Last night Fig and I watched "The Express", which is the story about Ernie Davis, the first black Heisman Trophy winner. I grew up in a family that did not show any prejudice for black people so whenever I see a movie that has racism included, I get really angry. Ernie Davis was an incredible athlete and put up with the ridiculous notion of racism. He went to Syracuse University and took them to a National Championship title in 1961 by beating The University of Texas in the Cotton Bowl. The team was ranked #1 and received two invites to bowl games. They could have gone to the Cotton Bowl and played #2 Texas or they could have gone to the Orange Bowl and played a lesser team. They decided to play Texas in Dallas. What a challenge. They were booed, a fight broke out and Ernie Davis came back in during the 4th quarter after literally getting the #$#$# knocked out of him, along with a bad hamstring. He caught a long pass and ran the ball in for the winning touchdown. Unfortunately, racism continued throughout the South and it is still alive and well in 2009.
The movie was truly inspirational and makes any of my problems that I experience on a daily basis seem really small in comparison. Ernie Davis was drafted by the Washington Redskins but was traded to the Cleveland Browns so he could be in the backfield with his icon, Jim Brown, who also played at Syracuse. But, Davis never ran a play in the NFL. He contracted leukemia and died at the age of 23. What a loss of a great young man.
The next time you hear someone making a crude remark about another person because of their race, religion, or sexual orientation, you need to call the person on the carpet so that we can stop racism and discrimination in its tracks. We are the only ones that can make a change so all persons are created equal, as described in the Constitution.
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