KALAMAZOO, MI -- Former professional basketball player and coach Cazzie Russell will speak at a community brunch held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites at 10 a.m. Friday, June 17 as part of Allen Chapel AME Church’s Father’s Day Weekend.
The weekend consists of a community brunch with the theme “My Brother’s Keeper: Supporting and Sustaining Black Male Excellence” and a sermon lead by Russell at the 10 a.m. Sunday morning service at the church, located at 804 W. North St.
“The main thing is to try and encourage excellence in young men of color,” said Buddy Hannah, who is helping to organize the event. “We’re having a lot of problems in our community and we’re trying to see what can be done to help get some positive things, instill positive things into our young men.”
Russell set records at the University of Michigan, winning three straight Big Ten titles in 1964, 1965 and 1966. He played for the New York Knicks from 1966 to 1971, winning an NBA championship with them in 1970.
Other speakers including Kevin Lavendar Jr., founder and executive director of the Fatherhood Network; Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Curtis J. Bell, Phoenix High School principal Mark Hill, and Vernon Coakley, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety chief.
“We have various age groups so that we can show the young men that not only are the younger men but the more mature older men are working for them,” Hannah said. “We tried to get a cross section of the community leaders to speak.”
Tickets are $25 a person and can be purchased online ahead of time or at the door. Young men under 17 are admitted free. Proceeds will go toward establishing a scholarship for young people of color.
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