In a time long ago and a world away, there existed two universes of college football. One was racially integrated, one was not. Often they would meet on the field. Nothing would be proven that would affect American social activities by such a simple act of athletic competition, or would it?
West Virginia born and bred John McKay was a former coal miner and Air Military tail gunner during World War II. Arkansas born and bred Paul Bryant was the 11th of 12 children and also a WWII veteran. They had become friends.
Texas won the national title in 1969, Penn State finished No. 2. Both were undefeated. A national outcry for an additional game, an "11th" game in the regular season was heard. In theory, it would match two powerful programs during the season and would stay open from year to year so that a school could use it to challenge for a potential national title shot. John McKay and Paul Bryant quickly agreed to play in 1970 and 1971.
Southern Cal vs. Alabama: Clash of the Titans.
The 1970 epic would be played in Birmingham in front of 78,000 fans. Bryant's Tide was non-integrated, McKay's Trojans were integrated. Alabama had stood front and center for the old way of southern football and had not moved ahead to actively pursue non-white athletes.
Southern Cal entered with quarterback Jimmy Jones, halfback Clarence Davis, and a sophomore fullback named Sam "Bam" Cunningham, collectively known as "The Soul Patrol." The Patrol destroyed Alabama that night, 42-21, rushing for 485 yards. Bryant had seen enough.
The following Monday Bryant approached the school administration and advised "It's over. A boy is a boy and he should be able to play where he wishes to play." The formerly silent alumni base as well as the administration saw the writing on the wall.
Paul Bryant led the charge in the Deep South to make football color-blind. He was highly successful in doing so. The remaining segregated schools followed Bryant: the main man had spoken.
Seven years later, Bryant brought a Crimson Tide unit, built around his own "Soul Patrol" of Ozzie Newsome and Tony Nathan, into Los Angeles and defeated No. 1 Southern Cal, 21-20.
The world had come full circle, and aren't we better off for it?
83 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Lisa Horne 12 months ago
Preach it brutha! Hard to believe it happened in the 70's! Seems like a long time ago, but Sam Cunningham made the world a better place.
Great read, and my pick of the day (tomorrow....I already voted earlier today. But I also gave this 5 stars)
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Thank you Lisa for those wonderful comments.
Edit Comment Cancel
john brewer 12 months ago
except the part where an all white alabama team beat him and usc at home the next year. come on he is not jackie robinson and paid no price like those earlier players payed. the world is better off but the drama of this unoriginal atricle is astounding.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jeff Little 12 months ago
Excellent read, BabyTate. The sad reality was that it took until the 70's for it to happen but to quote Lisa "Sam Cunningham made the world a better place." It was my pick of the day, I also gave you 5 stars for an outstanding read.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Thank you Jeff, that means a lot to me. Appreciate it.
Edit Comment Cancel
bowlbasaur golden bears 12 months ago
Sylvester Croom was one of the first black players recruited by the Bear.
Edit Comment Cancel
Timothy Croley 12 months ago
It is hard to believe that it was the 70's before all this finally took place. Now you have to ask yourself, where would we be today without the black athlete in college football, or in any sport? It's really hard to imagine.
FYI - Ozzie Newsome was selected as player of the decade in the 1970's for the Crimson Tide. Many school records at not only Alabama, but many schools are held by black athletes.
Great read!
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Lifetime Alabama fan here. Naturally the great Bryant would lead the charge to change something he thought wasn't fair. You judge this man by the magnificent men he molded into superior people both as coaches and human beings. I would say Bryant is the most important social pioneer in the history of the Southeastern Conference if not the entire region.
Edit Comment Cancel
Timothy Croley 12 months ago
I'm also a lifelong Tide fan. Even though Bryant died three months before I was born, everything I have ever read or studied about the man has led me to believe that he change the game more than any one individual. From play calling, to the introduction of the black athlete in southern sports, to recruiting, to the way he seemed to always respect everyone he coached or coached against, and the list goes on and on.
Edit Comment Cancel
Nic Gulas 12 months ago
Great article and even better choice for a most important game in Alabama history. This one had completely slipped my mind when I was thinking on the topic for this week. This was a very important game in the history of college football and drastically changed the landscape more than any offensive scheme will ever be able to.
Edit Comment Cancel
Michael Shibley 12 months ago
Great Article BabyTate! I remember reading after the game that Coach Bryant went to McKay and asked if he could borrow Cunningham. "Just for a minute, not for the whole season," McKay said. Bryant took Cunningham over to the somber Tide locker room and said to his team, "Gentlemen, this is what a football player looks like." One by one the players lined up to shake Cunningham's hand.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ray Shoemake 12 months ago
Michael,
Any player that is talked to from the Bama team says that the Cunningham in the locker room fiction never happened. Bear Bryant was way too respectful of his players to ever degrade them that way.
Edit Comment Cancel
Colin Clark 12 months ago
BabyTate,
Great Article. I love the old SI cover photo and "The Band" reference (or Janis Joplin).
Now I have a great song stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Thanks.
Edit Comment Cancel
Lanie Destefano 12 months ago
What if Alabama had won that night?
Shame it took an on-field butt-kicking for the right thing to be done.
I hope that Bear would still had followed through because in the south at that time, he probably was the only one that could do it.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ron Glover 12 months ago
It prompted Bryant's assistant Jerry Clairborne to say that, "Sam Cunningham did more to intergrate Alabama in 60 minutes than MLK did in 20 years."
Amazingly his little brother Randall would revolutionize the quarterback position some 20 years later.
Hands down my "Pick of the Day"
Edit Comment Cancel
Jerry Noonan 12 months ago
LSU didn't follow suit for years after that -- 1975 I believe.
Edit Comment Cancel
Justin Goar 12 months ago
that's innacurate. i don't tknow the exact year but we had a black player letter in 73 i think. i'll have to dig more.
Edit Comment Cancel
Justin Goar 12 months ago
ok, lora hinton was the first black player to accept an offer for LSU in 71.
but due to an injury he didn't play till the following season.
the first black player to become a varsity letterman was CB mike williams in 72.
the first black player to really shine on the team was RB terry robiskie (football coach) and father of wr brian robiskie at OSU.
Edit Comment Cancel
michael michaud 12 months ago
You seem to have forgotten the impact of the 1966 "tie" between ND and Michigan State had on integration with both schools having African American players on their rosters (Alan Page for ND and Bubba Smith for Sparty). And this was at the height of the civil rights movement. 'Bama finished undefeated that year on a much easier schedule and thus ND won the NC (after clobbering USC in their final game I kight add). Read The Greatest College Game Ever Played for some schoolin' not only on an event almost three years prior to your instant game but also some good info on The Bear and "black players" at "Bama at that ime.
