Integration in SEC Football - Research Paper Example

 Integration in SEC Football Introduction Segregation was a hallmark of the United States and the various institutions in the United States after the American Civil War. This is because most people did not really accept African Americans and sought to keep them separated from White communities. Sports in the United States were also segregated. In the South, most of the universities and teams were strictly segregated and this policy remained in vogue into the 1960s1. Football became the most popular sport at US College campuses in the late 19th Century. This was followed by basketball which grew in popularity over time. In southern US colleges, the policy of segregation was deeply ingrained. Universities and colleges refused to admit Black students. Thus, it was natural for their teams to be White with no African-Americans. After the Second World War, university in northern states desegregated and they admitted numerous African-American players to their respective teams. In spite of this, southern schools remained fully segregated. These colleges went as far as refusing to play desegregated teams from universities from the North even if the games were played in the North2. The Southeastern Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the southeast of the United States. It has its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama. It participates in the National collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Currently, it sponsors team championship in nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This makes it one of the largest in the world. Football dominates the SEC. This has been the case from its inception. Hence, football reflects the main trends that occur in the SEC As a sports institution located in the South, it was plagued with the issue of segregation for many years. It was part of a larger effort to prevent mixing of Blacks and Whites in America. This trend changed when the changes of the Civil Rights Movement hit the institutions of the United States. The aim of this paper is to examine the process of integration into the Southeastern Conference (SEC) football. It would examine the various stages that the integration went through and some of the challenges that came with it. In doing this, the following objectives would be met: 1. An examination of the structures and elements of segregation that existed in the SEC; 2. An assessment of the influence of external pressures including the desegregation in the North and the civil rights movement on the SEC Football; 3. The processes of change that occurred in the SEC which eventually led to the integration; 4. The key elements and activities that led to the integration of African-Americans into the SEC. The research proposes the thesis that the external pressures from various stakeholders led to the eventual integration of African-Americans into the SEC Football. The integration of African-American footballers into the SEC can best be described in the wider context of the SEC and its unique position in American history. This is because SEC football is just a subset of the SEC which went through several changes as a unit rather than in individual sports. Thus, the approach that can best be used would be to examine the SEC as a whole with the emphasis on football. In simple terms, segregation means to be set apart from the rest3. This means that a group of people in a given geographical space are denied access to certain activities and/or certain rights. In the United States, Black people were to be put in different classes from Whites on the basis of their skin color. Thus, in most cases, Black people and Puerto Ricans were denied basic rights because of their skin color and their origins. This was very conspicuous in the educational system4 to ensure that the social and class structures of the nation remained detrimental to minorities5. Segregation remained common and popular throughout the United States' educational institutions after the First World War and into the post-Second World War era. The landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown V Board of Education pronounced segregation in schools as illegal in 19546. However, the move towards the effective elimination of segregation did not come easily. Some states, particularly Southern States refused blatantly to desegregate education. Secondly, the ruling of the Brown case was particularly directed towards high schools and primary schools. This meant that universities and colleges maintained their autonomy, and this was not easily changed without affecting important and resistant stakeholders. Since the 1890s, college football and college sports in general had proven to be powerful agents for catapulting athletes from immigrant backgrounds into integrating educationally and economically in the United States7. This is because most immigrants came to the United States with very limited resources. Hence, they sought ways to improve their lot. And education proved to be the best avenue for this. Since they were of limited means, they often relied on scholarships to go through college. And sports scholarships were one of the most convenient avenues of this much needed support. The most frequently cited examples are the cases of poor Irish boys like Philip and Patrick Cooney and Marty Hogan from Pennsylvanian coalfields going to Yale and Princeton. Thus, sports remained the best source of a privileged life for those with the talent, particularly by Irish, Slavic, Jewish and Italian migrants who came to the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Sports scholarships, allowed people to break the barrier of being poor into the middle and upper class of the American society. Since segregation had an element of discriminating and keeping Black people in the lower class, sports scholarships were seen as a contemptuous issue by several quarters of the society. Hence, they were denied by white college authorities who saw this as a threat to the survival of the dominant race. Initially, the economic threat that sports scholarships to African-American students could cause, meant little because most universities around the United States banned African-American students in totality. These white colleges had explicit rules that made it impossible to admit Black Students between 1900 and 19308. However, things were about to change after the Second World War which put the Southeastern Conference in the spotlight for being an anti-integration entity in sports in the United States. In the 1936 Olympics, Jesse Owens won four gold medals for the United States