Black and Blue
*The event has already taken place on this date: Thu, 11/03/2016
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The 2011 documentary Black and Blue tells the story of the 1934 game between Michigan and Georgia Tech. When the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets agreed to play the Wolverines in Ann Arbor for a game, they insisted on one condition: Michigan had to sit out Willis Ward, the lone African-American player on the U-M team.
Many of Ward’s teammates were outraged when U-M athletic officials agreed to the demand. Among these was Gerald Ford, Ward’s roommate and a U-M lineman. Ford threatened to quit the team in response to Ward’s benching and changed his mind only after Ward convinced him that he had to play.
Learn how the incident galvanized University of Michigan students and the Ann Arbor community, which held loud and vocal protests against the decision to keep Ward out of the game. Willis F. Ward was later inducted into the University Of Michigan Athletic Hall Of Honor in 1981.
Following the film, join the discussion with the director Brian Kruger and Tyran Steward, U-M Assistant Director of Football Operations and Player Engagement. The 57-minute film is rated PG.
This event is cosponsored by the U-M Community Scholars program.
For Grade 9 to Adult.
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