August 8, 2025
GREATER HOUSTON EDITION
AframNews.com
Vol.30, Issue 29
FREE
African-American News&Issues
PHOTO BY: CUBUFFS.COM
“Addressing Current & Historical Realities Affecting Our Community”
DIVIDE AND CONQUER By: Roy Douglas Malonson
BEFORE DEION SANDERS, THERE WAS BILL COLLINS ELDER WILLIAM “BILL” ELGERT COLLINS, SR. 1948 – 2025 By: Roy Douglas Malonson
Bill Collins didn’t just play football—he made history every time he stepped onto the field. As the first Black football captain to lead the University of Colorado for an entire season, Bill broke barriers, silenced doubt, and left a legacy that continues to inspire generations. On July 31, 2025, he passed away in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer. His life was a testament to what it means to rise, lead, and open doors for those who follow.
Before Bill became a college football pioneer, I knew him as the young man who lived just 100 feet away from me in Acres Home. Even then, it was clear he had something special. At George Washington Carver High School, he was the starting quarterback on the football team and the starting pitcher for the baseball team. He didn’t just play—he excelled. On the Collins on pg. 3 field and in the classroom, he
It was more than just music—it was a cultural moment. As Kendrick Lamar and Drake, two of the most powerful and influential Black artists of this generation, traded diss tracks and personal jabs, millions of people around the world tuned in. Fans picked sides, timelines lit up with analysis, and the entertainment industry saw a surge in engagement and revenue. But behind all the beats and bars, a much older, darker playbook was unfolding. What many saw as a rap battle was really just a modern-day reminder of the age-old strategy: divide and conquer. This tactic has been used against our community for centuries. It’s how colonizers controlled nations, how enslavers managed plantations, and how governments disrupted civil rights movements. Keep them distracted. Keep them competing. Keep them divided. That way, they’ll never unify—and if they don’t unify, they’ll never build real power. The Kendrick vs. Drake feud became a global event, but for many in the Black community, it became a digital battleground. Twitter threads turned into turf wars. Friendships turned cold over who had the better verse. Instead of using our platforms to push culture forward, we spent weeks debating which millionaire won the lyrical war—while the same systems that benefit from our division sat back and watched the numbers climb. But this isn’t new. We’ve seen it before. East Coast vs. West Coast. Light skin vs. dark skin. Caribbean vs. African American. Male vs. female. Even within movements for justice, division has crept in and caused fractures that never fully healed. Divide us by color, class, geography, gender, or ideology—and you prevent us from ever realizing how powerful we are together. That’s the scary part. Because when we’re united, we shift history. We’ve Divide on pg. 6