Vision Beyond The Lens by -J.J. McQueen-

Culturally, humans celebrate historical moments and locations differently. It's often done in ways that most individuals outside of each subgroup will never understand. The reverence for whatever significance these places and things hold usually shows themselves subtly, and/or boldly.   The essence of these special places and moments are seldom captured without mounds of emotion. If by happenstance someone fails to acknowledge or address them, everyone present will asked two very important questions. Who's responsible for capturing our most precious moments, and who will make sure that they're captured moving forward? The Ritz, Washington Street High Point, NC    The Celebrated Robert Hayes, 56 Year Barber/Entrepreneur, Washington Street, High Point, NC After those two questions have been answered, and the call to the assignment has been accepted by a responsible party, the work starts.  The unnerving task of documenting history begins.  The chosen...

Baltimore is one of those unique places in America that breeds basketball talent. It has a spirit of relentless history for carving out some of the best players that the hoops game has ever seen. That type of mindset and drive for basketball greatness could move individuals to two questions.  Where does the idea of being the best basketball player come from? Why do kids and young people believe that they'll be the next great basketball player to rise up from Baltimore? Those are two important questions when analyzing the thought process of kids chasing their dreams.    The Rock In Baltimore on some blocks the ideals of entrepreneurship is measured by how many " rocks " one can sell.  No, it's not a poplar statement, but one that reigns true on some streets.  Ordinarily making references to a " rock " [pseudonym for a basketball] in cities like Baltimore could easily be associated with something negative. Fortunately in this case, those common thou...

When people think of hall of fame worthy moments, there're usually times where crowds of people get to witness things outside of the norm being performed. As a former athlete, I've observed some of those kinds of moments. In a recent trip back to my home town of High Point, North Carolina , I had a chance to relive some of those times. In an effort to celebrate the contributions of myself and twelve other amazing people, my high school T. Wingate Andrews , and its' Hall of Fame selection committee, chose us to represent the TWA Sports Hall of Fame class 2015. I can recall on the day that I received the message about being selected, my mind immediately took me on the journey of when and where it all started. I thought about the thousands of student athletes before me that had endured things that made my career simpler than theirs had been. I also paid homage to those that mentored me through my growing pains. Soon after receiving the individual phone call, there was a ...