By

Andrew DeMarco

 

In the past, I have written about my “niece” Michele “Belle” Koclanes who is now the head Woman’s Basketball Coach at Dartmouth College. In her 16^th year of coaching, 6 years as head coach, Belle has always espoused the values of family and leadership to all the young women that have passed through her program which have all been exceptional people. The same is true for her coaching staff over her 6 years as head coach that spirit of family and leadership runs throughout the program. It is because of these two values that I am sure anyone who goes through the Dartmouth Women’s Basketball (DWB) program will be successful.

Her success in these two areas with her team could not be more apparent than a few weekends ago when DWB swept through New York defeating both Cornell and Columbia Universities. This was the first time DWB had achieved this feat in 12 years before Belle even arrived at Dartmouth.  Trailing most of the game against Columbia, it was the team leaders (DWB does not call them captains) two seniors Cy Lippold and Isalys “Ice” Quinones who led the way with Ice hitting two free throws with 4 seconds left that won the game. It was a total team effort with everyone contributing even those who did not get into the game and it was an example of the family spirit. At the end of the game, during the celebration, one player exhibited that other value called leadership.

Fittingly, it was one of the team leaders Cy Lippold. Cy has endured a lot this season. Her father, Wayne, unexpectedly passed away just 3 days after the end of last season and he was a fixture at all her games. To say that this has been an emotional season for her is probably an understatement. Cy was originally from the Bronx and with this probably being her last game in New York her whole family and it seemed like almost everyone from her old neighborhood, her extended family, was at the game. To say that they were boisterous would be another understatement since they frequently drowned out most of the Columbia fans.

John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more do more and become more, you are a leader.” The one aspect of this quote that I feel Mr. Adams missed was that to be a leader you must also be selfless. This selflessness was shown by Cy at the end of the game. During the celebration, after the game with all the players hugging one another and just reveling in their hard-fought victory, Cy’s personal cheering section started chanting her name. Cy stepped away and with a wave acknowledged the chant from the crowd as they continued to chant her name. It was then that Cy, all 5 foot 2 inches of her exhibited the selflessness of a leader. She looked up at her cheering section and shook a disapproving finger at them while saying, “No, no, no!”.  She then tugged at her jersey and pointed to the word Dartmouth while telling the crowd it wasn’t her it was the team. Her crowd immediately started chanting “Dartmouth, Dartmouth!”

During a weekend filled with team achievements, she had the ability to show her leadership qualities which was further backed up by Cy being invited to attend the “So You Want to Be A Coach” program by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WCBA). The program will take place at the Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

I was thinking that here is a young woman that has been playing all season under some trying circumstances and has shown that she can handle the pressure and still step up and lead. Coach Belle you have done well with Cy, but I would have to say that your job was probably made much easier by the efforts of Cy’s parents. So, Jennifer Lippold listen to me and listen good as I know Wayne will hear this too and this is coming from one Bronxite to another, “Youse guys dun good.”  I have no doubt that whatever Cy does in the future she will be a success and that is due to the foundation that you and Wayne (and her extended family all those crazy neighbors) provided for her and knowing this gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob would call that….Rosy Glow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By

Andrew DeMarco

 

 

February is Black History Month and during this month we will celebrate the accomplishments of famous African Americans. We will hear stories of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson, George Washington Carver, the Tuskegee Airmen and a host of others whose accomplishments cannot be denied. But I am sure few of us will hear about Dovey Johnson Roundtree who according to the co-author of her memoir Katie McCabe said, “For all her perseverance and all her prowess she remained by temperament, choice and political circumstance, comparatively unknown.” Well I would like to tell you a bit about her because she is more than deserving of having her story told.

I first learned of Ms. Roundtree just about a year ago when I happened to come across her obituary in the New York Times. The first thing that attracted me to her was that she lived to the tender age of 104 and once I read the obituary, I realized that this was an extraordinary woman. Ms. Roundtree was born in Charlotte N.C. on April 17, 1914 a time when Jim Crow was prevalent and she experienced all the ugliness and horrors that one might expect a black person to endure at that time. But she was undeterred and became a Jackie Robinson and Rosa Parks before they made their impressions in the Civil Rights movement.

After attending Spelman College in Atlanta and not having the money for medical school she taught for three years. In 1941, living in Washington, D.C. she became an inaugural member of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and in 1942 became the first woman of any color to be commissioned an Army Officer. She was a leader of black and white women at a time when the Army was still segregated and would be until 1948 when President Truman desegregated the armed forces. But this was just her jumping off point. In 1947 she entered Howard University Law School and in 1950 earned her law degree.

In 1952, working as a lawyer in Washington she took on the case of Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company. This landmark decision helped secure a ban on racial segregation in interstate bus travel and happened three years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama. Although overturned, this led to a better known Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka which desegregated schools. The Interstate Commerce Commission later adopted regulations banning segregation on interstate travel all of which was the result of Ms. Roundtree’s efforts in the Sarah Keys case.

But Ms. Roundtree was far from done with her firsts. Having become disillusioned with the law she again returned to Howard University and entered their divinity school and the next year was the first woman ordained in the A.M.E. Church. She then continued to preach and eventually also practiced law again and in 1970 founded the law firm Roundtree, Knox, Hunter & Parker which endures today.

After reading this obituary I realized what an incredible life this woman had and I also realized that I was not reading about a black woman or a white one but rather a remarkable human being, one who’s accomplishments should serve as a role model for everyone. I also realized that this woman was under the radar and that hopefully she will get her due. Finally, it reinforced in me that the only thing that holds us back in this country is ourselves. This story is proof that in this country more than any other, anyone can buck the odds if they have the will and desire to do so and reach their dreams. Knowing this gives me that feeling that Cousin Bob Would call that…Rosy Glow.

 

If anyone is interested, to learn even more about Ms. Roundtree  a link to her obituary in the New York Times is listed below. Also, her memoir is called “Justice Older than the Law.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/obituaries/dovey-johnson-roundtree-dead.html