BLACK HALL OF FAME ADDS OAKLAND RAIDERS LINCOLN KENNEDY TO ANNUAL INDUCTION CEREMONY CLASS OF 2006 Lincoln Kennedy Joins Renowned Coaches Julius Menendez and Hoshihiro Uchida

BLACK HALL OF FAME ADDS OAKLAND RAIDERS LINCOLN KENNEDY TO ANNUAL INDUCTION CEREMONY CLASS OF 2006 TO BE HELD IN SAN JOSE, CA

Lincoln Kennedy Joins Renowned Coaches Julius Menendez and Hoshihiro Uchida

OAKLAND, CA… The National Football League network's "Total Access" analyst and retired NFL player Lincoln Kennedy has been added to the growing list of retired players and coaches to be inducted at its annual fundraising Induction Ceremony 2006 to be held on Friday, February 10, 2006 at the Hyatt San Jose.

This year's ceremony "With Their Sacrifices, Our History,” will begin at 6:30pm with a “VIP Reception with the Stars” followed by dinner and ceremony at 7:30pm. Limited tickets are $75.00 per person and $100.00 includes the VIP Reception and Dinner. The Hyatt San Jose is located at 1740 First Street in San Jose.

“Recognition of these athletes and community leaders is long overdue,” explains Arif Khatib, founder and president of the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame. “We are proud to honor these outstanding legends to emphasize to our youth that championships are born out of hard effort and perseverance.”

Recently retired from the Oakland Raiders, in 1993 Kennedy was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons and spent over eight years as an offensive tackle who earned high praises by his peers such as quarterback Rich Gannon. Most recently, Kennedy was hired by NFL Networks to join the analyst team for its new daily year-round, signature show, NFL Total Access alongside veteran sportscaster Rich Eisen. The program reaches over 22 million households providing the players' perspective.

Other among the Class of 2006 inductees includes San Jose State University graduates Coaches Julius Menendez and Hoshihiro Uchida. Menendez became the boxing coach of his alma mater, and in 1960 landed the job an Olympics coach working with the young light heavyweight, Cassius Clay—today better known as Muhammad Ali

Judo Coach Uchida, was a student at SJSU before the start of World War II. He would later establish the self-defense method as a full-fledged sport at SJSU during the late 1940s and ‘50s by instituting a weight classification system. In 1964, he coached the first U.S. Olympic judo team at the Games held in Tokyo. Uchida remains the Spartan coach after 65 years.

For more event information and ticket purchase contact: LaNiece Jones of LA Jones & Associates at lajpr@aol.com, call 510-568-5899 or visit www.afrosportshall.com. Tickets will sell fast, early reservations and ticket purchase is encouraged.

A limited number of rooms are available at the Hyatt Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at $75.00 and reserved under the name of African American Sports Hall of Fame.

The ceremony is sponsored in part by the Hyatt San Jose, Ethiopian Airlines, Outback Steakhouse, and JetBlue Airways.

###

About the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame
Since its inception in 2000, the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 68 professional athletes and facilitated the awarding of nine college scholarships to students. More than 350 students have participated in workshops organized by AAESHOF in an effort to educate today’s youth about our sports pioneers and heroes and heroines and violence prevention.

For more information on AAESHOF, visit www.afrosportshall.com