of America. It became increasingly apparent that Black people were talented in sports. A person like Andrew Sturgeon Young,, an African-American scholar, went on to write the book Negro Firsts in Sports9 in which he stated with empirical evidence that Black people were more talented than White people in sports and must be given preference in sports. The end of these lobbying campaigns was to help allow the African-American community to bring honor and glory to America in sports. Eventually, more universities, particularly in the north sought to benefit from the abundant talent in the African-American community. They increased their intake of African-American sportsmen. However, the southern states remained indifferent about their policy of excluding Black people in their various teams. Institutions, mainly in the north and west, sought to integrate African-American students into their institutions because they saw the evil that segregation brought to the society as a whole. Thus, most conferences in the North and West began to admit African American sports candidates into their teams, albeit at a very gradual pace. The Atlantic Conference, Southwestern Conference and the Southeastern Conference remained staunchly segregated10. Thus, their conferences were held without African-Americans. There were no African-Americans admitted into their universities and into their teams. Thus, there was a major problem with the operations of their respective sports competitions and contests. On the local level, there was little resistance to the segregation of sports in this part of America. This is because segregation was very common in the southern United States. Hence, the sporting conferences were just a reflection of the popular trends and activities. However, Martin goes on to identify the points of contention when the teams from the Southeastern Conference and other segregated conferences had to play teams from the North that were on the road to integration11. This reflected the differences in the two parts of the United States which led to the American Civil War a century earlier. This is because the Southern states saw racial segregation as necessary. To most of these states, segregation was the right thing to do. The Southeastern Conference saw fielding segregated teams as an obligation. Due to this, there was major resistance and refusal to play integrated teams, which led to the creation of parallel leagues and groups to compete. In 1955, Mississippi University qualified to go to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans in 1956. In the tournament, they were to play Pittsburgh Panthers from the University of Pittsburgh who had a Black reserve fullback in their team. University of Mississippi refused to participate in the Bowl because Pittsburgh had decided to play with a Black player12. This showed the level of tension between the Southeastern Conference and the rest of the college leagues had. In defiance to the integration of the northern teams, the University of Mississippi opted to play in what became the Cotton Bowl against some segregated team in a league organized by Southern teams that held segregation in high regard13. The Cotton Bowl was not as prestigious as the Super Bowl. However, it remained a symbol of southern resistance to desegregation in sports and it drew parallels to the Confederation Army which was meant to fight against the liberation of Black slaves a century earlier. In effect, the Southeastern Conference was a reflection of the dominant views of people in Southern society. For instance, the administration of the University of Mississippi said their decision to join the Cotton Bowl was engineered and masterminded by the university's alumni14. This means that the Universities were just a reflection of the status quo and the things they did were in sync with the dominant ideologies of the south. Also, there are so many instances that dominant persons like the state governors intervened to ensure that the SEC remained segregated. This was a symbol of commitment to the wider views of the southern states and they went on to help such public figures to win elections. Jack Schnedler identifies in his oral account of the events that happened in southern United States indicates that in the southern states, there were several times that pro-segregation candidates won elections into public office15. On March 16, 1956, a pro-segregation governor was elected in Arkansas and this trend spread to different parts of the south16. According to the archives of the Alabama Heritage, the governor of Alabama did so many things that showed that he was pro-segregation17. Clearly, the position that the SEC had taken was in contravention of the policy of the nation. This is because, the Brown Decision had made it clear and apparent that the nation was against the segregation of educational institutions. Also, there was pressure from various groups in the north that were standing against the segregation being practiced in the south. The most dominant group that Keith Finley identifies in his research is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which had Black and some White supporters18. In spite of all this pressure and stress from external parties, the vast majority of people in the South saw segregation as a value to uphold. An example is Governor John Peterson who was all out against integration19. This was because the dominant parties in the south supported segregation and there was pressure on anyone who did not believe in segregation to accept and practice segregation once he held a public office. Due to this, the university authorities in the SEC had to accept segregation and promote it in the SEC. Pressure for desegregation in the SEC came from institutions in the north, from civil rights movement led by African-Americans and also from Federal Pressures. This was meant to cause some degree of change. And although the authorities in the SEC fought back strongly, they eventually yielded to the pressure to integrate Blacks into their leagues. Desegregation in the North The move towards desegregation in the north of the United States of America can be traced to the Morill Act of 1890 which threatened to deny federal funds to colleges who made a distinction in on the basis of race and color20. The law allowed Black colleges to exist concurrently with White colleges. However, the bottomline was that grants had to be divided equitably throughout the universities around the nation. The creation of segregated institutions was based on the precedence set by the Plessy V Ferguson ruling of 1896 which allowed the creation of 'separate