Political Quotes

“Mr. President, if you have ever had kids, you know how important it can be to encourage their education. But with many competing priorities, you sometimes need to use creative strategies to inspire success. That is something that Holcombe Rucker did. Rucker was a Black World War II veteran and teacher in the 1940s in Harlem. He started a small outdoor basketball team for Black youth and encouraged his players to maintain good grades and decorum. Some say he is the father of outdoor organized basketball for youth and helped give thousands of kids better pathways to higher learning. Holcombe Rucker grew up a poor parentless kid from 141st Street. He served in the Army during World War II before earning his bachelor's degree from City College. He then taught English at a Harlem junior high school, while also serving as a recreation director for both the St. Phillip's Church Community Center and the city parks department. When Rucker formed his youth basketball tournament in the late 1940s, however, he didn't get much support from city recreational leaders. So he often paid out of his own shallow pockets to provide refreshments and T-shirts and other essentials for players. Rucker would even share his lunch with his students, often coming home to his wife with an empty stomach. Rucker believed education and supervised recreation could make an enormous difference in the lives of his students.…”