Newspaper Page Text
Photographer recalls
Negro League baseball
By SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE
Fzr AP Weeklx Features
For the black community
in Memphis, Tenn., the
return of spring meant the
return of baseball at Martin’s
Stadium, home of the Red
Sox from 1923 to 1960.
“Ah, man, lotta people
and pretty girls,” blues leg
end 8.8. King once said of
the ballpark, where he used
to perform before games.
The photographer Ernest
Withers, a North Memphis
native who would document
the civil rights movement
for black newspapers and
the mainstream press, made
countless pictures in the
1940 s and ‘SOs of the Sox
and their fans.
“This was back when
Negro baseball was Negro
baseball,” Withers said.
“Those games were the place
to be.” His book of photo
graphs, Negro League Base
ball, has just been published
by Harry N. Abrams.
Born in 1922, Withers
became interested in pho
tography in high school. He
enlisted in 1943, trained at
the Army School of Photog
raphy and was shipped to
the South Pacific, where he
helped build roads and
bridges, and took pictures of
tellow soldiers. When the
war ended, Withers returned
to his hometown as a com
Pendleton King park plants SWAP and Sale
The Annual Pendleton
King Park Plant Swap and
Sale will be held Saturday,
May 7 from 10:00 a.m.
untii 1:00 p.m. at the
Pendleton King Park Pavil
ion, 1600 Troupe Street in
Augusta. Individuals of all
ages are invited to share
their favorite plants and
their gardening wisdom.
Rape prevention safety tips
At home:
* If you live alone, make it
a regular part of your rou
tine to let someone know
you arrived home safely. If
you live with someone and
you know that you will not
be home at your usual time
or you are going to take a
detour before coming
home, call and let them
know.
* If you live alone and you
will be arriving home at
night, be sure to leave lights
on in your home. Artackers
love nothing better than a
dark residence. Leaving a
television or radio on will
also give the impression
that there is someone awake
inside.
* Alarm systems are great!
If you can't have one
installed for whatever rea
son, put a security compa
ny’s sign in front of your
home or on the door or
windows to give the impres
sion that you do have an
alarm system.
While socializing:
* Know who you are
going out with. Let some
one know where you are
going. Go on blind dates
mercial photographer cover
ing what he calls “the black
side of life” at weddings,
funerals, parties and con
certs.
“My interest was sending
my seven boys and one girl
to college, which I did, and |
appreciate my pictures for
that,” Withers tells Smith
sonian magazine. It was the
time, and | was just record
ing the time. It was my job.”
Sull is. At 83, Withers pho
tographs press conferences,
church socials and the like
for the daily Memphis
Commercial Appeal and
other publications.
Baseball was among his
carliest subjects. He showed
up at Marun’s Stadium for
games and, with his twin
lens camera, took pictures of
home-team players like the
great southpaw Verdell
Mathis, not to mention vis
iting stars such as Satchel
Paige and Ted “Double
Duty” Radclifte, who hurled
fastballs one day and caught
them the next. Withers
developed the negatives and
prints at home, washing
them in the bathtub and
drying them in the oven.
Occasionally he sold the
photographs at the ballpark
tor $1 apiece. He also pro
duced Bxlo glossies of the
athletes for the four Martin
brothers, wealthy blacks
who owned the Red Sox and
Participants bring plants to
trade with other gardeners,
or plants may be sold or
purchased. The event is free
to the public.
Master Gardeners will be
selling plants to benefit the
new Pendleton King Park
Hydrangea Garden at the
park. They will also be
available to provide answers
with another couple or a
group of friends.
* Dress in a way that will
enable you to move fast if
you have to.
* If you are going on a
one-on-one date with
someone you don't yet
know well, meet him in a
well-populated, well-lit
place. Do not go anywhere
that is isolated.
* At a bar or club, get
your own drink or accom
pany a guy buying you a
drink to the bar. If you leave
it unattended, don’t go back
and get it. Get a new one. If
someone did add a date
rape drug, you probably
wouldn’t be able to see,
mell o e &
* Always take money with
you in case you won't have
to depend on anyone to get
you home.
* Before you start any
intimate activity, let the
person know up front what
is acceptable to you and
what is not. If you know
that you do not want to
have sex, inform the other
person so that there are no
unrealistic expectations.
While driving:
AUGUSTA FOCUS
the stadium.
Black-only baseball squads
had existed since before the
Civil War, but there was no
organized competition until
former pitcher Rube Foster
helped form the Negro
National League in 1920,
which was relaunched in
1933 and joined by the
Negro American League in
1937. Clubs such as the
Birmingham Black Barons,
Indianapolis Clowns and
New York Cubans often
held games at off times in
major league stadiums or
barnstormed across the
country to challenge com
munity teams. By the mid
-19405, black baseball was
pulling in more than $2 mil
lion a year.
