their request on one condition — that the students bring their final concept for the mural back to the committee for review.

On Tuesday, the students once again came prepared for their presentation, and, despite some minor haggling over paint types, managed to win over the committee once again.  As committee members looked at the flower-like design, a copy of which was attached to their committee packets, junior Teahelahn Keithrafferty and sophomore Mariah Breckenridge, members of the school’s Green School club, explained how and why the concept was chosen.

Breckenridge said members of the club settled on a theme for the mural after meeting with the Executive Director of the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., Jameel Ghuari.  “One of the key things he said was that the intersection of 10th and Center is basically like the center of Racine,” she said. “That is kind of where we got our theme for the drawing.”

Club members later described the theme to the other students during a “town meeting” at school, Breckenridge told the committee, and asked for submissions. The club chose senior Sarah Horn’s design from about a dozen others.  “As you can see in the middle there’s kind of like a globe, which is kind of like the center of the universe,” Breckenridge explained.

Keithrafferty said the mural should be about 27 feet in diameter.  “We would be finding the exact center of the intersection,” she said. “It would not take up the entire intersection.”  Under a plan worked out with Yehlen and the committee last month, the school will be responsible for maintaining the mural on the annual basis and must sign a hold harmless agreement with the city.  The city council will vote on the plan Tuesday. The students hope to paint the mural on May 25, or June 1 if rains.

 

Intersection to close for mural painting

RACINE — If you ever wanted to see a piece of public art take shape right before your very eyes, today is your lucky day.  After winning final permission this week from the Racine City Council, students from Walden High School will be painting a large pavement mural at the intersection of 10th and Center streets.  Junior Teahelahn Keithrafferty, one of the organizers, said Friday that she isn’t sure how long it will take her and her fellow students to complete the mural, but they expect to start painting around 10 a.m.  The intersection will be barricaded while the painting is going on.  The blocks on either side of the intersection will be closed to through traffic, but people who live on the streets should have some access, Public Works Commissioner Mark Yehlen said. “We are calling this a giant block party,” he said.

The students have already worked with their classmates and people in the neighborhood to find painters to assist them with the project, but Keithrafferty said anyone is welcome to hang out and watch the process.  “We will have music,” she said. “It will be a fun get-together.”

Looking to brighten the sometimes troubled neighborhood around their school, Keithrafferty and fellow members of Walden’s Green School group approached the city last month about painting the off-the-wall mural, which is expected to be about 27 feet in diameter.  After some minor haggling over paint types, the students came back and won final approval of the mural design, which features a multi-colored flower centered around a globe.  The design, created by Walden High School senior Sarah Horn, is meant to convey that the intersection is the center of Racine.  Under an agreement with the city, the school will be responsible for maintaining the painting on the annual basis.

 

Students planning mural for Center St. pavement

RACINE — A group of Walden High School students are busy making plans to paint a mural at the intersection of 10th and Center streets.  The mural they want to paint isn’t slated for a wall or the side of a building, but the actual roadway.  Calling it an “intersection repair” project, the students say the mural is aimed at brightening the troubled area, which sits next to their school.  While the idea might seem a bit off the wall, the students won preliminary approval for the project from the City Council this week.

The students don’t have a design for the mural yet, but plan to hold a school contest to find one. They hope to paint the mural on May 25, or, if it rains, on June 1.  The council vote came about a week after junior Teahelahn Keithrafferty and sophomores Kristi Parsons and Mariah Breckenridge gave a persuasive presentation to the council’s Public Works and Service’s Committee.  City staff and committee members had a lot of question for the girls, who were there to represent Walden’s Green School club, but the students came prepared with answers.  Holding a poster board with their ideas and photos of pavement murals in other cities, like Portland and Seattle, they explained the club’s reason for wanting to paint the mural on the pavement.  “We feel this mural will make people feel safer and make cars slow down when they come past,” Keithrafferty said.

Noting that there had been a shooting in the intersection last year, Breckenridge said the club hoped to get people from the neighborhood and the George Bray Neighborhood Center, 924 Center St., involved.Public Works Commissioner Mark Yehlen explained that the major concerns for his department would be to make sure that the mural would not be a distraction for drivers. He also said the city would be looking to make sure the paint used for the project wouldn’t make the pavement slick.  “This is somewhat out of the ordinary, definitely for Racine,” Yehlen said. “This is not something the Public Works Department would take upon itself. We like bare concrete and bare asphalt, so we are aesthetically challenged, at least I am.”  The students explained that club would be careful to choose a design that was abstract and not overly detailed. She added that they would use aggregate paints specifically designed for pavement and would not interfere with traffic or crosswalk markings.  Although they had a few questions for the girls, the committee members thought the idea was great.