Edit Comment Cancel
Tom Richey 12 months ago
Sam is living in Los Angeles still and is active in charities, local politics and golf. He is by my estimation, the nicest person I have ever met from USC. Only a so so golfer though.
Edit Comment Cancel
L.J. Burgess 12 months ago
POTD
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Thanks LJ !
Edit Comment Cancel
rod wood 12 months ago
Check out the book below about the USC-Alabama game that night. A very good retrospective on the events of that night, the build-up during that time period and the legacy of that game. A very good read.
http://www.amazon.com/Turning-Tide-Don-Yaeger/dp/1931722943
rod
Edit Comment Cancel
Liger 12 months ago
Great job...really excellent article!
Edit Comment Cancel
Adam Amick 12 months ago
Great piece... ROLL TIDE!!!
Edit Comment Cancel
Linda Kratavil 12 months ago
I was a student when we played that game. I can tell you, no one liked it, we were afraid that our boys would be killed by the KKK.
What a disgrace that it took till 1970 to integrate the deep south...but one of the most touching side notes to that game...the black community flew USC flags in support of the integrated Trojan team.
Fight On!
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Linda, climb down off of that mountaintop and join the real world. Let me fill you in on the truth, not what you suck up out of glorified history books. For one, California was and still is much more racially divided than the South ever was.
For instance, the Watts Riots in '65 were due to the horrible and subhuman conditions that your people kept the blacks of California in, they were tired of being treated like animals by Californians. How many riots have taken place in sunny Cal since that time? Quite a few, right?
Martin Luther King Jr. said the only time he ever really feared for his life was not in Selma, Alabama or Montgomery or any other place in the South, but in Cicero, Illinois. He said that one night on a street in Cicero he and many of his followers were encircled and were literally about to be beaten to death by the enlightened Northern men and women before police finally dispersed the hate filled mob.
So, really, enough with the holier than though routine, the South was far, far from the only area of the country with racial problems.
Now, on to the fictional story of Coach Paul Bear Bryant and his eye opening epiphany he supposedly had when John McKay came rolling into town. For one, McKay and Bryant were great friends. Number two, Coach Bryant had specifically asked McKay to come to B-Ham so that the could convince the board to allow black players on the 'Bama team.
Believe it or not, he didn't hold absolute control over the Alabama football program. Also, he had to fight Governor George Wallace every step of the way, even though they were also friends. Bryant never did approve of or hold Wallace's views on race relations.
See, it wasn't just a matter of, okay, I want black players on the team. It wasn't just a matter of a thick headed coach who refused to allow black players because he was a racist. In fact, Coach Bryant was considered a close confidant to all the black players eventually on the 'Bama team and they, almost to a man, said that they felt a connection to him because he came from the same kind of poverty that they did, if not worse.
Also, 'Bama didn't go into Los Angles and take Southern Cal by surprise the next year, in '71, with black players and win the game because of that. Sure Ozzie Newsome and Tony Nathan and a few others were on the team, but that isn't why they won.
They won because they had fooled the nation and completely cut off practices to outside visitors and went deep underground and practically perfected the "Wishbone" that Bryant had just learned from Emory Bellard, out in Texas.
Coach Bryant wanted black players on the team, he specifically arranged the Southern Cal game to have them showcased and then used that as an excuse to bring them onto the 'Bama team by brute force. That was his reason, and yes, he did need a reason to help him with his cause. Some even say he purposely lost that game. I don't believe that but you never know.
So, let's all step down off the morally superior bandwagon and realize that the whole country was virulently racist at one time and none of you are particularly any better than anyone from the South. Let's also remember that in modern times, today, there are still many more segregated communities and areas in parts of the country other than the Southern states.
And to wrap it up, the original author of this article needs to get another thing straight. You posted a pic of Ole Miss flagbearers when writing about Coach Bryant and Alabama, that is a misrepresentation and should be changed.
Edit Comment Cancel
Tyler Jones 12 months ago
That's a cool article and a good perspective on a look back. I don't know the history or particulars as much, but the only disappointing thing is that it seems it took a whippin' like that to convince him to push the school for black atheletes. It shouldn't have had to come to that if that's the case, but there's no way for me to know that for sure. Regardless, the outcome is awesome and certainly a historical event for african-americans in college football. Great article.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ronald Weathersby 12 months ago
Baby Tate,
As an African American born in Mississippi and raised in Los Angeles I remember that game like it was yesterday. Unfortunately it was not televised but I remember listening to the game attentively and cheering my head off as the Trojans whipped 'Bama. John McKay would never take any glory for what he did that night in Birmingham but he nearly single-handedly integrated the SEC on the gridiron and therefore in the classroom also.
For those of us who say its hard to believe this took place in the 1970s, it did and, there are still many, many more canyons to cross when it comes to race relations in our great country. We obviously have come a long way. But never forget we have an awfully long way to go.
Back to football. When 'Bama came calling on the Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Alabama started 22 white players on both sides of the ball and USC took a lead. On the second series Bryant inserted his Black players and 'Bama beat USC.
Speaking of Sam Cunningham, he and a team mate John Papadakis, wrote a book about the game. It is Turning of the Tide: How One Game Changed the South. there was at least one other book written about the game; One Night, Two Teams: Alabama vs. USC and the Game that Changed a Nation
by Steven Travers.
Two books written about one college football game. It was truly a historical moment and all of us should pause a moment to truly appreciate how are favorite sport actually and factually helped change our nation!
Great post!..Greater subject!
Oh, by the way...
FIGHT ON!
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Why in the world would John McKay take any glory for what he did? He didn't do a damn thing. Coach Paul William Bryant integrated Southern football, not John McKay. Coach Paul William Bryant arranged the game, not John McKay.
John McKay had nothing at all to do with it except doing what he was asked to do.
Another thing, Sam Cunningham was never paraded in front of the Alabama team, that is a myth. Coach Bryant would have never done such a thing. That is just more fodder that is used to make it seem as if the dumb 'ole white boys saw the light and realized where their place was. This was created by clueless sportswriters so they could put money in their pockets by fictionalizing the truth.
Sam Cunningham, in his book, explicitly denies that this ever happened.
By the way, Ronald, are you crazy? I am asking you, are you crazy? You are going to actually stand by your false statement that black players single handedly won the '71 game against Southern Cal? I don't like liars.
