Nathaniel Northington, the first African-American SEC football player, speaks about his book, Still Running, at a racial reconciliation panel Thursday. PHOTO BY: THOMAS BURCHETT
The Department of Athletics and the William Winter Institute sponsored a panel on diversity in athletics Thursday night at the Overby Center as one of the events for the third annual Racial Reconciliation Week.
All speakers shared stories of their experiences on and off the field as student athletes. The most common topic among the panelists was the barrier that is broken between diversities on the field. To them it seems that racial, cultural and societal issues are dissolved in the presence of sports.
The panel included Former Ole Miss student athletes Deterrian Shackleford and Peggie Gillom, as well as Nathaniel Northington, the first African-American football player to play in the Southeastern Conference and author of “Still Running.”
Dr. Jennifer Stollman, the academic director at the Winter Institute, moderated the program. Stollman asked questions to the panelists about diversity in athletics, and their experience as African American athletes in the South.
Gillom, who is an Ole Miss women’s basketball hall-of-famer for being the all time leading scorer and rebounder, felt that her teammates were able to put aside their differences and welcome her when she starting playing basketball for the University in the late 80s.
“I had great teammates, so when I came here I never felt like I was being the first black athlete,” Gillom said. “They never treated me anything different. I went to their homes, ate with them and did all the things a normal white person would do.”
D.T. Shackleford said when he played football at Ole Miss, it didn’t matter if someone was white, black, Hispanic or another ethnicity, because a team has one achievement.
“We try to reach a common goal. And the common goal is to win,” Shackleford said.
As for Northington, this is his second time participating in Racial Reconciliation Week and he was honored to take part in it again. He believes the University should open up dialogues and conversations about race and differences.
“To just pretend like differences don’t exist, it’s like an ostrich put his head in the sand. The way to improve things is to open up,” Northington said.“We don’t know what someone else is thinking unless they open up and communicate.”
Northington enjoys Racial Reconciliation Week and believes it is unique and has the potential to be a great success in getting people to discuss diversity.
“I’m sure you don’t find that on many campuses, so Ole Miss should be proud of what they’re doing to improve racial relations, “ Northington said. “It shows the commitment that’s been made to improve racial relations and diversity.”
Racial Reconciliation Week will continue today with a dedication at 2 p.m. on the plaza outside Paris-Yates Chapel to honor Will Campbell, civil rights activist and director of religious life on campus in the 50s. The week will end Saturday with an in-game recognition during Ole Miss’s football matchup against Fresno State.
According to Dr. Stollman, there’s much more effort in collaboration this year than in the past.
“We are really proud about the visibility that it’s been getting from the first year to the third year,” Stollman said. “It says the students are ready for these kinds of conversations. They are owning these conversations, because we have more attendance, inquiry and support.”