The project has been approved with the understanding that the students will bring the final design and layout of the mural to the city for review. The school will also be responsible for maintaining the mural on the annual basis and must sign a hold harmless agreement with the city.  “I think there are problems in our city and other cities with paint,” Alderman Jim Morgenroth said. “This is a very constructive thing, very creative, and I would like to commend these young people. This is a cool thing.”

Youth league combines hoops and life skills lessons

 

The idea is to lure them and then educate them.  Reminiscent of those who have their minds focused on Green Bay Packers games during church sermons, kids attending the Middle School Basketball League at the George Bray Center are captivated with playing hoops as they listen to rotating speakers. But before they get the chance in a new league that had adopted the slogan “Stop Bullying and Start Ballin,” impressionable kids with so many choices to make are asked to tune into a message for 30 minutes.

Depending on the night in this eight-week basketball program, which concludes Thursday night, these kids will be spoken to by various mentors on life skills that include managing money, applying themselves in school, associating with positive friends, staying away from drugs and making something out of their lives.  Want to play basketball afterward in the fifth-sixth or seventh-eighth grade divisions? Then listen up for 30 minutes. If you don’t attend these sessions, you don’t play.

Some kids watch the speakers with a focus that suggest a connection is truly being made. Others, such as one 12-year-old boy who was interviewed for this story, candidly admits that he regularly tunes out of the message and tunes into playing basketball.  But at least a meaningful attempt is being made. That was the idea when Racine’s Jameel Ghuari, a longtime coach and mentor, conceived this league with three other concerned individuals — Jacob Johnson, Chris Walker, Milton Taylor and Mike Townsend.

“It’s been so good that the kids have been highly attentive,” Ghuari said. “I’d say 90 percent of the kids are paying full attention. You always have some kids who don’t pay full attention and what we always do after every presentation is have a Q&A. And a lot of times, I’ll ask them questions.”  One young man who has tuned in is 13-year-old Demonta Hudson, who is in sixth grade at Starbuck Middle School.  “I listen to what they say,” Hudson said. “I think everybody who is in middle school should play here because it keeps them off the streets and keeps them doing good in school and stuff. They talk to you about all the good things you should do before the games.”

Take it from someone who has been swayed by that temptation.  “It’s kind of bad,” Hudson said. “I used to hang out with people who did the wrong things, but now I don’t.”  Zyiere Carey, a 12-year-old sixth grader at McKinley Middle School, was slower to tune in. But he’s starting to find value in what is being said.  “Most of the community wants to play basketball,” Carey said. “They come to play basketball and what they say (before the games) helps keep them off the streets.”

Who are the people on the other end of this weekly dialogue? People like Yusuf Buckley, a 1986 Case High School graduate who once served time in prison for selling drugs.  Buckley’s message is simple. You have choices. Don’t make the same choice he once made.  “I’ve shared with them that I’ve been in prison,” Buckley said, “I’ve shared with them that I’ve come up through the streets, I sold drugs, I abused drugs, so I identify with some of the pressures they’re going through now.  “Today’s lesson was listening to your body to help you make choices. When you make wrong choices, like stealing money or taking drugs, your body gives off negative signals. Like you start sweating, you start breathing faster and your heart rate increases.  “But when someone drops their wallet and you say, ‘Hey sir, you dropped your wallet,’ and give it back to him, your body will release those natural endorphins and give you a tingly feeling.”

Johnson, who played for the Case boys basketball team that went to the state tournament in 1994, is a coach in this league. He also has been instrumental in trying to lure kids to the right side of the fence by speaking from experience.  “We had friends who were doing the wrong things,” Johnson said. “I grew up with Carlos Butler and Caron Butler and people like that and we all had those temptations.  “Most of us came out OK, but there’s a lot of struggle that could have been avoided just by a little information by a few people.”  For Ghuari, this is only the beginning of a master plan. His ultimate goal is to evolve into what will be billed the Triple Threat Sports Academy with the hope of reaching far more kids.  “Our goal is to end up with two to three hundred kids who we work with annually,” Ghuari said.  The 40-year-old Walker, who attended Case in the late 1980s before earning a GED, feels a strong foundation is in place. “Basketball is the reward, but they have to listen to the message about life first,” Walker said. “Once you get their attention, then they’ll sit down and listen.”