but equal' colleges. The issue with the Southeastern Conference is that it refused to admit Black colleges. Secondly, it refused to allow the teams to field Black players. And thirdly, its teams refused to play other teams that played with Black players. This continued because states continued to make their own laws related to the admission of students of different races. In effect, the southern states were somewhat legal in their actions and although courts had examined cases of the legality of segregation, the Brown case came out to render the separate-but-equal policy illegal in 1954. With that ruling, Northern states moved towards the integration of Black people in their universities. They also went further to accept Black players and this was mainly due to the quality Black players added to their teams. Since Black players were a significant part of these northern teams, it was apparent that they had to remain part of the team in all competitions. Hence, there was a major problem with teams from the SEC whenever they refused to play against northern teams with Black players. The result was that the national authorities had to follow the federal position and award the teams with Black players the right to progress in the competitions. Hence, the teams from the SEC became more isolated and this led to the formation of the less prestigious Cotton Bowl and other local sporting events. US Presidents after the 1950s, particularly President Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson moved towards the enforcement of desegregation laws in the United States21. However, most of the Southern states and the Southeastern Conference refused to implement such laws and directives. As these laws were consolidated, African-Americans joined forces in the creation of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s. This movement sought to use demonstrations, boycotts and other legal means to demand equality before the law for Blacks and other minorities alike. The Civil Rights movement put pressure on various universities, particularly in the north of the United States to accept integration and also stand up for integration of Blacks higher education in the United States. For instance, in as early as 1956, Harvard refused to play against Southern teams because of their decision to withhold Black players in their respective teams22. Indiana University and several Midwestern universities refused to play against teams from the SEC because of their decision to play against Black teams in 1956. This sent a strong message against teams in the Southeastern Conference. The struggles o the Civil Rights Movement continued and many aspects of the US society were questioned by the Civil Rights Movement. This led to major incidents like challenging the admission of Black people into White universities in the south. This culminated in the 1962 admission of African-American man, James H. Meredith to the University of Mississippi which was highly segregated and against integration. Due to Meredith's case, the Federal government sent troops to protect the rights of minorities and enforce the admission of people of all races on southern university campuses. This forced the universities in the south to consider taking Black students. Federal Pressures The federal government under Lyndon Johnson had to intervene in the Meredith case and in several other matters to force the southern states to admit Black students. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed and this made it illegal to discriminate against ethnic minorities on the grounds of race or their features23. This made it illegal for the SEC to discriminate against Black players in their respective leagues. Resistance to integration in the SEC after 1964 Although the Civil Rights Act made it illegal for teams in the Southeastern Conference to refuse to admit Black players, there were some issues that stood in the way of Black players joining the conference. In 1963, Frank Howard, head coach of Clemson referred to the SEC as a knucklehead league because most of the players were given admission and scholarship because of their sporting abilities with little regards to academic performance24. Due to this, the SEC tightened scholarship requirements in 1964. This formed some kind of indirect discrimination which supported the position of segregation against Blacks. This became a barrier that prevented the admission of Blacks in the SEC. Eventual Integration of African-Americans to the SEC In 1963, the University of Kentucky, which is the most northern institution in the SEC began to admit Black players into their team. This is mainly because of pressure and changes in the states around them in the north and their appreciation of the importance of Black players in the development of their sports25. Due to this, the University of Kentucky sent questionnaires to the other teams in the SEC. Georgia Tech and Tulane agreed to play integrated team both at home and away. Georgia University and Florida University said they may play integrated teams. However, Alabama, Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi and Tennessee refused to reply. This showed that although some teams were moving towards moderation, the vast majority of teams remained committed to segregation in the SEC. Although Mississippi had played an almost all-Black Loyola team from Chicago in a basketball game, their segregationist governor, Ross Barnett opposed an interracial athletic competition in the SEC. So they continued with their segregationist position in the SEC. In 1967, the US Justice Department warned the SEC that if it continues with the policy of segregation, they would withhold the teams' federal funds. This threat and other pressures from African-American groups on campuses, which was growing by the year caused the SEC to moderate its policies. In 1969, Wilbur Hacket of University of Kentucky became the first African American co-captain of an SEC team. This effectively marked the end of segregation in the SEC and gave way for integrated teams to play in the conference. Conclusion This research set out to examine the role of external pressures from various stakeholders to the eventual integration of African-Americans into the Southeastern conference. The research identifies that segregation was a preserve of the southern states that formed part of the SEC. These people saw it as a value to resist the integration of teams in the Southeastern conference. This was supported by the sports authorities, college authorities, alumni groups and by state governors who enacted and ensured the operation of anti-integration laws in