The wishbone won the game for Alabama in '71 and the wishbone alone. It wasn't because of a sudden surge of fantastic black athletes that pushed Alabama to victory. Let's just keep this discussion in the real world, not how you wish to rewrite history into what you want it to be.
Integration was wonderful, it was spectacular, and we have Coach Bryant to thank for that, in the South. But, integration was not why Alabama beat Southern Cal in '71. It was coaching, it was a new offensive scheme, and it was a team working as one.
Was Johnny Musso black?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozujl8GG6A
Also, take a look at this, disussing the game between 'Bama and SC the year before, in 1970.
http://www.nysun.com/arts/troubled-heart-of-southern-football/39005/
----------------------------------------------------
"Looking for a dramatic stage from which to send a message that his team was ready to integrate, Bryant contacted his good friend, USC coach John McKay, and over drinks, shook hands on a deal: USC would open the 1970 season in Birmingham, and 'Bama would return the favor in 1971 at the L.A. Coliseum."
and this:
"To his credit, Mr. Yaeger doesn't seem to believe the legend that after the 1970 game, Bryant "borrowed" USC fullback Sam "Bam" Cunningham (who had rushed for 135 yards) and brought him to the Tide locker room, where he told his players, "Gentlemen, this what a football player looks like." It never happened, but I'll bet that scene shows up when they make the movie."
----------------------------------------------------
I mean, come one, let's talk about this monumental occasion all we want, but let's be honest in our statements and a little more truthful. Fake history never helped anyone understand the intricacies of real life circumstances.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ronald Weathersby 12 months ago
According to the University of Alabama's Website, you are the liar Bubba. Here is a line from the site:"Wilbur Jackson was one of the first African-American scholarship football players at UA in 1970."
Before you start calling other folks liars you should check out YOUR facts first. I was there. I saw 22 white players play the first four downs on offense (three and out) then I saw USC drive against the all-white Tide until Coach Bryant replaced the Lilly white team with some Black players and suddenly it was a NEW GAME.
So admit the fact that USC went down to Dixie and showed all you good ol' boys there indeed was a new day in college football. A day when integrated football roosters would rule the day and no longer would the schools who refused to allow Black students on their campus be able to compete with those schools that were more interested in fielding the best team of student athletes they possibly could find as oppose to the whitest team.
And as a sports fan, thank goodness it happened!
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Now, if you will notice, Ronald, in the YouTube clip I linked to, when Musso scores it puts 'Bama up by a score of 6-0.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wozujl8GG6A
Please tell me how, as you state, that Alabama got behind in that game and then Bryant brought in the black players to turn things around?
Why did you lie about that? Again, let's talk about it but let's be honest with each other and with everyone else on the board.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Obviously some of the hard feelings over losing to an integrated school 38 years ago are still present.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Again, another false statement. Bobby Tate, please don't put words in my mouth or attribute untruthful intentions to my posts.
Ronald was being untruthful and I called him on it. Now you wish to take the old "he is a racist route". Far from it. I just like to see the truth being represented when discussing a team that I support, you can understand that, can't you?
Here is what Ronald said:
"Back to football. When 'Bama came calling on the Trojans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Alabama started 22 white players on both sides of the ball and USC took a lead. On the second series Bryant inserted his Black players and 'Bama beat USC."
See, that is a false statement. Now, I am not sure if Ronald was intentionally lying or just intentionally creating a false impression like you did when you put the picture of the Ole Miss flag bearers on an article about Alabama.
The "facts", I mean the real and true facts, you know, what really happened, is that Southern Cal never led Alabama in the 1971 game, period. Now, you and Ronald can try to spin that into Bear Bryant not allowing black players to play until they fell behind Southern Cal, but it just isn't true.
Of course, you can also insinuate that I am having a hard time getting over losing to an integrated school, but that would be false also.
I am simply presenting facts. If you wish to present any other false statements, I will not hesitate to set you on the right path.
http://s151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/CtrlAltieDel/?action=view¤t=Bama-USC71Recap.jpg
Again, enough with the hyperbole. This thread has already been skewed with enough of it. The imaginary scenario where Coach Bryant showcased Cunningham in front of the 'Bama players, Cunningham has stated this never happened.
Attributing the integration of Southern football to John McKay, please.
In '71, 'Bama was losing and only then was Bryant forced to play some of his new black players, another falsehood.
Posters wrongly assuming that racism was only prevalent in the South and we were horrible bogeymen.
That is what is still wrong with race relations today. People on both sides of the color spectrum just refuse to discuss the reality of things, how things really were. Instead they create completely fantastical circumstances that have no resemblance to actual reality.
If you or anyone else in this thread is going to try to convince someone that California was this paradise on Earth for black residents and they were free from the bonds of racism in the ultra progressive state of California, you will fail and fail horribly.
Edit Comment Cancel
Will Vaughn 12 months ago
Thanks for spreading the truth Cltrl-Alt.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Fascinating.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Mr. ctl, let me tell you something, don't edit my article or picture. You don't own my article or whatever I decide to put as my picture for the article. You don't own Alabama, and you don't get to say what other people say or show about Alabama. If you don't like my article, go away and don't read it.
You appear to be a disturbed person. I have notified B/R concerning your actions. Perhaps they can help you find a place where you will feel comfortable.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Let me advise you of something. You are placing a photo of Ole Miss flag bearers on an article about Alabama and attempting to create a false impression.
The "Edit" function is there to correct poster's mistakes and I did nothing wrong. You are in error and you would not accept a correction.
That only shows your ignorance.
The photo I replaced yours with was appropriate and much better suited to the article. It was a photo of McKay and Bryant after the '71 game, for God's sake. It even had a description beside the photo telling of the integration of the team, etc...
Yet, you would rather have Ole Miss women toting a rebel flag. You are intentionally creating false impressions and that is dishonest.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Great, I put a wholly appropriate picture of John McKay and Paul Bryant after the '71 game on your post and you change it back to the Ole Miss flag bearers picture.
Why are you being dishonest? Ole Miss has nothing to do with Alabama. Do you want everyone to believe that the rebel flag toting women are Alabama flag bearers. Will that help you make a non-existent point better?
A picture of the two men you are discussing in your article, during the time period you are discussing, would be more appropriate and you should be ashamed of yourself for not accepting my photo.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
You don't decide what picture to put on my article. Write your own article and put whatever picture you want on your article.
Edit Comment Cancel
old timer 12 months ago
Not a bad piece of fiction.
