The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta recently introduced a new permanent exhibit featuring the important roles Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played in the field of college football.
“Celebrating HBCUs” tells the story of HBCU football through videos, collections of memorabilia, and stories told by the coaches and key players at the various HBCU institutions.
One exhibit features the biographies of some of the HBCU’s greatest coaches, including Eddie Robinson, Billy Joe, Jake Gaither, John Merritt, and Rod Broadway. A separate module looks at some of the top players to come out of HBCU programs and the impact they made at the NFL level. These players are a who’s who of NFL Hall of Famers, including Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Doug Williams, Buck Buchanan, Ken Houston, and Art Shell.
The Gameday Experience exhibit explores the many great traditions, rivalries, and marching bands that make HBCU Saturdays so unique.
Interactive panels feature the profiles of the four athletic conferences (SIAC, CIAA, MEAC, and SWAC) that comprise the HBCU world. It explores the power teams, players, and coaches in each conference and looks at the championship teams that each conference has produced.
HBCU football has also played a significant role in leading the fight against racial injustice. There is an in-depth exhibit about the Wyoming 14, a group of Black players at the University of Wyoming, who protested the school policies of an opponent, which barred Black people from the priesthood. They stood their ground, resulting in their being cut from the team and being harassed by the leadership at their school.
They stood by their principles, and eventually they were able to get the policy of blocking Black people from serving as priests was changed. Unfortunately, the players were never reinstated. However, their actions inspired many other college teams to get involved in social justice issues during the civil rights era.
Visitors to “Celebrating HBCU’s” will also see the Celebration Bowl trophy. which is awarded to the winning team in the annual contest between the champions of the MEAC and SWAC conferences. The Celebration Bowl is widely regarded as the Black College National Championship Game.
“Celebrating HBCU’s” is a long overdue salute to an important segment of college football. For more information on the new exhibit, go to www.cfbhall.com .
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