Football and the nation lost a great man, my good friend Denny Green, July 22,, 2016, a giant on and off the field. He was one of the most successful head coaches in the history of both college and NFL football. Many players acknowledge his role as mentor, impressing on them to have a plan to enable sustaining success throughout life.
He was a lifelong supporter of community organizations, including Boys and Girls Clubs, community charities, the Minneapolis Bakers, and summer camps for inner-city kids. Read more in his book, No Room for Crybabies, and, on his website, with archives, www.dennisgreen.com.
His book and website provide us with guides for personal, community, family, team, and organizational success. He was the first to receive The World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame award as an individual. He urges us to commit to “Living on the High Road …, doing so with desire, dedication, and determination.” His five Fs were Faith, Family, Friends, Football, and Fishing. He invites us to take the C.O.A.C.H. pledge and personally adopt:
- Call for human rights
- Oath for civic responsibility
- Advocacy for youth
- Challenge for unity
- Honor God
When introduced as Minnesota Vikings Head Coach, he announced: “there is a new sheriff in town.” He raised the Vikings from the ashes, giving them respectability and a winning foundation, as he did at Northwestern, Stanford, and the Arizona Cardinals.
Denny was committed to justice and civil rights, to inclusion and opportunity for all. Behind the scenes he supported our Minneapolis community and stadium plans. I am proud of his support of my community work, calling me “the last man standing” in Minneapolis. Believing my story too important not to be in print, he encouraged me to write my two books, helped edit them, and financed their printing.
Thank you, and farewell old friend.
Special offers: (1) For as long as supplies last: a free copy of my 2002 book, The Minneapolis Story, Through My Eyes. Pay only $5 shipping and handling. (2) My 2008 book, A Seat for Everyone: The Freedom Guide that Explores a Vision for America, available “Print on Demand,” for $7.76 plus $5 shipping and handling. Order either or both at www.beacononthehillpress.com.
Justice denied
The suspect in the murder of two-year-old Le’Vonte King Jason Jones was released by county attorney Mike Freeman, stating: not enough evidence to charge.
It’s one of the most ridiculous excuses for not protecting Le’Vonte’s rights. The Hennepin County Attorney’s office would have us believe the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) did not conduct a thorough investigation. I cannot, in good conscience, allow that false premise to stand.
We see again how the attitude that the life of an African American, irrespective of age or gender, is irrelevant to this prosecutor and many of his staff in dismissing justice for African Americans. Freeman’s decision not to prosecute the suspect after the work done by the MPD to track this individual back and forth across the country in order to finally arrest him in St. Cloud, after his return from Southern Florida, is clearly disrespectful of the African American community, essentially highlighting again “no justice.”
The leadership of our community is not prepared to stand up to this act. Who would have thought that he could so easily deny a two-year-old baby the right to be provided with justice? Is this the beginning of a return to an older America of Black Codes, when we were told there were no rights, and that there was no obligation to provide us with safety?
No justice, no peace, no cooperation. Mike, your answers are the wrong answers in the universal game of justice.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books, and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com. To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
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