Would you please take the picture of the Ole Miss Rebel women carrying flags off this article. It really makes you look like a fool.
Edit Comment Cancel
Red Pachyderm 12 months ago
Old, you are correct. This picture is of Ole Miss band and NOT Alabama, looks like a misrepresentation to me.
And I don't think UA had any black players that actually played in the '71 game when UA defeated USC.
Edit Comment Cancel
john brewer 12 months ago
oh brother was that a history lesson or folklore that everybody already knows. you forgot to mention what alabama did 12 months later to usc in los angeles. sam bam included. with an all white team since freshmen couldn't start. yeah football and the world are better off. but the drama and fiction over one game were over blown.
Edit Comment Cancel
Tim Griffin 12 months ago
Baby Tate,
Altie is correct in the identification of the picture you used at the beginning of your article. Those are the flag girls from the University of Mississippi, and not Alabama. Also, to correct you on a few points. Alabama returned to play USC in 1971, and starting on defense that night was John Mitchell, a defensive end from Mobile. John went on to make All-American in 1972, and was a two -time All-SEC performer. Also in '71, Alabama unveiled the "wishbone" offense and jumped out to a 17-0 lead on USC at the half. Coach John McKay made several defensive realignments and made the game close in the second half, but fell in the end 17-10. The next meeting between the two schools was when Alabama returned to Los Angeles in 1977, and upset then number- one ranked USC 21-20. It was voted as one of the All-Time college classics by ESPN. The final game of the four game series was when USC came to Birmingham and defeated number- one ranked Alabama 24-14. The irony of the outcome was that both schools ended up claiming a split of the 1978 national championship, Alabama with the AP title after defeating Penn State 14-7 in the Sugar Bowl, and USC with the UPI title after defeating Michigan 17-10 in the Rose Bowl.
A side note to the 1971 game, John Mitchell was not the first black player that signed with Alabama. That distinction goes to Wilbur Jackson, a WR/RB from Ozark, Alabama, and he signed with Alabama prior to the 1970 season. He did not suit up for the USC game that season because Freshmen were inelligible.
Hope these informational tidbits help, and a nice article, but lacking in many of the facts.
Roll Tide!
Tim----UA'87
Edit Comment Cancel
rod wood 12 months ago
Hi Tim,
As a side note to the 1978 national title, while both schools each ended up with a share of the national championship, the two teams did play each other early that year. Alabama's only loss ended up being to Southern California, 24-14, in Birmingham. Both teams finished with one loss - SC at 12-1 and 'Bama at 11-1.
While I am not diminishing the fact of Alabama's claim to a national title that year, it is the only split title that I can remember where the two winners actually played each other that year. 1991, 1997, 2003 all of the other split years just kind of left the two teams who won their bowl games as they were. Oh well.
rod
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
There is nothing to correct here. The article states McKay and Bryant agreed to play in 70 and 71. That was covered. The fact '77 was brought out is because there were stars on the Alabama '77 team that were black and it was very diversified racially, like Sou Cal was in '70. The article title is Dixie, not Alabama, and that's why the Dixie flag is used.
Edit Comment Cancel
David Miranda 12 months ago
Opening disclaimer: I'm an SC fan. Thanks for the article. Regardless of how its broken down (and I acknowledge our Alabama fan has a good point about the wishbone having a lot to do with Alabama's victory over SC the following year), one thing I think we can all agree on is that the 1970 USC v Alabama game was one very real brick in a newer stadium for college football, where winning has become so important that the only colors you really notice on the field are ON the uniforms, not IN them. Now if this can carry over to the sidelines and the color of the ones wearing the head coach's headphones, that will be another step.
My favorite USC v Alabama game was the '78 game, won by SC on its way to NC #8, when I was 15. I remember cheering for Charles White as he tried to dart around and through the Tide. I don't recall any awareness of the racial or cultural undertones (I was only 7 when SC and Bama played in '70), or what the game was supposed to mean for any of that. All I remember was that SC's white, black, brown, and plaid players had to win that game because all that mattered to me as a Trojan fan was winning. Some of these other things may get fixed more than we think if we just focus more on the scoreboard. As politically correct as we are sometimes, there's still room for wanting to win.
Edit Comment Cancel
Lisa Horne 12 months ago
I think Baby Tate's intent was showing the Confederate flag being waved at a football game to give you a historical perspective of the culture back in the South in the late 60's and early 70's. Nothing more, nothing less.
My there are some sensitive folks here- me thinks doth protest too much.
Doesn't South Carolina still wave the flag over its main government building?
I was in Talladega (Spring NASCAR race) last April and met wonderful folks. A few were also waving the Confederate flag through the streets. While it didn't scare me, I might have reacted differently if I was a minority. That flag represents a lot of things that were wrong with this country. (Not just in the South, but all over.)
Finally, no one has the right to change a picture in a blog out of pure spite. That was uncalled for.
The author's views are his opinions, and while some may disagree with them, the entire article, including the picture he chose, was setting a tone and conveying a message. By removing a picture, without his approval, to suit some underlying compensation issue, is a violation of his free speech.
If you don't like the picture, comment about it and move on. But don't force your opinions about a story on someone else and forcibly remove the picture to make you feel better.
Write a counter-blog instead of quelling someone else's free speech. You have the freedom of speech to criticize him, just as he has the freedom of speech to post that pic.
Sorry, had to do my rant. No disrespect was intended to anyone.
Edit Comment Cancel
Will Vaughn 12 months ago
What does the flag represent which was wrong in this country?
Edit Comment Cancel
Big Fan71 12 months ago
Considering that the city (not county) of Talladega Alabama is majority black, I don't exactly know what to make of your story. Waving the confederate flag in the street? Would not happen. Besides that, Talladega Int'l Speedway is not located in the City of Talladega - it is out in the county.
I do echo the sentiments of another poster...while Alabama may not be the pantheon of racial enlightenment, the people of the deep south get along better than elsewhere because of the diversity. The ratio of races is much closer to equal and people have become accustomed to each other, much moreso than places like California (7% black) and New York (15%). Mississippi is 37% Black, Alabama is 27% black, and Louisiana is 32.5, and Georgia is 31%. In spite of the massive difference in numbers, you never hear about any unrest or riots like you do up north or out west...that is because the south is decidedly less racist - the numbers have made it that way.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Appreciate the defense there Lisa. Here are the facts:
1-Does the title of the article say the night they drove Alabama down? No. It is Dixie. The separate but equal football teams of Dixie. The article is not to criticize Alabama but to show there was wrong in Dixie and two rural men from the south had large parts in changing it.
