BY: Vincent L. Hall
“The best revenge is massive success!!! – Frank Sinatra
I have no idea what the civil rights activist referenced when this quote was recorded, but I know that, on what would be Frank Sinatra’s 110th birthday next week, he was channeling then what Shedeur Sanders and his dad must be thinking now.
Frank Sinatra, like Shedeur’s dad Deion, put it all on the line. They both went “Prime Time” and subjected themselves to the vilest forms of insults and criticism. A Daily News article in 2018 highlighted the risks that Sinatra, (the son of Italian immigrants), who was himself discriminated against, took.
“When Sinatra learned of these (racist) practices by hotel owners, he erupted in disapproval and threatened to leave Vegas for good, once again using his power and influence to provoke change. Sinatra became an instrumental figure in the desegregation of Las Vegas.
He also supported the Civil Rights Movement and was a generous supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr., performing at a benefit show for King in 1961 at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
His admiration of African American friends and entertainers was never hidden. Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, and Harry Belafonte were among the collaborators on recordings, live concerts, and television specials throughout Sinatra’s career.
If you really want to get revenge, the only plot you have to concoct is “massive success.” Frank Sinatra did it, and millions of us are betting that Shedeur is en route to making his adversaries pay, without ever lifting a foul word or deed.
And the fact that the entire National Football League tried to insinuate that Shedeur, Deion’s son, would never amount to anything has become the fuel that could ignite a historic career.
Fifth round draft choice, my ass!
Excuse my curse words, because Shedeur, like his dad, never uses them. They are outward and forward with their Christianity.
After his first and successful debut last week, listen to the tenor and tone of his oftentimes snarky reporter crew.
“Has it changed?” Sanders asked, when he was reminded of that day in 2024, after he won his first NFL start on Sunday. “I’m not gonna lie, I felt very relaxed. Very relaxed. And half of that comes from preparing, studying, and knowing I’ve got God on my side.
“So throughout all that, I had no worries. I didn’t feel nervous or anything before the game.”
Those words riveted in the souls of Black folk (excuse my W.E.B. Dubois pun) because this is what life in America has taught us. We were taught not to hate the Bull Connors, George Wallaces, and Donald Trumps of the world. We have always lived with the knowledge that only love can conquer hate and “trouble don’t last always.”
Psalm 37 of the holy writ says it best.
“”Fret not thyself because of evildoers; neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb”.
Shedeur is a Hebrew and biblical name that literally means “light of the Almighty,” “field of light,” or “spreader of light!” And true to form, Shedeur is showing the light to Black, Brown, immigrants, and oppressed people all over the world.
Don’t do evil for evil. An eye for an eye, as MLK said, makes us all blind.
Everything we need to overcome in these trying days can be found in an excellent work ethic, humility, and an abiding faith in God and justice.
Shedeur, whom many of us have followed since he was a boy prodigy in Dallas, has no reason to fret.
Shedeur is the light, and he has shown us what God expects of us.
My prayer is that his massive success will deliver the sweetest revenge possible.
A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award-winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac.
