Welcome to The Flame!
FISLL's monthly newsletter addresses what's new with the brand, shares thoughts from FISLL brand founder Allan Houston, provides a special feature story, and lets you hear from the youth which word will inspire them for the month! Don't forget to tap in and check out our stay engaged section at the end of the newsletter and sign up to join the FISLL team!
We kick off Black History Month by acknowledging the FISLL Shadow Legacy Collection launch! Check out the video to learn more, get ready to ask, "Who is YOUR Shadow?"
Word From the Youth
Twin sisters Mia and Mya Pauldo rule the high school basketball world. Self-branded as the TwinBackCourt, the University of Tennessee commits aim to cap their senior season at Morris Catholic High School with a third-straight New Jersey state title. Read more about them here.
A Pencil and a Dollar Bill
Dr. Clarence B. Jones served as Martin Luther King, Jr.'s lawyer and speechwriter.
Clarence Jones got up from his chair and grabbed a towel to help his mother, Mary Tolliver Jones, dry the dishes. Mary snatched the towel from her 11-year-old son and said, "go back and sit on that chair boy."
Before Martin Luther King Jr.'s former speechwriter and attorney concluded his retort—"But momma, I'm only trying to help you...”
Before Martin Luther King Jr.'s former speechwriter and attorney concluded his retort—"But momma, I'm only trying to help you...”
—Mary cut off her son, repeated her first statement, and ended with, "The only thing I want to see in your hand is a pencil and a dollar bill."
Roughly 83 years later, in a sit-down conversation with former New York Knick Allan Houston and Wade Houston, the first Black head coach in the SEC, a 94-year-old Jones recalled the impact of his mother's words on his journey.
" I remember that," Jones said with his right index finger raised for emphasis and a smirk on his face.
"So here I am," Jones said while gently swaying his body side to side. He then discussed former President Joe Biden's awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2024. The comment wasn't to boast; rather, the opposite.
Two military service members escorted the medal-awardee Jones during the ceremony at the White House. Jones said he gave one of the young officers a "brief précis" about his parents.
" I will never forget the look of one of those young men who went to the naval academy," Jones said. "This young man started to tear up. He said, "'you have some journey, Dr. Jones. I am so honored they assigned me to be with you.'"
Roughly 83 years later, in a sit-down conversation with former New York Knick Allan Houston and Wade Houston, the first Black head coach in the SEC, a 94-year-old Jones recalled the impact of his mother's words on his journey.
" I remember that," Jones said with his right index finger raised for emphasis and a smirk on his face.
"So here I am," Jones said while gently swaying his body side to side. He then discussed former President Joe Biden's awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2024. The comment wasn't to boast; rather, the opposite.
Two military service members escorted the medal-awardee Jones during the ceremony at the White House. Jones said he gave one of the young officers a "brief précis" about his parents.
" I will never forget the look of one of those young men who went to the naval academy," Jones said. "This young man started to tear up. He said, "'you have some journey, Dr. Jones. I am so honored they assigned me to be with you.'"
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