NEW WORK PUBLISHED BY KOFI KHEMET ON BLACK ATHLETES OF OHIO

A people without history, is like a tree without roots.

I've been on sabbatical completing a prototype for an interactive approach to social studies education. You'll be hearing a lot more about this method of presenting history to young and old alike, in the days to come.

Blakfacts Volume II: Black Athletes of Ohio is a compendium of facts related to Pan-African history, which is simply the history of Black folks worldwide. It was inspired by Dr. Edward Crosby and consists of a booklet containing almanac information and short biographical sketches of Black athletes from in and around the Akron area; a poster book and a set of 49 full-color collectible playing cards, as well as an online component.

Dr. Crosby founded the Pan-African Studies Department at Kent State University in 1969. Originally conceived of as The Institute for African American Affairs, it has never been a traditional department.

One of its unique features was a cultural center, which has become The Center of Pan-African Culture today. This compendium is the result of an innovative idea Dr. Crosby instituted in that cultural center. He took photos of various descendants of Africa, mounted them and placed them on the walls of the Mbari Mbayo Theater for all to see and remember those who have come before us. In fact, he took it a step further by having murals and paintings of Africa's descendants covering the walls of every classroom, hallway and office in the center. His philosophy was that we needed to see ourselves on those walls.

Many of these murals were removed when the university decided to complete an 11 million dollar renovation of the building in 2008, however, the impact of those images lives on in the hearts and minds of the thousands of students, faculty and community members who passed through those halls.

This compendium is the first step in continuing the legacy he left for us. The depth and breadth of our history has now been reduced to the stories of about 12 people of national significance, but what about the stories of "local" heroes?

George Whitfield, former principal of Stewart Africentric, a public school in Akron, Ohio, asked me to create some books with information on local people, places and events for their African American Academic Challenge program. I thought this was a great idea, which would certainly enhance the program and invigorate the children, because we would be focusing on people, both living and dead, that they may know or that had a direct impact on their community.

When I started this project I thought there were only about 5-10 significant athletes from Akron. I figured it would be completed in a matter of weeks. But, once I got started I found out there were hundreds of top-notch African American athletes from the Akron area.

I honed in on the stories of 25 African American athletes, culled from as many different sports as possible. Some, but not all of them went pro. Many of the subjects retained their amateur status, but achieved even greater heights beyond their days as athletic competitors; such as Rev. Fowler, William Suddeth, Martin Chapman and Kofi Sarkodie. Equal attention was given to pros, semi-pros and amateurs.

The compendium took over one year to research, compile and bring to completion. As I see it now it was well worth it, because information that was previously scattered in various repositories all over Northeast Ohio has been reformulated and presented under one cover in a way that appeals to young and old alike.

The interactive nature of the compendium is evident in each component. The booklet has over 200 vocabulary words included in each selection and the glossary. There's also a set of 4-5 questions at the end of each selection with an answer key in the back of the book. The poster book consists of 25 unfinished posters (line drawings) that can be completed by the reader, cut out and hung on the wall as daily inspirational pieces. The collectible cards can be traded with friends; used to play a solitaire-like game or a game with multiple players. The cards can also be used in school as flash cards in preparation for a rousing round of Pan-African Academic Challenge (PAAC). Last, but not least there's the online component. The online component allows the children, teachers and parents to further enhance their knowledge of Pan-African history with a whole host of interactive activities that will deepen their understanding of the history of African peoples, worldwide.

This is the second offering in the Blakfacts series. Volume I was comprised of a reprinting of some of J.A. Rogers Black History facts. Future volumes will focus on the history of African American entertainers, politicians, religious leaders and educators from the Akron area, as well as the stories of various other segments of the Pan-African world, such as medical innovators, African European heroes, African Asian heroes and the mighty men & women of the African continent.