Then, on April 15, 1947,
former UCLA track and
football star Jackie Robin
son, who had played one
season with the Negro
American League’s Kansas
City Monarchs, joined the
Brooklyn Dodgers organiz
tion, integrating major
league baseball. Others fol
lowed, and over the next 12
seasons black Americans
—including Robinson, Roy
Campanella, Willie Mays
and Hank Aaron — won nine
Rookie of the Year and nine
Most Valuable Player
awards.
In the late 19405, Withers
photographed the National
to specific gardening ques
tions.
Individuals wishing to sell
plants will provide their
own tables or other equip
ment for display of their
items. In addition to plants,
other garden related items
may be sold. There is no
entry fee. The park will be
open at 9:00 a.m. for set up
* Have your keys in your
hand and ready. Don't get
to your car and then fumble
around in your purse to
find them.
* Look inside your car
before you get in. the back
seat or floor of your car is a
good hiding place for
attackers.
* As you are getting in
your car, lock the doors
before you close ours to pre
vent someone else from get
ting in.
* When putting infants or
toddlers into their seats, try
not to turn your back com
pletely. Step inside the car
so that you can at least see
what's happening around
you until children are safely
in their seats.
* When you park in a
public lot or garage, above
ground or below, refrain
from going to your car
alone, especially at night.
Also avoid waiting for pub
lic transportation alone at
night. If you have to take
the subway late in the
evening, sit as close to the
conductor as possible.
* If you must work late and
our workplace does not
League’s Robinson and
Larry Doby —the first black
player in the American
League, with the Cleveland
Indians — at Martin’s Stadi
um during an exhibition
game. The picture represents
one of the last great
moments of the Negro
League, before black clubs
lost so much talent to the
majors that they had to fold.
Withers' rise to promi
nence began with a self-pub
lished pamphlet document
ing the sensational 1955
trial of the accused murder
ers of Emmett Till, an
African-American teenager
killed for whistling at a
white woman. Withers
recorded the integration of
Ole Miss in 1962 and the
funeral of Martin Luther
King Jr. in 1968. He cap
tured the blues movement
springing up on Beale Street,
photographing 8.8. King,
Elvis Presley, Tina Turner
and others.
Withers says his work was
about getting close to people
— literally.
“I've never been a super
telephoto photographer,” he
said. “I'm not wrapped up in
technology. I'm a photogra
pher that gets in and moves up
on the image.”
of displays. Call Kay Mills
at (706) 738-4321 or e
mail tkmills@knology.net
for more information.
The Plant Swap and Sale
is a cooperative effort of the
CSRA Master Gardeners,
the Pendleton King Park
Foundation and the Augus
ta Public Works Trees and
Landscaping Department.
have a security guard to
escort you to your car, call
someone to come and meet
you when you get off.
Everywhere:
* Be aware of your sur
roundings at all times.
* Walk confidently. Act like
you know where you are
going even when you don't.
* Follow your instincts. If a
man walking down the
block makes you nervous
for some reason, cross the
street, enter a store or stay
in your car until he gets far
away. If you get an inexpli
cable unsettled feeling
around a co-worker, avoid
being alone with him. If
you notice that a date is
inappropriately affection
ate, tries to put you down,
insists that you drink a lot
or disregards your bound
aries in other ways, take a
cab home instead of riding
alone in his car. Feeling a
lictle silly for following your
gut is a small price to pay
for ensuring your safety.
Source: U. S. Department
of Justice as reprinted in “I
Will Survive, The African-
American Guide to Healing
from Sexual Assault”, by Lori
S. Robinson.
Blacks must confront
‘white’ weight disorders
%KAMIU.E D.WHITTAKER
PA SEEI Contributor
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) - Pamela Franklin
binged, she purged and
she’s black. Though the
common perception is that
an ecating disorder is a
“whites only” issue,
Franklin’s dai{y struggle
with bulimia proves otfi%r
wise.
“It was eating away at my
soul, to be a black woman
and know I had an eating
disorder,” recalls Franklin, a
New Jersey native who
resides in the District of
Columbia.
“Black Women are sup
posed to have a little meat
on our bones and be proud
of it, but the problem was
very real to me.”
The stigma surrounding
blacks an§ eating disorders
~where black women were
thotht to be less likely to
develop anorexia and
bulimia because more
voluptuous physiques are
generally consicf;rcd attrac
tive and desirable - led
Franklin to suffer in silence.
