"Straight" celebrates the strength and courage of an African American male from a humble beginning. He had no desire ever to quit or give up on getting out of poverty. He was challenged from the hot okra fields to being a factory worker, and later a migrant work under his uncle's care in New York. The intense desire for justice and to integrate his high school class of 1971 provided some of his first opportunities for standing up for what he believed was right and making a path for others to follow.
As a young man with athletic skills, but no coach or equipment to develop his body, he used broomsticks and rocks to train for baseball games. After being cut from the high school basketball team, he went on to referee basketball and umpire baseball. His "always win" spirit led to three consecutive 1st place bowling titles as an adult.
This is also a spiritual story of learning from both the Baptist and Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) churches. "Straight" overcame major surgery, more than once, and felt obliged to give back by working with youth in sports. This includes his extraordinary story of defying the doctor who said he would never run again and smiling boldly as he ran the floor, refereeing basketball games.
He inspires others to look beyond their individual ego and chooses to lift them mentally, morally, and financially to a different level as a classmate, teammate, coach, and adjunct professor. Through it all, he believes that nothing is impossible with God and that includes finding his wife in college.
"Straight" is the story of a God-given talent that demonstrates over and over again "to whom much is given, much is required."
Charles R. Edwards is a graduate of Albany State College, now Albany State University. He earned a Master of Social Work degree from Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. His active involvement in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. at the undergraduate level, local, and provincial level is an incredibly inspiring example. He started as a caseworker, nicknamed "the welfare man" and retired from the State of Georgia as Team Leader in the Division of Aging Services after 34 years of service.