2- We use the picture of the Dixie flag waving at an SEC football game played during the era of segrgation because it was waved during the games. It was waved in games with Alabama. It was waved in games with Georgia. It was waved in games with Mississippi State. It was waved by Wake Forest. It was wrong to participate in a system that allowed this symbol to be waved and waved for one reason only, to show defiance to the Federal government's order to integrate the schools.
3- The fact that this has struck a nerve and is causing some embarrassment by supporters of the system is very pleasing to me, hopfully everyone will agree it was a system that was too long in leaving SEC schools.
This could be an example long used of switch and bait to change a debate that can't be won, to force the discussion to a different issue. This article concerns one thing and one thing only, the night of Sept. 12th 1970 was the night Dixie faced the reality that it had to change and open the teams to non-whites.
If you don't like it, too bad.
Edit Comment Cancel
Lisa Horne 12 months ago
One thing I have learned is that there are many who refuse to let go of change. Trust me. I've seen it with my own eyes in all parts of the country. Certain parts of the South just seems to be a bit more adamant about sticking their heels in the ground..., and South Carolina is one area that seems to be the one slowest to change. The South will rise again....just ask any person holding the Confederate flag.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jonathan Eidson 12 months ago
I thought Alabama had Wilbur Jackson (Alabama's first black player) on their 1970 team, although he couldn't play because freshmen had to sit their first year out back then. If so then clearly coach Bryant, in addition to being convinced himself, had already convinced the board at Alabama they needed to integrate. Now perhaps this game provided the general populace with an opportunity accept the reality of integration, but I don't think The University of Alabama was convinced that night, as it appears they had already begun integration.
Edit Comment Cancel
Lisa Horne 12 months ago
Will-
To me, it represents a symbol that is not very representative of America as a whole. It represents a distinct segment of the country who wanted to secede from the Union for many reasons, but lost the fight. The war is over, time to move on, the South will not rise again.
While it's meaning has had many offshoots or variations to some people, as a country, I think we need to stop waving it. It's part of the past. It was predominant in a time of slavery. To me, it's offensive. To others it may not be. But the fact that it offends many should be reason alone to stop showcasing it.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Lisa, jump off the psychoanalyzing wagon and don't presume that you know my soul or my thoughts, that is more foolish than you can imagine, apparently.
Because I corrected several mistakes in the comments section about 'Bama does not mean that I am mean, uneducated, toothless, redneck white man out to get the South back into a revolution. You need to let those stereotypes that you hold dear pass away from you, it is only ignorance and perhaps lack of education that makes you think that way.
I clearly and correctly corrected several posters in this thread and it had nothing to do with any underlying issues I may have, as you so amateurishly and cheaply insinuated.
Did Alabama play all white players in the return trip to So. Cal in '71 and then start falling way behind and have to put in black players to win the game as Ronald falsely stated? Of course not, Alabama was never behind during the whole game. I realize that is a fact that isn't liked by someone rewriting history, but it hardly means that I have issues or as you say "protest too much". You should apologize for saying that, you really should. If anything, Ronald was being racist, which is sad.
Ronald yet again stated that John McKay would never take any glory for what he did that night in Birmingham in 1970. Well, I should hope not, he didn't have much to do with Alabama football and truth be told, probably didn't give a damn whether Southern football was integrated or not. Coach Bryant orchestrated that whole setup, as McKay has himself said. Coach Bryant arranged those games and he achieved the goal he set out to achieve by arranging them, all McKay was was his tool to get a job done.
Someone, by me correcting these posters, you sit down in your Archie Bunker chair and get philosophical about my worth as a human being, give me a break.
Linda came into the thread talking about how she was so afraid those USC boys were going to be killed by the KKK. Give me a break. She should have been just a tad bit more concerned with what the mean old white folks were doing to the blacks in her home state of California at the time. California has a horrible record as far as race relations go, it is a really backwards state.
Then we have the completely ridiculous fairy tale that is sucked up by gullible clowns that Paul Bryant paraded Cunningham in front of all his white players and told them this was a real football player while they humbly acknowledged what fools they were for even playing football is beyond stupid.
It never happened and Cunningham has said so, explicitly.
Then there is the deal with the Ole Miss flag bearers being used in an article that is specifically and only talking about Alabama and Southern California. It is an intentional misrepresentation and was only used to make one believe that it was in fact 'Bama women holding the flags. This is unprofessional and needed to be changed. That is why the edit function is there and that is why I edited it. I need no permission to edit it, you need to read up on BleacherReport rules.
I replaced that photo with a picture of John Mckay and Coach Bryant after the '71 game, one of the very games being discussed. The photo even had a caption speaking of integrated teams, etc...
http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/CtrlAltieDel/Bama/Coaches/Bryant/Bryant-McKay.jpg
Instead, Baby Tate changed it back to Ole Miss flag bearers. Classless and unprofessional.
I did not and will not say one negative word about integration of Southern football, it was a wonderful and monumental event. But, I will correct baiters, such as Ronald, who intentionally falsify circumstances in order to further a cause only known to him.
Edit Comment Cancel
rod wood 12 months ago
"California has a horrible record as far as race relations go, it is a really backwards state."
This quote alone certainly places Mr. Ctrl-Alt-Del's credibility in question.
While no one is claiming that California is a perfect, or the perfect place to live, in terms of racial issues or race relations, Alabama's history and legacy in terms of race place it in an unfortunate position in this country.
There might not be a more tragic example of Alabama racial issues than the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four young African-American girls. Images of a racist Bull Connor and his troops resorting to extreme violent uses of water hoses to try to dispel African-Americans from protesting are disgusting. The images and reputation of citizens in Birmingham, Alabama openly resisting the African-American protesters and resorting to violent tactics contributed to Alabama's reputation as a backwards state. It does not seem likely that outside of the cities in Alabama that you would find a more progressive attitude towards minorities but likely a more extreme version of the hatred that was being portrayed from the Alabama cities at the time.
While there are incidents of mistakes and problems that need fixing in terms of race in California, history has shown that California has tried to take steps to alleviate those problems. The same cannot be said of Alabama which President Kennedy even mentioned when addressing a need to implement nation-wide racial initiatives. It remains doubtful whether Alabama would have made those changes on its own. If a football game helped to accelerate those changes, and others are made aware of a game's role in that, then so be it.
The fact that we are talking about a football team that did not permit African-American players as late as 1970 speaks volumes about which state had a more backwards attitude.
