Civil Rights and Sport
Sponsored by the McGarr Symposium on Sports and Society through the Texas Program in Sports and Media (TPSM) in the Moody College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Bill Russell looked back at their efforts to use their platforms in football and basketball to raise awareness for civil rights.
The talk was introduced by Michael J. Cramer, director of the TPSM and moderated by Harry Edwards, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. In this clip, Russell speaks about being the first African-American head coach for any professional sports team. Russell won 11 NBA championships as a player with the Boston Celtics in 13 seasons, including two as player-head coach.
NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell on being first black coach in pro sports from Moody College of Communication on Vimeo.
In this clip, Edwards stumps Brown when he’s asked a question on President Obama's use of sports and media to promote his candidacy.
NFL Hall of Famer and actor Jim Brown stumped by question from Moody College of Communication on Vimeo.
The discussion was held during the Civil Rights Summit on April 9, 2014 at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. A link to the full discussion can be found here.
