Our event was a huge success!  Thank you to all of the sponsors who made it possible!  International Slam Dunk phenom Kenny Dobbbs stole the show. Pictured here jumping over a spectator’s head, taking the ball out of his hands and putting it between his legs.  Master Ed Hall and his demonstration team, “Team Extreme” performed, the Harlem Superstars’ Ricky “7-footer” Lopes, myself, and former Harlem Globetrotter Dajuan “Piece” Eubanks also performed before a crowd of over 200 spectators on this cloudy September afternoon. I spoke briefly about the new face of bullying, cyber-bullying.  I talked about the fact that now a days, young people are being harassed, intimidated and bullied 24/7 in cyber space like never before.  With the explosion of social networking, even elementary school children students have facebook profiles and many share the most intimate details of their life for the world to see.  A recent ABC News study claims that only 15% of parents are “in the know” about their children’s social networking habits.  I challenged parents to take the steps necessary to monitor their children’s on line activities.  So many young people are so much more technically advanced than their parents, that they are able to do almost anything that they want to without any consequences.  I challenged young people to take action if they are being bullied or if they know some one’s who is being bullied.  Tell a trusted adult, and keep telling trusted adults until action is taken. 

Every single performance was simply amazing and there was a fun, festive atmosphere with give aways and crowd interaction.  The most powerful moment came when Dajuan Eubanks took the mic and began to share his story, some of the things he overcame to find success and the work that he put in to achieve some of his dreams and goals.  You could hear a pin drop when the 6’9 Eubanks placed a red white and blue basket ball next to his Harlem Globetrotter uniform at center court and spoke of travelling around the globe as the premier showman for the most famous basketball team in the world.  As he pointed to his uniform, he spoke about the fact that the uniform has never defined him, he defined the uniform.  He challenged the crowd, made up mostly of residents of the low income housing unit know affectionately as ‘Hyde Park’, to ‘never’ allow your circumstances to define who you are as a person, you define your own destiny.”  The honorary member of the basketball hall of fame, then spoke about the fact that he was a victim of bullying.  He reinforced my challenge to young people that are bullying to consider the repercussions of their actions and asked anyone who may be a victim of harassment, intimidation or any form of physical, or emotional bullying to take action.  He gave them several resources and spoke from his heart about his own experiences, challenges and what he overcame to find success in many areas of life.  I couldn’t have been anymore excited to have the opportunity to expose my community to such a great man.  I’m already looking at next year’s event.  I’m also working to package this program and take it into schools to help educate as many young people as possible on this incredibly important issue.  

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