the various states which affected the SEC en masse. Although segregation was accepted pervasively in America, the US supreme court ruling on the Brown case caused some states, particularly the northern states shun segregation and accept integration. This therefore made the northern states an external pressure group that exerted some influence on the SEC to eventually relinquish their position on segregation in sports. The SEC's decision to resist the integration of Black players into their league made them stand in the spotlight for their anti-integration stance. The SEC reflected the ideologies of the main stakeholders of the southern states so they had to be forced into accepting the elements and systems of the SEC by the external stakeholders. As the northern states relaxed their policies on segregation, the Federal government came to accept desegregation as the rightful legal position. This was emphatically admitted by the Supreme court who ruled against segregation. With time, the federal government integrated several Civil Rights Laws which made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race and ethnic origins. This made it wrong for teams in the SEC to refuse to play against northern desegregated teams. Hence, the national college sporting authorities awarded the points to the northern desegregated teams whenever the SEC teams refused to play. The SEC set up southern leagues like the Cotton Bowl in 1956 that were committed to segregation. However, these leagues lacked the popularity and appeal of national competitions. In 1956, when the Cotton Bowl concept gained roots, other northern universities like Harvard University and Indiana University refused to play against segregated southern teams. This added to the pressure on SEC teams to consider integration. Other civil rights groups like the dominant African-American-led Civil Rights movement pursued peaceful means of demonstrating and demanding equality in the United States. This led to the forced admission of Black students in southern universities. This broke the resistance of the SEC to field integrated teams. Eventually, the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 which made it absolutely illegal for teams and groups to maintain segregation on various levels. The Civil Rights Act made it illegal for the SEC to remain segregated. University of Kentucky began to moderate its policy towards segregation because of their appreciation of African-American sporting talents and the influence of their neighboring states since they were the most northern state in the SEC. Eventually, some teams showed their interest in accepting integrated teams. In spite of this, some governors of southern states maintained as staunch view of maintaining segregated teams and communities in the SEC. However, the SEC was delved a major blow in 1967 when the US Justice Department threatened to withhold federal grants if the segregation continued. This caused them to liberalize their view and position. In 1969, University of Kentucky fielded their first African-American co-captain and this led to the end of segregation in the region. SEC football remains a subset of the SEC sporting activities. Hence, it changed as and when the need for changes occurred in the conference. Thus, SEC football became integrated in the late 1960s as the other sporting disciplines in the SEC came under pressure to change. Bibliography Bremner, Robert Hamlett, Children and Youth in America 1933 – 1973 (Boston, MA: Harvard University Press) Bremner describes the history of segregation and how integration began at the school level of the United States. It shows how segregation existed before and after the Brown case. The book provided background reading for the study of segregation in the SEC. Eagles, Charles. The Price of Defiance: James Meredith & The Integration of Ole Miss (Raleigh: University of North Carolina Press.) The book focused on one of the universities deeply committed to segregation, University of Mississippi. It describes the trends and activities in the university and how it was broken down by James Meredith. It describes incidents and events that shaped the ideas and views of people in this trend. Portions of the book describes the SEC and University of Mississippi's role. Forest, James. Higher Education in the United States: An Encyclopedia (Santa Barbera: ABC-CLIO, 2011) This book provides various themes and topics of higher education in the united states. A chapter describes the major issue of segregation in higher education in the United States. It shows the distinction between US colleges and primary schools. It describes the important activities and laws, particularly civil rights laws that led to the desegregation of universities and colleges in the United States. Martin, Charles. Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern Colleges (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2010) Martin provides a very critical review of Southern USA and how it changed in order to integrate people of African-American origins. The book provides a descriptive account of various elements and aspects of the struggle for the acceptance of African-Americans. Martin, Charles. Integration of College Athletics Encyclopedia of Alabama. [Online] Available at: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1668 Updated: March, 28, 2012. Accessed: February 9, 2012. The webpage is about the basic elements of integration in athletics. It is a summary of various views and ideas relating to integration in the universities' athletic wings. Pacione, Michael. Geography: Progress and Prospect (New York: Routledge, 1987) This book provided a very important definition of elements and aspects of the desegregation of America and institutions in the country. Schnedler, Jack, Central High: A Look Back [Online] Available at: http://showtime.arkansasonline.com/e/media/central/timeline.html Retrieved: March 5, 2013. Watterson, John Sayle. College Football: History, Spectacle and Controversy (Baltimore, MA: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002) Watterson provides a critical account of the changes in segregation and how it appeared in College football. A whole chapter is dedicated to the case of the SEC. It gives a deep insight into the SEC and how it was changed and transformed at various points in its history. Young, Andrew Sturgeon, Negro Firsts in Sports (New York: Johnson Publishing, 1963) A compilation of the successful achievements of Black people in sports in America. It provided a strong argument for the enhancement and promotion of the role of African-Americans in sports in the US. Read More