The 44 Percent: NFL returns, FAMU’s next stop & DeSantis’ paradoxical Jacksonville speech

Today should be a national holiday.

That’s because the NFL is finally back, baby!

The reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Detroit Lions Thursday night and I, for one, couldn’t be any happier. As I’ve done in years past, here are a few NFL figures to know coming into the season.

1- That’s how many teams have an all-Black quarterback room. Shout out the Baltimore Ravens, home of Broward native Lamar Jackson, for setting the trend.

9.375- That’s the approximate percentage of Black head coaches in the NFL. To be exact, there are three: Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Demeco Ryans (Houston Texans) and Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers). The Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel considers himself biracial.

0- That’s the number of losing seasons Tomlin has had as head coach of the Steelers. He also has a single Super Bowl to his name.

14- That’s how many teams plan to roll at a Black quarterback to start the season. Put differently, nearly half (43.75%) of the league plans to start a Black QB during Week 1.

1- That’s at least how many times you should read my 2023 story about South Florida’s Black quarterbacks being overlooked despite the league’s transition to a game better suited for their talents. The story was written ahead of Super Bowl 57 which featured the first matchup between two Black quarterbacks in the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts.

INSIDE THE 305

With FAMU out of the Orange Blossom Classic, fans want to know what’s next:

FAMU’s tenure in the Orange Blossom Classic came to a resounding end Sunday with a 28-10 win over Jackson State -- at least for now.

With a dub in their pocket, now tough questions about FAMU’s participation (or lack thereof) must be answered. Namely, what the Orange Blossom Classic plans to do next considering the vast majority of fans at Sunday’s game donned the orange and green.

More than 10,000 students currently attend FAMU, according to its website. Estimates of B-CU’s student population vary but the spring 2023 enrollment report puts the number around 2,400. The latest data from Edward Waters estimates their student population to be just more than 1,100. Edward Waters is also Division II while FAMU, Jackson State and other Southwestern Athletic Conference schools are Football Championship Subdivision schools. In other words, replacing FAMU will not be easy

“In terms of the amount of students that go to the school, nothing will replicate” said FAMU grad Navael Fontus. “Ain’t nothing topping us.”

OBC leaders, however, maintain that the classic isn’t going anywhere. Other schools have even reached out about replacing FAMU, according to OBC executive director Kendra Bulluck-Major.

“We’re moving forward,” Bulluck-Major told Sports Illustrated in July. “The Orange Blossom Classic is here to stay, and we’re excited about what the future holds… There will be schools they’re going to be pleased with. Schools that we know travel well and have a good following. I believe we’ll be good.”

Meet the Miami native and Immaculata-La Salle alum who works at the White House:

Remember the name Erica Loewe.

Last week, the Liberty City native started a new job as chief of staff of public engagement.

Loewe’s role allows her to control how the nation’s leader engages with various community stakeholders as well as messaging in matters of civil rights and racial equity. The White House’s former director of African American media, she called the move a “shift in portfolio” which gives her the opportunity to engage the country’s diverse population to ensure an inclusive and transparent government.

OUTSIDE THE 305

The speech DeSantis gave at the vigil for the Black people killed in Jacksonville might not be acceptable in Florida schools:

The city of Jacksonville is still mourning the deaths of A.J. Laguerre, Angela Michelle Carr, and Jerrald Gallion who were killed in a racist attack on Aug. 26. In a speech given the following day, Gov. Ron DeSantis told a crowd in Jacksonville that the killer’s actions were “totally unacceptable in the state of Florida.”

“We are not going to let people be targeted based on their race,” DeSantis said, with the Associated Press adding that the governor’s message was met with boos from the crowd.

But as The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer pointed out, the contents of DeSantis’ speech could not be taught in Florida schools and colleges due to laws like the Stop WOKE Act.

A teacher could not explain why someone would, as DeSantis put it, target people “based on their race,” because it would lead to answers about the history of Florida and America that the governor and other Republicans would prefer students not learn, lest they have nonconservative thoughts.

The idea that an educator could not teach a speech given by the governor might sound ridiculous, however, this is the state that we live.

These education gag laws are intended to render the American past illegible, because of the risk that someone might reach the conclusion that racial discrimination continues to be a problem in the present that Americans are obliged to confront.

White supremacist group claiming to support DeSantis march in Orlando:

A week after the racist killing in Jacksonville, multiple groups of Neo-Nazis marched throughout Orlando area.

One such group – Order of the Black Sun – flew Nazi flags and voiced their support for DeSantis outside the gates of Disney World. Such gatherings are expected to increase during September, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.

They said that they ‘expect the group will likely hold several demonstrations in high visibility locations - such as a sporting or entertainment venue, highway overpass, government building or in front of an LGBTQ+ venue or Jewish institution - in order to attract as much public and media attention as possible.’

Although DeSantis has yet to denounce this latest incident, he did call the people waving swastika flags alongside DeSantis 2024 signs “not true supporters of mine” back in early August.

HIGH CULTURE

Patrick Mahomes, the Hip-Hop QB:

The wizardry of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has inspired artists to show love.

In a story recently published by The Athletic, Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor discovered the two-time Super Bowl champion has been mentioned in hundreds of songs during his rise to superstardom.

As of this week, Mahomes has been referenced — either by his full name, just his last name or the nickname “Patty Mahomes” — in 594 songs, according to Lyrics.com, the largest searchable lyrics database.

Hip-hop, Mahomes’ favorite style of music, is the genre that name-checks him the most, a collection of 216 songs, according to Genius.com, another leading music encyclopedia.

As Taylor writes, Mahomes has been name-dropped by a host of hip-hop luminaries including Drake, Lil Wayne and Migos, the latter of whom named the 15th track of their “Culture III” album after the reigning NFL MVP.

“That one is definitely my favorite one, just because I know those guys,” Mahomes said. “It is really cool. I like it lyrically. And obviously, my name is, like, the chorus.”

Where does “The 44 Percent” name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter’s title.