Under the light of an incandescent lightbulb illuminating the inky sky of Oakland, Califonia, a young Paul Silas played basketball with fellow future Celtics great Bill Russell, his brother Charlie, and his cousins Fritz and Aaron Pointer in the sweet heat of a late summer evening. On the sidelines, the Pointer sisters — still a decade away from being The Pointer Sisters — were enjoying the show.
Basketball played at 18th and Adeline’s DeFremery Park in the early 1960s was the axis their world revolved around. It was a quiet but poignant testimony of what the families who had migrated to Oakland in the 1940s built for themselves as they fled the brutal, institutionalized repression of Jim Crow in the southern United States.
From the bitter legacy of Jim Crow, the Silas, Russell, and Pointer families (and many others) created a community where greatness was more than a dream, and a space to simply enjoy the heat of a sultry summer evening with friends became possible.
Happy birthday to the pride of the McClymonds High School (Oakland) Warriors, Odis Allison. Same high school as Bill Russell, Frank Robinson, and Paul Silas. pic.twitter.com/Y81NkJWMIa
— Honest
Larry (@HonestLarry1) October 2, 2022
has shown recent interest in Oakland transfer wing Micah Parrish. Dropped 19 PTS & 8 REB against the Spartans this past season. 6’6” 195 lb with a + wingspan. Averaged 12.1 PPG and 6 RPG. Named to the All-Defensive Team in the Horizon. Would have 3 years of eligibility. 
