Thursday, April 24, 2008

Remembering the Titans and all those who came before: Desegregation of College Football in the South

Denzel Washington, as Coach Boone, stands next to a tree panting and gasping for breath as he turns towards his high school football team.

“Anybody know where this is” he asks. “This is Gettysburg. This is where they fought the Battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the same fight that we are still fighting among ourselves today. This green field right here, painted red, bubblin’ with the blood of young boys. Smoke and hot lead pouring right through their bodies. Listen to their souls, men. I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed my family. You listen, and you take a lesson from the dead. If we don’t come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don’t care if you like each other or not, but you will respect each other. And maybe—I don’t know, maybe, we’ll learn to play this game like men.” (Remember the Titans 2000)

Depicting the story of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, the year is 1971 and the integration of black and white students into the same school system is still a new phenomenon. This movie tells the story of how an integrated football team was able to work together and achieve the perfect season. However, long before the Titans, black football players fought for respect and dignity, on and off the field.

The “segregation” of college football came side-by-side with the promotion of all black colleges and universities in the early 1900s. Although many universities in the northern part of the country, like Amherst and Harvard would have their first black football players as early as 1888 (Levy 2003), it would take up until the 1966 for blacks to play in the SEC, and even longer for them to gain the respect they deserved (Wolff 2005). Black football players who ventured onto all-white teams risked their lives during games, at practice, and even off the field. Greg Page would be one of two black players for the University of Kentucky—but he would never actually get to play in a game, as he was paralyzed during a preseason drill. Page died about a month after being injured, and it would be his black roommate, Nat Northington, who would become the first black player in the SEC (Wolff 2005). These events took place in 1967. One year later Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be shot and that incident would continue to create uproar the following decade. But in 1967, when American streets seemed to be filled with riots and upheaval, the accidental killing of Greg Page was just another lost out of many, only helping to show the dialectic relationship between society and sport (Schultz 2007).

Looking at desegregation of college football in the South one can see clear signs of social injustice and the denial of athletic prowess possessed by black athletes at the time. Even those who integrated blacks onto their teams were hesitant to let them shine to their fullest potential. Blacks were often not permitted to score. If they were not moved to defensive positions, they were left in the game long enough to help carry the ball to a reasonable scoring range and then removed from play (Wolff 2005). These types of actions by coaches depict black football players in the 1960s as puppets for the amusement of others, particularly whites. The great athletic ability of black players was stunted. Darryl Hill, who was the first black to play in the ACC at the University of Maryland, seemed to be an exception to this. He set school records and would score crucial touchdowns. When the school yearbook came out, however, the football picture from the previous year was used and Hill was not mentioned at all (Wolff 2005). Integration of blacks and whites in the classroom was one thing; on the playing field was another story. In 1965 Texas A&M coach Gene Stallings was quoted saying “[w]hat we need is a team that will work and pull and fight together and really get a feeling of oneness, I don’t believe we could accomplish this with a Negro on the squad” (Wolff 2005). This quote only goes on to show the ignorant thoughts that contributed to the racism of the time.

Whether or not a unified team was created on the field, society was still crashing in from all sides demanding an end to this integration. In the movie Remember the Titans (2000), based on a true story, Alexandria, VA gets an eye-opener from these young men. A group, once split along the lines of skin color, learned to appreciate and respect each other. They learn to play the game like men (Remember the Titans 2000). At colleges and universities found in the South during this time, this feat is not as easily accomplished. In the story of the Titans one can see how it is not only the society which plays an impact on the football team, but also the football team which helps to smooth things over in the town. This dialectic relationship can also be seen in more negative ways like with Greg Page. Once the racial barrier began to be crossed, there was still the setback of fairness in the game and full recognition of one’s athletic ability (Levy 2003). Together though, these ideas show how the desegregation of college and university football in the South during the 1960s depict the idea of a dialectic relationship between sport and society, while at the same time showing the hurdles black athletes had to jump over in order to survive this sport.



Works Cited:

Levy, A.H (2003). Tackling Jim Crow: Racial segregation in professional football. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. Publishers.

Schultz, J. (2008). Module I: What is sport history? Week1. University of Maryland, College Park. Speaker.

Wiggins, D. and Miller, P. (2003). The unleveled playing field: A documentary history of African American experience in sport. Springfield: University of Illinois Press.

Wolff, A. (2005, November 7). Long after Jackie Robinson smashed the color barrier in baseball, these Southern college football pioneers desegregated a more violent sport, in a more violent place, at a more violent time. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Yakin, Boaz (Director). (2000). Remember the Titans [DVD]. Covington, GA: Jerry Bruckheimer Films.


Recommended Readings:

Demas, L. (2007). Beyond Jackie Robinson: Racial integration in American college football and new directions in sport history. History Compass. Retrieved March 11, 2008 from Google Scholar.

Wolff, A. (2005, November 7). Long after Jackie Robinson smashed the color barrier in baseball, these Southern college football pioneers desegregated a more violent sport, in a more violent place, at a more violent time. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 10, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Yakin, Boaz (Director). (2000). Remember the Titans [DVD]. Covington, GA: Jerry Bruckheimer Films.

No comments: