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The cities of Champaign and Urbana honored Champaign residents Ernie Westfield and J.W. Pirtle Saturday afternoon as part of the National Negro Baseball League Recognition Day to be held Tuesday.

Both honorees played in the Negro Leagues during the '50s and '60s, including stints with the Champaign Eagles until the Negro Leagues dissipated when Major League Baseball became fully integrated.

The hour-and-a-half long program held at the City of Champaign Council Chambers focused on honoring the former players and informing the children in attendance about the 80-plus year existence of professional Negro Baseball Leagues. Eleven grade-school children wore their maroon Little League caps and shirts for the occasion.

"It's important to let the new kids that the future is there if they really want to go after it," said Pirtle, a former Champaign City Council member. "They don't know if you don't do something like this because there's not a lot of talk about (the Negro Leagues) nowadays. They can look on TV and see a baseball player, but they don't know how they got there."

Champaign resident Kimberly McCoy, 32, attended the event along with her three daughters: Sidney, 12; Tori, 9; and Madison, 8.

"I wanted them to see former players from the Negro Leagues," McCoy said. "You always hear about them, but you never get to see them in person ... They opened the doors for a lot of people."

Westfield said holding the event in Champaign was a "no-brainer."

"(Champaign) represents a lot of history," Westfield said. "A lot of the Negro League teams ended here in Champaign-Urbana. It ended here; we can do it here."

During a question-and-answer session, many of the little leaguers asked questions about how fast each player could throw a ball or how many home runs they hit.

Westfield and Pirtle recounted their playing experiences, including stories about Negro League greats Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. Pirtle said when he faced Hall-of-Fame inductee Paige he "got hit where I didn't want to get hit" as he pointed to his groin.

The event was part of a nationwide effort to acknowledge the accomplishments of Negro League players to the progress of African-Americans. Seventeen Negro League players were initiated into the Hall of Fame in 2006. No more will be admitted.

"It's just an American story that we went from having a group of people as slaves to now we have a black candidate for president," Urbana mayor Laurel Prussing said. "It shows the huge shift in attitudes."

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CHAMPAIGN – A few hundred children will be ready to start school, thanks to a group of men who provide the supplies as a community service project.

They call themselves the Heavenly Seven Club (although there are now about 15 men in the group), and this will be the fourth year of their school supply drive.

The group provides book bags full of school supplies for elementary school children. They gave away 205 book bags last year, and hope to give away 300 this year, said Sandy Lee, the partner of one of the men in the group.

They buy many of the supplies themselves, with money from fundraisers and from their own pockets. They are looking for more donated supplies this year. Lee said the group expects to see more families in need, with the recession, and they want to help more of them.

Donations can be dropped off at 613 N. Fourth St., C., or mailed to the Heavenly Seven, P.O. Box 8522, C.

The school supply giveaway will be from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 7, at the Douglass Community Center, 512 E. Grove St., C.

Book bags and school supplies are given away on a first-come, first-served basis. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

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eBlackChampaign-Urbana seeks to use
digital technology to connect interested individuals to the dispersed
documentation of African-American experiences in Champaign-Urbana. We
currently have nearly 500 digitized texts, photographs, audio and video
files on African-American history in C-U and are working to make this
become a community resource through our hiring of six local youths to
serve as eBlackCU Spiders

Representing Champaign Urbana as a kid that had the opportunity to live on campus less than five minutes from the University of Illinois Student Union, I, Robert J Charity, want to give back and provide my expertise in this initiative to provide the next level of digital technology to connect, educate and enhance the ability to obtain such documents of African-American experiences in Champaign-Urbana.
Introducing myself, I was born at Mercy Hospital and raise by my grandparents, cousins, great-grand parents and other extended families to keep me on the correct path. I lived on Locust and Healey Street about 5 minutes from the student union at the University of Illinois. I was influenced by strong presence such as Bruce Nesbitt, Jean Nesbitt, Vernon Barkstall, and other leaders in the community that believed in the connection to University of Illinois and the community.
My big sisters, Nora (Davis) Stewart, and Margo (Davis) who introduced me to Upward Bound and this has led me to my success to endeavor and stay motivated. I graduated from Champaign Central. I was a member of the NAACP and served as Vice President as well as the Urban League. During this period, I was involve in many activities particularly playing drums. I went to college at Northern Illinois University and graduated with a degree in Economics and minor in African American studies and Math/Computer Science. At NIU, I enjoyed the opportunity to join Alpha Phi Alpha Frat Inc play drums for the Gospel Choir as well at University of Illinois. My Choir and I was involved with the Gospel Workshops in Atlanta Georgia, and this is where I made my commitment to further my endeavors in life.
I went back to DeVry University and received a degree in Electronic Technology. This allowed me to be in the career of IT for 21 years and still striving. I have been working with Upward Bound as Assistant Center Director at Clark Atlanta University in 1991. I was one of the founders of the Math Science initiative where I even incorporated my brother, Val Doss a prodigy of Upward Bound and successful WAN Engineer as well as Marine who served his country at Iraq, who donated his time as Chemistry and Math class assistant.
Presently, I am working on my Technical Management Degree at DeVry University where I will be graduating in Feburary of 2011. I will be working on my PHD at Georgia State University in Instructional Technology. I have worked with the creator of Kids Tuneup, Darryl Johnson, giving back to latch key kids and having summer programs in apartment complex feeding them breakfast and lunch provided by Dekalb County in Georgia and FDA. They provided the same nutritious meals they had at school.
I have researched through the Government and the 501c3 society about digital technology entering the 5 generation strategy and there are grants, grass root initiatives, and “how to do” antidotes to provide a solution for your digital content through Corporate American’s presence such as Apple, ATT, Verizon to encompass all avenues available for all users of the technology through the available communication tools == ie: Iphones, Blackberrys, Droid, and other telecommunication products.
At last, I conclude the 5th generation technology that will use Apple Iphone4 and competing devices to continue to try to eliminate the PC and Laptop. Small devices that you can chat, video conference using skype, social websites such as facebook, twitter, etc, video emailing, will allow the access of the digital information adopted for the requirements of Technical Experts.
The resource stated originally in this email, “currently have nearly 500 digitized texts, photographs, audio and video files on African-American history in C-U” can create website, social connection and skype access which is free through the strongest technology..
The Internet…

I would like to thank Delmar Nesbitt and the other leaders for the chance to incorporate my current pioneering for giving back to my community by offering the enlightening of opportunity for free assistance in technology and to motivate more of our higher level leaders, in the community as well as the university to present a roundtable about the future and what can resources through the community can spike and better the Champaign Urbana environment for Kids and well as Seniors on campus and the city of CU.

Thanks,

R Charity
Charity Enterprises - CEO

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