Midnight basketball was a 1990s initiative to curb inner-city crime in the United States by keeping urban youth off the streets and engaging them with alternatives to drugs and crime. It was originally founded by G. Van Standifer in the late 1980s in the United States.

In 1994, Bill Clinton pushed for an anti-crime bill that would lead to 100,000 more police officers as well as a number of programs intended to "deter crime where it starts" by providing "community activities like midnight basketball". The plan was widely lampooned by conservatives such as House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich, who cited midnight basketball as an ineffective and wasteful use of federal funds. Some, such as Rush Limbaugh, even called the proposal racist, given the largely African American populations targeted by the program. Midnight basketball was not a proposal unique to the Democrats as it was one of George H. W. Bush's "Thousand points of light".

Chandler Parsons (born October 25, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Parsons played college basketball at the University of Florida, and was drafted by the Rockets in second round of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Parsons was born in Casselberry, Florida. He attended Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Florida, with future fellow Florida Gator Nick Calathes. Together, Parsons and Calathes helped the Lake Howell Silverhawks high school basketball team advance to the Florida Class 5A state basketball championship final four in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and win the state championship in 2007.As a senior, Parsons was a first-team all-state selection, and was recognized as the most valuable player of the state championship game after scoring thirty points and grabbing ten rebounds.

Parsons accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Florida Gators men's basketball team from 2007 to 2011. During his freshmen season, Parsons played in 36 games averaging 8.1 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game, but the Gators failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is the Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the third African-American mayor of Philadelphia, the largest city in the United States with an African-American mayor. Elected on November 6, 2007, he was sworn in on January 7, 2008 and re-elected on November 8, 2011. Nutter is a former councilman of the city's 4th Council District, and has served as the 52nd Ward Democratic Leader since 1990.

Nutter grew up in West Philadelphia. He attended elementary school at Transfiguration of Our Lord Catholic Elementary School and graduated from the school. He then attended St. Joseph's Preparatory School in North Philadelphia before moving on to earn a degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Nutter, the then and current ward leader of the 52nd ward of the City of Philadelphia, initially challenged incumbent Democrat Ann Land for a seat on the Philadelphia City Council in 1987. Though ultimately unsuccessful in his initial bid, Nutter defeated Land in a rematch four years later, and earned the right to represent the Fourth District on the City Council. His councilmanic district included the neighborhoods of Wynnefield, Overbrook, Roxborough, Manayunk, East Falls and parts of North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, and West Mount Airy.

Suhaib Webb is a contemporary American-Muslim educator, activist, and lecturer. He is currently the imam of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC), the largest mosque in the New England area.

He was born William Webb in 1972 in Oklahoma to a Christian family, including a grandfather who served as a preacher. At age 14, he lost interest in religion going through a self-described spiritual crisis. He also began engaging in delinquency by joining a local gang, was involved in a drive by shooting, and became a successful local Hip-Hop DJ and producer, making records with various artists.

After converting to Islam in 1992, Webb left his career as a DJ and studied at the University of Central Oklahoma, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Education. He also studied privately under a Senegalese Sheikh, learning enough Islam and Arabic to become a community leader in Oklahoma City, where he was hired as Imam at The Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City. He simultaneously started teaching at Mercy School, an Islamic K-12 school in Oklahoma City.