Until the perception of Alabama changes from one who openly resisted treating African-Americans equally than it's criticism of California as a backwards state is misguided. No one would ever mistake the state of California with refusing to embrace the goal of treating African-Americans equally. The same cannot be said of Alabama. Backwards state, indeed.
rod
Edit Comment Cancel
Dallas Ramsey 12 months ago
Rod,
Don't allow what these people write in an article to teach you inaccurate knowledge. I believe that's the main issue that quite a few are having with it. There WAS a black on Bama's team in 1970, BUT...and I repeat but.....the rules at the time wouldn't allow freshmen to play.
As far as the beat down, someone didn't do there research because this wasn't a battle between heavyweights. Alabama was going through a 3 or 4 year stretch that was one of the worst in its history. We were a 5-loss team that year, and there were 2 or 3 losses to SEC teams worse than the USC one.
and in regards to the following year, where we beat USC in LA.....well, that didn't happen because we were somehow integrated. Someone made a post who said he was at the game that we were behind until they put the blacks in. We NEVER trailed that game and led 17-0 at one point. Also, let me repeat this.....the NCAA rule at the time wouldn't allow freshmen to play! If any black players for Alabama were playing in that win against USC, then they were for sure already on the team the following year in the loss to USC.
Again, don't let a good feelgood story get in the way of the facts
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Nobody cares what you think. Go write your own article.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
You aren't very tolerant are you? Let's try to be civil and not up to trickery and deceit.
Edit Comment Cancel
Dallas Ramsey 12 months ago
I care what he thinks. He speaks the truth and you haven't...well at least not the WHOLE truth! You keep saying you use the Ole Miss flag girls because they're representative of the South and what we represented. You also state they drove old dixie down and then proceed to use a picture as an example that completely dispels that idea. Why you might ask?
Because it's the Ole Miss Rebels......that's right their nickname has and still is today the REBELS. Want to know something else? Up until about 2 years ago, their mascot was Colonel Rebel which looks like a cross between Colonel Sanders of KFC fame, a plantation/slave owner, and a Confederate general. Want to know one more thing? The Confederate flag is still pretty much representative of the University of Mississippi. Now I understand your reasoning for why you think the pic of the Ole Miss girls waving the flag would be a good idea, but it was a bad idea to use it along with the caption that Old Dixie was driven down that day when that flag, mascot, and name is still representative of Ole Miss today. Knowing those facts, the pic of Ole Miss girls does NOT fit your article about a game between Alabama and USC.
Edit Comment Cancel
rod wood 12 months ago
BabyTate,
If one of the points of Mr. Ctrl-Alt-Del's arguments is that Mr. Cunningham was paraded into the Alabama locker room in front of Crimson Tide players never happened, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
An old John Wayne movie had the quote "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."
Whether the incident with Mr. Cunningham ever happened is no longer the point. The fact that so many people believe so and use it as a focal point to illustrate a much a needed change that occurred serves the long term purposes of the story.
That a much needed change occurred and a region of this country is better of for it.
Check out "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." A pretty good western.
rod
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Thanks, Dallas. That is a very good point about Ole Miss and their mascot and use of the rebel flag.
Edit Comment Cancel
Dallas Ramsey 12 months ago
No problem Altie! Bamajama77 here!
Edit Comment Cancel
paul bob 12 months ago
What happened in 1971, Bama went to LA and opened with the wishbone and whipped up on the soul patrol. we are talking about football and not the color or the skin.... looks like the author would do a complete article instead of baiting people about race. i bet 80% of you reading this think a wishbone comes out of a turkey at thanksgiving.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Talking about the soul patrol, if you think back it will come to you that the halfback in that group, Clarence Davis, is the same Clarence Davis that started in the backfield of the Oakland Raiders who were quarterbacked by former Alabama star Kenny Stabler. It was Davis who caught the pass from Stabler in the endzone in the 1974 playoffs to finally eliminate the two time AFC champion Miami Dolphins. It was Davis, taking that handoff from the Snake in the 1976 season Super Bowl, that rushed for 137 yards on 16 carries as the Raiders blew out the Vikings 32-14 to finish 16-1. Alabama and Sou Cal worked real well together in the Oakland Raiders franchise.
Edit Comment Cancel
Turner Flythe 12 months ago
I will throw in my two cents here. One Tate you need to be more accurate or you will be called out. Sorry dude but that is the Confederate Battle Flag not the flag of Dixie...sorry Tator do some research. I am not going to get in the ins and outs of the 1970 or 1971 USC/Bama game but the game did have a civil rights meaning any way you slice it.
Lisa your statement about the flag representing everything that was wrong with our country...sorry but it has nothing to do with the country. I always ask the question if hate groups like the KKK and skin heads had never used the flag as a symbol would people still be bothered about it? Like Tator head said if you do not like the article do not read it....if you do not like the flag do not look at it. Also on the remark about SC(South Carolina)....The battle flag was on the State house until the mid 1990s. When it was removed to the confederate memorial on the statehouse grounds it was a decision by SC state government both black and white. I live in SC and your comments are some what offensive to me. But you are entitled to your opinion ignorant or not. I have not heard anyone that lives in SC actualy say "the south will rise again" and actually mean it. Come on Lisa you should be smarter than that.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Turner, the flag pictured is actually the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by Robert E. Lee. It was used throughout the south following the 1954 Brown Vs. The Board of Education decision which reversed the 1896 Plessey v. Ferguson ruling concerning separate but equal schools. The flag was used around football stadiums to inspire southern teams to fight for the cause of their fans against the opponent. Kid stuff. But offensive to many now.
Regardles of whether I put the flag of Spain in the picture, the article spoke to how proud we are of what two southern rural coaches did in moving along race realtions on 9/12/70. It is shameful that many southerners have chosen to not celebrate this moment but instead chastise for mentioning it. You are better than that my southern brothers. Accept what happened. Don't feel embarrassed, that was another time. Accept that things are better and the southerners themselves made it happen. It's not too far a stretch to say that the actions of Paul Bryant and John McKay may have influenced, to some degree, us living in a country 38 years later a person who could not have played for Alabama that night will be President of the United States. What a country.
Edit Comment Cancel
Lisa Horne 12 months ago
Turner-
The flag is still on state grounds, and it offends many.
I do not associate that flag with the KKK or hate groups, by the way, so please don't portray me as ignorant by assuming I do associate the flag in that way.
Re "the South will Rise Again", if they didn't mean it, why did they say it?
