Black History

Oakland Natives’ We Ball Sports and HBCU’s League Pass to Deliver Negro League Apparel

With the mission of bridging HBCU baseball with its historic Negro Baseball League roots, We Ball Sports, headquartered in Atlanta, will design integrated apparel, and distribute via HBCU League Pass news, sports, shopping, and entertainment network based in Roanoke, Texas.

Published

3 years ago

January 10, 2022

Oakland Post

Nehemiah Mitchell and Derrion Herring, co-founders of We Ball Sports.

By Carla Thomas

E-commerce company We Ball Sports, specializing in high-quality football gear and apparel, announced a new retail partnership with Urban Edge Networks, owner of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) League Pass.

Just in time for baseball season, Nehemiah Mitchell, a co-founder of We Ball Sports, says the new partnership is the perfect blend of technology and fashion that invokes awareness and pride in African American culture.

“This is a significant partnership for us that has grown from the community we’ve built and the trust we’ve earned from athletes nationwide,” said Mitchell. “HBCU League Pass enables us to bring both of our communities together to further our reach and foster relationships between young athletes and the HBCU community.”

According to Mitchell, a native of Oakland, Weballsports.com, is the most visited, privately-owned e-commerce football equipment business globally, achieving 500,000 visitors by the end of July 2021. “This year we expect $1.5 million in sales by the end of December and 2022 should yield up to $5 million in sales,” said Mitchell.

“Nehemiah Mitchell, Brendan Royal, and Darreon Herring have their fingers on the pulse of Gen-Z and cultural trends,” said Hardy Pelt, chief financial officer at Urban Edge Networks which owns HBCU League Pass. “Their amazing growth over the past couple of years and genuine relationship with the youth sports community made them an easy selection and the perfect partner to support HBCU baseball.”

Urban Edge Networks, the owners of HBCU League Pass and entertainment network company in Las Vegas, vow to continue promoting the legacy of African Americans’ contributions to the sport of baseball through collaboration with the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, and with various HBCU baseball teams.

We Ball Sports co-founders Royal, DaHerring, and Mitchell, all former D1 football players under 30, are thrilled to partner with HBCU League Pass.

They hope to accelerate the brand’s growth by branching out into other sports and providing additional apparel and equipment in their catalog. The company also plans to partner with NFL athletes while increasing their philanthropic activities in the community.

“We plan to generate even more interest and investment into HBCU sports from professional athletes and entertainers similar to NBA point guard Stephen Curry’s agreement to fund Howard University’s golf program for six years,” said Mitchell. “Also, Deon Sanders and Percy ‘Master P’ Miller, both retired professional athletes, are also encouraging nationally ranked high school players to attend HBCUs and join their athletic programs.”

For more information visit: http://www.weballsports.com and http://www.hbculeaguepass.com.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.