Jackson Free Press

Congressman Smokey "Robinson" McBride: "We celebrate the redemption of a homeless man with a golden voice, and then witness how mainstream media exploits his rise to fame. One moment, we sing lyrics from the song, ‘Lovely Day.' The next moment, a nation grieves over a senseless and violent shooting of a congresswoman, judge, staff members and a young child.

"The best thing we can do is to endure those good, bad and indifferent moments.

"The random occurrences of living remind me of Jack Trice, the first black athlete at Ames College in Iowa. Before playing in his first collegiate football game as an offensive lineman against the University of Minnesota on Oct. 5, 1923, Trice experienced the excitement of athletic competition, the shame of racial discrimination and the pain of physical sacrifice. Trice played the entire football game with a broken collar bone.

"After the game, a severely injured and bleeding Jack Trice was sent back to Ames, Iowa, in the boxcar of a train because hospitals in Minnesota refused to treat blacks. He was found dead the next day.

"The night before his first football game, Trice wrote a letter to himself promising to maintain the honor of his race and family. Aware of the challenges ahead, he ended his letter with this: ‘Be on your toes every minute, if you expect to make good, Jack.'

My advice to my fellow constituents is to stay ready and be secure, because random stuff happens in desperate times."