Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
In August 1908, a white mob attacked Springfield, Illinois’s Black community, destroying homes and businesses and lynching two Black men. National outrage over the violence helped spur the movement that created the NAACP the following year.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 18, 1976 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College | Kentucky (1995–1997) |
| 1997: 1st round, 6th overall pick | |
| Drafted by | Boston Celtics |
Playing career | 1997–2005 |
| Position | Small forward / shooting guard |
| Number | 5, 33, 1 |
| Career history | |
| 1997–1999 | Boston Celtics |
| 1999–2000 | Denver Nuggets |
| 2000 | Orlando Magic |
| 2000–2002 | Chicago Bulls |
| 2002–2003 | Indiana Pacers |
| 2003–2004 | San Antonio Spurs |
| 2004–2005 | New Jersey Nets |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 5,892 (13.6 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,342 (3.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 921 (2.1 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career with the New Jersey Nets in 2005.
Ron Mercer was twice named "Mr. Basketball" of Tennessee while at Goodpasture Christian School in Madison, Tennessee. He then transferred to Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, and was rated by Bob Gibbons to be the best prep player of the class of 1995.
Mercer had a very successful collegiate career, having been an All-American and all-Southeastern Conference player at Kentucky, and part of a national championship team his freshman year.[1]
Mercer was selected with the sixth overall pick of the 1997 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics and was reunited with fellow Kentucky teammate Antoine Walker, and Rick Pitino, his coach at Kentucky who had just become the coach of the Celtics. Prior to Mercer's drafting, Pitino was recorded as saying that he did not envisage Mercer as having the necessary talent to be selected very high. Some felt this was just a ploy to scare the other teams away from him so as to increase the likelihood of Mercer being available by the time the Celtics got an opportunity to make their draft selection.[2] It turned out it was.[3]
After two seasons in Boston, Mercer was traded by the Celtics along with Popeye Jones and Dwayne Schintzius to the Denver Nuggets for Danny Fortson, Eric Williams, Eric Washington, and a future draft choice. He played 37 games for Denver in 1999–2000, then played the final 31 games that season with the Orlando Magic due to a trade.
Mercer left after that season, signing as a free agent with the Chicago Bulls the next year.[4] He averaged 19.7 points per game in his first year with them.
This was Mercer's career high in points per game and was the second leading scorer on the team. [5]
Despite Mercer's 16.8 points per game in 2001–02, he was traded midway through the season alongside Brad Miller, Ron Artest, and Kevin Ollie to the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norman Richardson, and a second-round draft pick. In Indiana, he served merely as a reserve player and his play declined rapidly over his one-and-a-half-season stint with the club.[6]
Before the 2003–04 season, Mercer was traded to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team trade that again involved Brad Miller and the Sacramento Kings' Hedo Türkoğlu.[7] After playing 39 games with the Spurs, he was released.[8]
Prior to the 2004–05 season, Mercer signed with his seventh NBA team, the New Jersey Nets.[9] On August 15, 2005, prior to the 2005–06 NBA season, he was waived by the Nets to avoid the league's luxury tax as part of the new labor agreement.[citation needed]
In 1997, Mercer and fellow former Celtic player Chauncey Billups were accused of raping a woman at the home of teammate Antoine Walker. According to a civil suit, Billups, Mercer, and Walker's roommate Michael Irvin raped the woman at Walker's condo after leaving a Boston comedy club on November 9, 1997. A medical examination on the following day revealed injuries consistent with the victim's testimony. No criminal charges were filed, but Billups and Mercer settled a civil suit in 2000.[10][11]
Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Ronald Eugene Mercer (born May 18, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. After his career at the University of Kentucky, Mercer played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA); he ended his career with the New Jersey Nets in 2005.
The 1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1995–96 college basketball season. Coached by Rick Pitino, the team finished the season with a 34–2 record and won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship over the Syracuse University Orangemen, 76–67. Also known as "The Untouchables", nine players from the 1995–96 team eventually played in the NBA. These players were Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, Nazr Mohammed, Mark Pope, Jeff Sheppard, Wayne Turner, and Antoine Walker. The 1995–96 Kentucky team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball history.
The 1997 NBA draft took place on June 25, 1997, at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Vancouver Grizzlies had the highest probability to win the NBA draft lottery, but since they were an expansion team along with the Toronto Raptors they were not allowed to select first in this draft. Although the Boston Celtics had the second-worst record in the 1996–97 season and the best odds (36 percent) of winning the lottery with two picks, the Spurs lost David Robinson and Sean Elliott to injury early in the season, finished with the third-worst record, and subsequently won the lottery. Leading up to the draft, there was no doubt that Tim Duncan would be selected at No. 1 by the Spurs as he was considered to be far and away the best prospect. After Duncan, the rest of the draft was regarded with some skepticism. The Celtics had the third and sixth picks, selecting Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, both of whom were traded in the next two years. Duncan became the Spurs' franchise player and in a 19-year career spent entirely in San Antonio, he led the Spurs to five NBA championships, winning NBA Finals MVP in three of those campaigns. In addition, Duncan was a two-time NBA MVP, 15-time All-Star, 15-time All-NBA and 15-time All-Defensive team selection. Billups went on to earn five All-Star selections and won Finals MVP honors in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons. The ninth pick, Tracy McGrady, captured two NBA scoring titles and was named to seven All-Star and All-NBA teams. The Washington Wizards forfeited their 1997 first-round pick in connection with the signing of Juwan Howard. (Washington would have had the 17th pick.) Thus, the draft only had 28 first-round selections and 57 selections overall.
Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is an American former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. As an amateur, he won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1991, Mercer captured the WBO heavyweight world title and later successfully defended it against Tommy Morrison whom he previously decisioned 5-0 during 1988 Summer Olympics trials. He subsequently vacated the belt. Mercer was nicknamed "Merciless" for his punching power and aggressive fighting style, a moniker that followed him throughout his professional career. In 2004, Mercer competed in a kickboxing match against four-time K-1 Japan tournament champion Musashi, losing by unanimous decision. In 2009, he made a brief appearance in mixed martial arts, defeating former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia by first-round knockout, earning a Bazzie Award for Upset of the Year.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