While I certainly don't hold the opinions of some flag wavers as representative of an entire state's opinions, when I heard it, it made me stop and reflect. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sorry if I offended you, but I didn't say it, some folks from LA ("Lower Alabama", according to them) did.
Edit Comment Cancel
Dallas Ramsey 12 months ago
BabyTate,
It's not just about the flag. That's the point you're failing to understand. If you misrepresent the facts on multiple things throughout your short article, then the truth isn't just stretched a little bit, it's completely altered by you.....a fishing story I guess you can say.
There's also the way you tried to build it up as a clash of Titans, 2 immovable giant forces, 1 good and 1 bad meeting each other in an epic battle. Historically, both BAMA and USC are in the top 5 of all-time college football programs. But at the time this game was played, Alabama was anything but a Titan. Alabama in 1969 was 6-5 and in 1970 with the USC loss was 6-5-1. But again instead of sticking to the facts, you decided to go Hollywood on everyone.
Again, I understand the overall point you were trying to make in your mind.....segregation was bad, integration was good. However, most people aren't reading your article or thinking the same way you were when writing it. They're taking it as a fact based article believing that every detail you state is a factual part of history. It's not. It doesn't help that your article, if you want to call it that, is only about 4 or 5 paragraphs. It's hard to get your point across while also providing detailed facts when an article is this short.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Not really. Alabama was expecting great things in 1970, that's why they took on Sou Cal as the 11th game. Bryant was AD at Bama during that period and wanted his team to have a shot at the best, he stated quote "when you're down a little bit you got to fight your way back up by playing the best". Sou Cal went undefeated and won the Rose Bowl the previous season and was the perfect match for Bama's plan. This was the first game of the year and everyone thought it could be a championship type game. If you think back to the way you felt when the game was played you'll remember. You are looking at final season records 38 years later and rewriting history. The game was so big that September evening it was a featured story in Sports Illustrated the following week.
One of the problems here may be that this is an article for folks like myself who were adults at the time and not for youngsters who weren't even born then to comment upon. Some of you may need to seek out some other article to comment upon that relates to your adulthood so you may comment upon it more accurately rather than looking back at revisionist history stories. For Alabama youngsters, I would suggest a quick review of the classic Orange Bowl showdown with Michigan in the past decade. The Tide certainly did themselves proud that night against the soon to be most dominant player in the NFL.
Edit Comment Cancel
T.J. Matejkovic 12 months ago
Okay Mr. Baby,
Sorry us young'ins upset you but we certanly can comment on your article, if we go by your reasoning we can not comment on anything that has happened in the past, which i guess would not be bad no more history class.
i know from my old man talking about the first Liberty Bowl in 1959. Penn State vs Alabama, PSU won 7 to 0, that mat have been Bear Bryants first time he played against an interracial squad.
So maybe Ambrose "Bud" Dudley or Rip Engle should get the nod along with Bear Bryant for changing SEC football and not your boy John Mckay.
The South will rise again.
By the way Bud Dudley was the founder of the Liberty Bowl, which was first played in Philadelphia, then moved to Atlantic City, then to Tenn.
Edit Comment Cancel
rod wood 12 months ago
T.J.,
The landmark significance of the game is not the fact that it was an inter-racial squad that squared off against the Crimson Tide, but the fact that an integrated team was permitted to come down to Alabama and play a game against the Crimson Tide. By all accounts, it may have been the first time an integrated was allowed to come down and play a game in Alabama against the Tide.
While Alabama may have faced off against a team that included African-American players prior to that game in 1970 - which likely was that 1959 Liberty Bowl against Penn State - it was the fact that a team comprised of a number of black athletes were allowed to travel to Alabama. The concerns of Linda, a poster up in this thread, and numerous other USC students about how their black athletes would be treated was completely valid based on the images coming out of Alabama during the 1960's. Bombing a church and killing young African-American girls. Water hoses and attack dogs to quell African-American protesters. Dr. King advocating non-violent protest while Bull Connor using aggressive tactics to try to disperse these protestors. If this is how Alabama treated people who were protesting non-violently for freedom, how would they react to a football team? It would be hard to give Alabama the benefit of the doubt that the Trojans would have been treated fairly as visitors to their city especially when they had excellent African-American players on their team.
It was going down there to play with African-American players and the way the game was played without racial incident that gives that game special meaning.
rod
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Goodness no, Bryant was headcoach at Kentucky in 1946 when they played Michigan State. In '47 he took his Wildcats to Michigan State and beat them. Perhaps we should thank ol' Biggie Munn!
Bryant is a pioneer in race realtions, some of the other schools in the SEC were holding back. There should be a monument to Paul Bryant in Washington, D.C. for all he did for the game and thr young men he loved.
Edit Comment Cancel
Zen Scott 11 months ago
Thats not correct, Bama was one of the last sec schools to intergrate, Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia were all ahead of Bama.
a few other facts about the myth-
Alabama played Tennessee in Legion field in 1968 and The vols had a black player, who caught a td pass. - cant remember his name - gettin to damn old!-
Bama's Basketball was already playing (1970) Wendall Hudson, a future All-America and a African-American.
In 1968, Alabama and Coach started activley recruiting African-Americans, in 1969 Coach Bryant got 3 verbal commitments, but only one of those young men made it into school- Wilbur Jackson, Wilbur was on the team in 1970, he was sitting in the stands watching the game with the rest of the freshmen.
Here is another interesting fact about the 1970/71 USC/Bama series, it was originally schedule with the 1970 game to be in LA and the 71 game in B-ham, but USC had a scheduling conflict it it was changed.
If that had worked out would will still be having this debate?
Edit Comment Cancel
Lisa Horne 12 months ago
Cntrl-Alt del said: "Linda came into the thread talking about how she was so afraid those USC boys were going to be killed by the KKK. Give me a break. She should have been just a tad bit more concerned with what the mean old white folks were doing to the blacks in her home state of California at the time. California has a horrible record as far as race relations go, it is a really backwards state."
I am speechless. A woman gives her account of how she was afraid and he tells her how she SHOULD be thinking instead. Yeah, tell everyone how they should think. brilliant comeback.
Cali a backwards state? While I do dislike a lot of our politicians, we have been front-runners in a lot of innovative legislation.
Just how are we a backwards state? Cali is one of the top global economies in the world, not just the US.
If we were an independent state, we would be ranked between seventh and tenth IN THE WORLD.
here's the link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_California...while I don't trust wikipedia, the links in there are legit.
Finally, I know the rules here at B/R. And I know anyone can be edited. (For the record, please don't edit my stuff.)
