Member of the Syracuse 8 to speak

Come hear Mr. Clarence McGill, one of the Syracuse 8, a true civil rights hero who lives in Richmond VA! For more information, join us on November 5 and read the book Leveling the Playing Field: The Story of the Syracuse 8 by David Marc, which tells the full story of Black members of the 1969–70 Syracuse University football team who petitioned for racial equality on their team. The following is a short summary. THE ROOTS OF BLACK ATHLETE ACTIVISM: THE STORY OF THE SYRACUSE 8 In the late 1960s a small group of Black student-athletes now known as the Syracuse 8 demonstrated initiative, intelligence, determination, and courage. And as a result, they altered the academic, athletic, and cultural trajectory of a University. In the Fall of 1967 when the athletes arrived on the Syracuse University campus as freshmen prepared to begin the football season, they quickly found out that the University provided no academic or social infrastructure to accommodate and support the Black and Latino students who had been admitted. And, in the Athletic Department all the coaches and trainers were white. Northern college D1 Football Programs only recruited a few Black athletes and the colleges in the South and in Texas were still resisting integration. The environment at SU, academically and athletically, was very similar to other northern colleges back in those days, 50+ years ago. In the Spring of 1969, the Syracuse 8 were among the student leaders who drafted a document with 10 Demands designed to make student life better for Black and Latino students. Thereafter, they led the protest march to deliver the 10 Demands and subsequently they conducted negotiations with the Administration. As a result, Syracuse became one of the first Universities in the Country to create and fund an African American Studies Program, a Martin Luther King Library, a Black Student run newspaper, and various other cultural programs and activities that are now considered SU institutions. Also, one of the priority demands was for the University to focus on the enrollment of minority students. That effort has generated substantial increases in the admission of Black and Latino students that continues right up to present day. In the Spring of 1970, the Syracuse 8 boycotted Spring football practice and challenged the Athletic Department with 4 Grievances: 1) Stating positions and game playing time should be based on achievement, not racial bias and/or racial politics; 2) All athletes, Black and white, should be provided with better academic advisement; 3) All athletes should be provided with better medical care; and 4) The Football Coaching Staff should be integrated. The Black athletes were able to force the hiring of a Black Coach which made Syracuse one of the very first D1 football programs in America to have an integrated coaching staff. And today, the other grievances are required by the NCAA and/or expected by and provided to all student-athletes everywhere. However, 50+ years ago the Syracuse 8 student-athletes were dismissed from the team, blackballed by the NFL, and never played football again. All the members of the Syracuse 8 except one completed their college degrees at Syracuse. And in 2006, 36 years later, the University invited the men back to campus. The Chancellor issued them a Formal Apology from the University, awarded them the University’s highest honor, The Chancellor’s Medal for Courage, and provided them with their Football Letterman’s Jacket which they were denied many before. The Black men of the Syracuse 8 went on to have families and successful careers in corporate finance, government, law, law enforcement, and education. And now, they want to tell their story.

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