Amer-I-Can

Michael Crawford

SBS318-01

Due: 4/11/05

“Amer-I-Can”

“5.2 yards per carry, never missed a game, won the rushing title every year but

one; there was a lot of contenders but if you have to select one, you have to pick Jim

(Brown) as the greatest running back in history”- Bob Costas

Multi-media, press, and prevalent negative propaganda would leave one to

believe that Athletes are, besides accumulating points, only capable of drug abuse,

domestic violence and extortion. Being a collegiate student-athlete, at times I too have

fallen prey to such malicious stereotypes. However, what may not be read about in

daily periodicals nor seen on the nightly news, are the positive things that athletes do

outside of their respective sports. For example, the proceeds and efforts of African-

born professional basketball player, Dikembe Mutombo to his native village, are rarely

mentioned. One would be hard-pressed to find any information about Atlanta Falcons

running back Warrick Dunn’s “Single Mother’s Home Buyers Program”. Most

importantly, as successful as its curriculum has been, archives on Jim Brown’s “Amer-

I-Can Foundation” for advancement and self-esteem elevation, seemingly have been

esoteric.

Jim Brown is to running backs what Superman is to cartoons. Standing 6’2” and

packing a solid 230 pounds on a square-shouldered frame, he was an explosive

fullback. He played only nine seasons for he Cleveland Browns and led the NFL in

rushing eight times. Nevertheless, unlike most athletes, Brown retired when he was on

top. At age 30, he decided he’d rather star in movies than on the gridiron. When he

left the game before the 1966 season, no player had ever ran for as many yards as he

had (12,312) nor scored as many touchdowns. Yet and still football was not even his

best sport; he is the only athlete ever to be inducted into the halls of fame for

professional football, college football, and lacrosse.

Despite appearing in more than 32 movies and chartering the Negro Industrial

Economic Union to assist Black-owned businesses, he created the Amer-I-Can

program, in an effort to turn gang members from destructive to productive members of

the society. Through involvement in several in-prison and “aftercare” programs (i.e.

Vital Issues Project, Jobs Plus and Coors Golden Door), Brown an experienced

community-activist, recognized that in order to be successful in any type of retraining

or education, the attitude of the recipient was the key. Such programs addressed life

management skills, human development and self-esteem issues, which carried over to

the philosophy and current structure of the Amer-I-Can Program.

The Amer-I-Can Program is a 60 to 90 hour, 15 chapter, Life Management

Skills curriculum that is designed to empower individuals to take charge of