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Before a large and engaged crowd in Calihan Hall, UDM hosted a screening of the “Game of Change” documentary along with a panel discussion on race relations and sports on Friday evening in Calihan Hall.
The “Game of Change” features the story of two teams playing in a 1963 NCAA basketball tournament game in East Lansing, a game that literally changed the fabric of American society. The “Game of Change” reaches far beyond sports, demonstrating this particular event's significance in the battle for race equality.
Then documentary was produced by Pathway Productions and Jerald Harkness, the son of former Loyola Chicago All-American Jerry Harkness who was a player in that historic 2003 basketball contest. It details events surrounding the game that was named one of the Top 25 Defining Moments in the first 100 years of the NCAA.
The game featured Loyola, with four African-American starters, and Mississippi State, an all-white team. The documentary centers heavily on Mississippi State, a three-time Southeastern Conference champion that was bound by Mississippi state law from playing integrated basketball squads. The film details how Bulldogs coach Babe McCarthy, university president Dean Colvard and athletics director Wade Walker risked their personal safety and jeopardized their jobs by sneaking the team out of Mississippi during the night so it could play Loyola, despite protests from the governor and state police officials, threats from the community and a pending court injunction. In the Regional game, which many doubted would take place, Loyola defeated Mississippi State, 61-51, en route to claiming the 1963 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
The discussion portion of the Friday's event included five panelists – UDM Professor Dr. Roy Finkenbine, Chair of History/Director of Black Abolitionist Archives; Dr. Ike McKinnon, UDM professor, author and former Detroit Chief of Police; Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano; UDM men's basketball head coach Ray McCallum and Titans junior basketball guard Woody Payne – and was moderated by WDIV-TV sportscaster Katrina Hancock.
Among the issues discussed by the panel during the evening were: Will race ever stop being an issue in our society? Does segregation affect educational opportunities for students in Metro Detroit? What stereotypes of other people do you have? How can sports help promote diversity and inclusion? Additionally, the group took questions from the audience and provided thoughtful answers.
The 2009 NCAA Final Four – hosted by UDM – will be played April 4 and 6 at Ford Field.
-Detroit Titans-