Just curious, but how many articles have you edited? I have some editing experience but would not remove a picture because it offended the state I live in. I would have taken a different approach and commented about the fact that the picture may mislead folks.
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 12 months ago
Lisa, what are you hanging around this old story for? I need left coast takes on my UCLA article!
Down goes the Trojans !
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 12 months ago
Lisa, I didn't edit the photo because it offended a state. I edited the photo because it was an intentionally false misrepresentation of an article. The OP was using questionable tactics to get a political message across with.
Now, as far as California and race relations go, they were in the stone age and are still, somewhat.
Linda should not really have been worrying about what was going to happen to USC players in Alabama in 1970, she should have been worrying about blacks in California in 1965. Perhaps she should have been worrying about the disgusting and underlying conditions that the blacks of California were forced to deal with that led them to cry out for help to the world with the eruption of the Watt's riots.
Perhaps she should have been worrying about the bigoted clowns who allowed the military based in LA to send out goon squads of thousands upon thousands of sailors and other servicemen to maim, cripple, and try their level best to kill every Mexican American, Filipino American, and African American that they saw on the streets in the Zoot Suit riots. My God, they had approval from local law enforcement to attack residents of Los Angeles, yes, that is a real progressive city.
Maybe she could have been worrying about the constant and never ending "Bull Connor" syndrome that every LA cop has had since birth. How many beatings and killings have the death squads of LA cops inflicted on minorities over the years? No telling.
She should have been worried about the high unemployment, lack of education, and decrepit and inhuman living conditions that the Neanderthals of California forced onto the backs and brows of African Americans leading to widespread discontent.
Then, the knuckle dragging bigots that are Californians voted on Proposition 14 to repeal the Fair Housing Act and along with the John Birch Society of Cali. and overwhelming support from the local populace basically said to the African Americans: "Live in the streets and the gutters and slums, that is where you belong."
They stripped them of any chance to have a nice home to live in or to have a chance at happiness. The whites of California wanted the right to never sell a home to a black person, they were small minded imbeciles, many still are.
California is no dream for many blacks, never was and never will be. Many of you are ignorant and blind to the fact that you are living in the Stone Ages in regards to your viewpoints concerning race relations, you are the most dangerous kind of bigot, one that is oblivious.
I can go on and on. Want to talk about how Californians treated Chinese people like complete dog*hit? Just pick a topic. How about another riot?
Edit Comment Cancel
rod wood 11 months ago
Ctrl-Alt-Del,
With your latest post listing the many ills that plague California, by all means, feel free to keep listing them. Each and every one of them. The incidents you list, as well as the incidents in Alabama, should certainly be open to public scrutiny, academic debate and as a historical marker for those who choose to make improvements for those who come after all of us.
I certainly could point to any state anywhere- Nevada, Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky - but I do not want to be that person who chooses to list a host of problems in another state in order to obscure or distract away from the racial problems found in a particular state particularly one that is the focus of this article.
If California does not represent for you what is acceptable in terms of racial issues then and now then the incidents you have shared with us should hopefully serve as a stepping stone to something better. Let the students and the athletes figure out what is best for them. Because today, if they choose California as a place to educate and train themselves, despite the incidents you mention, they can point to heroic examples of Jackie Robinson and Don Barksdale from UCLA and Sam Cunningham from USC. They can also point to the minority students who are being permitted to study and play at all of the universities based on their own merit instead of being denied because of the simple color of their skin which is a long running theme of the 1970 Alabama-USC football game.
As hard as you would like to try to diminish California's racial history, the sad fact is that images and perceptions die hard. You may very well be an honorable, noble and upstanding citizen but in a thread where an Alabama supporter speaks negatively about racial incidents in another state will never be taken seriously by anyone whether here on this website or anywhere else. Alabama and California may very well have ugly incidents in their past but while there are positive examples of moving forward in terms of race in California, there are few, if any, positive examples that can be pointed to in Alabama.
In the end, there are still people around who remember that while an Alabama governor made his Stand in the Schoolhouse Door, Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington, educated men of color from California universities, were paving a courageous path through the U.S. sports world. It is unfortunate but what people remember is that, despite his conversion in later years, he stood up and proclaimed for Alabama "Segregation then, segregation now, segregation forever!" Backwards state, indeed.
rod
Edit Comment Cancel
Turner Flythe 12 months ago
Lisa please tell me since you know so much about the confederate flag what it stands for or a symbol of? Many Native Americans were killed under our current US flag should we take that one down? Or should we just take all flags of any type down so we all can be politically correct in this country?
Edit Comment Cancel
Turner Flythe 12 months ago
Lisa as well to be honest I have not heard anyone say that the south will rise again in a very long time. People from other parts of the country always like to say that people from the south are backwards and behind the times ect....yes those people exist everywhere and is not limited to the South. I guess Southern people in general are tired of the sterotype that we are still back in the 1950s and 1960s. It is just plain incorrect assumption. Now go have some GRITS!
Edit Comment Cancel
BabyTate 11 months ago
Rod, we have the pick of the day, I'd like to propose a comment of the day. Yours. You have put the information into a capsule far better than I could in addressing these nonsensical straw man issues when the central theme of the article apparently went way over the heads of many of the people reading it.
Ron, absolutely a delight to read your brilliant commentary. Thank you.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ctrl-Alt-Del 11 months ago
Rod, I see you are not traveled, probably have never left California or whichever state you live in, and only have knowledge of Alabama from what you saw on television in the '60's or have had your parents tell you of or have read in a book.
To, with a straight face, claim that California is now light years ahead of where they used to be concerning race relations and Alabama has not moved forward one single inch proves to me that you are almost too stupid to discuss this with. Really.
It shows your ignorance, your bias, your prejudices, and frankly, your backwardness. Haven't been to the South lately, have you?
You need to stop living in the past like your friend Baby Tate is doing. Stop having visions of Rebel flags floating in your heads and piano key toothed inbred's wearing flip flops and chawing tabaccy, that only proves you to be a clown to buy into those stereotypes.
We dones got concrete and aphalts and screets and used cars and lite bulbies and we'uns done be letting dem blacks go to schools wit us and ever thang.
Now, when you grow up and figure out that people are basically the same all over the world and you are not superior to practically anyone, maybe then you can let your prejudices and preconceived ideas about whole swaths of the nation and the people who live there pass from your low-browed skull.
Edit Comment Cancel
Saraswathi Siriginia 10 months ago
BT, what an article! What a wonderful article! The world had truly come full circle! My heartfelt honors for this great read.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.