But she did not suffer alone.
According to the National
Women's Health Informa
tion Center, African-Ameri
can women like Franklin
have been flying under the
radar when it comes to
diagnosing eating disorders.
Studies show otherwise; We
also have repeated episodes
of binge eating ancf purg
ing.
Black women also have
another vice to contend
with. Because they have the
highest risk of becoming
obese, they are at the great
est risk of developing gisor
dered eating habits in order
to control weight gain such
as bingcing and purging.
The Center for Disease
Control reports that a
strong correlation exists
between obesity and eating
disorders. To c?;tc. 66 per
cent of black women are
overweight, 37 percent are
technically obese and the
incidents of blacks with eat
ing disorders are steadily on
the rise.
Stephen Thomas, director
of the Center for Minority
Health at the University of
Pittsburgh, attributes the
rise in bFack eating disorder
cases to the nation’s obses
sion with obesity. “We must be
aware of the unintended conse
jgmots." said Thomas. “We
nt want to create conditions
to contribute to eating disorders
in our zeal to address
obesity.”
It may already be too late.
In the late 1990, Essence
magazine conducted an eat
ing disorder study that sam-
Flcd 600 African-American
emales.
Sixty-six percent of the
respondents reported exces
sive dieting behavior, 39
percent claimed that food
controlled their lives, and
54 percent were at risk for
an cating disorder.
Franklin knows about that
from first-hand experience.
“For three days or so, I
would eat so much that |
felt I was going to burst,
and then I would feel so
guilty and scared to gain
wc.;ié{n that I would just
make myself throw it up
and then not eat for the
next three days. It was so
unhealthy, but after a while
it became routine,”
said Franklin.
According to Diane Har
ris, a spokeswoman for the
National Eating Disorder
Association, Franklin is not
atypical. “People who suffer
from bulimia experience
episodes of binge eating and
purging that occur an aver
age of twice a week for at
April 28, 2005
least three months,” she
said.
Following a bingeing
episode, it is typical of a
bulimic to feel an over
whelming, uncontrollable
sense of guilt that propels
them to the next stage —
purging.
Harris expains, “Binge
eaters devour an excessive
amount of food — a pint of
ice cream, a bag ofp chips,
cookies, and large quanti
ties of soda and water — in a
brief period of time, then
they purge in order to get
rid of tfic excess calories
that they took in.”
And vomiting is not the
only way to “purge.”
A study by the Bulimia
Nervosa and Related Eating
Disorder Association
revealed that African-Amer
ican women are more likely
than white women to use
laxatives, diuretics and fast
ing to avoid weight gain
instead of vomiting.
“This would explain why
African-American eating
disorder cases are going
largely undetected.” said
Georgiana Arnold, a Flori
da-based health instructor
who specializes in eating
disorders in African-Ameri
can women. “Physicians are
generally looking for specif
ic indications that are most
ly found in white women
who use vomiting as their
purging method.”
T%nc Diagnostic and Sta
tistic Manual of Mental
Disorders, a publication
that gives an in-depth pro
file of all eating disorders,
provides strict parameters of
what doctors should look
for in potential bulimia
cases. Doctors are instruct
ed to look for dental cavi
ties, loss of tooth enamel,
enlarged salivary glands and
scars on the knuckles — all
medical conditions indica
tive of self-induced vomit
ing.
However, an African-
American woman who
abuses laxatives, diuretics
(water pills) or excessive
exercising as their purging
method could easily fall
through the cracks.
“An eating disorder mani
fests itself in more unique
ways with black women
than with any other group,”
said Arnold. “However, the
longer the disorder goes
untreated, the more it could
become a chronic problem
leading to death.”
Fran%din knows how life
threatening bulimia can be.
In 2000, she was hospital
ized for two weeks for the
damage that the eating dis
order had done to her %)ody.
When doctors warned her
that her esophagus was vir
tually eroding, she tried to
quit cold turkey.
“I was hoping I could just
snap my f[:ngcrs and my
twisted thoughts about
myself and my weight
would just disappear,” said
Franklin.
She signed up for a local
cating disorder support
group to share her story
with other similarly situated
black women, hoping for a
full recovery.
Even so, she stll struggles
with an occasional binge and
purge. And what to make of an
It’s all disordered and abnor
mal behavior no matter what
way or how frequently it’s
done,” said Arnocld. “Fortu
nately, an eating disorder is
a temporary condition so
the test is whether or not
you seek help, or just stop
yourself in your tracks and
revert to a healthier
lifestyle.”
13A