UK Happenings

MLK Center Presents 'Forward Progress' Showing, Discussion

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 17, 2015) — Many people alive today do not realize that the University of Kentucky had the first African-American football player in the Southeastern Conference. His name is Nate Northington, and his story of courage and perseverance is featured in the CBS Sports Network documentary, “Forward Progress: The Integration of SEC Football,” which will be shown in the Worsham Theater of the UK Student Center at 4:30 p.m.  Wednesday, April 22. A panel discussion moderated by Gerald Smith, associate professor of history and the Martin Luther King Center's Scholar in Residence, will follow at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

Northington and teammate Greg Page arrived at UK in 1966 after an effort to integrate the SEC that began with Kentucky Gov. Edward T. Breathitt, while Wilbur Hackett, Jr. and Houston Hogg came a year later. The documentary examines this effort and the relationship between close friends Northington and Page, whose dreams to integrate the SEC together were cut short by Page’s tragic passing. When Northington played in a league game in 1967, its impact was felt across the conference and the nation.

The documentary features an in-depth interview with Northington; conversations with Smith, who also is co-editor of the Kentucky African-American Encyclopedia and co-editor of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Volume Six; former Kentucky basketball coach Joe B. Hall; Northington's teammates Hackett and Hogg; and, NBA Hall of Famer Wes Unseld.

The documentary showing and subsequent panel discussion are co-sponsored by UK African American and Africana Studies, the Black Student Union, the Citizen Kentucky Project, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the UK Department of History.

Joining Smith on the panel will be Northington, Hackett, Lexington Urban League President/CEO P.G. Peeples Sr., noted education researcher and specialist Deborah Mapp-Embry, and longtime higher education sociologist and administrator William H. Bill Turner.

"The viewing and panel discussion are intended to shed light on Northington's story from the perspective of African-American student leaders who attended UK in the 1960s," said Smith. "I believe their collective experience is a critical piece of UK's history." 

Kahlil Baker, director of the King Center, added, "I was very excited when Dr. Smith suggested that we hold this program. There is an extensive history of race and sport that we must recognize, own, and learn from, as it remains relevant to today's realities."

To view a clip of the documentary, click here: http://cbsprt.co/1Ch4brl.

Jack Ford is executive producer. Blake Berson serves as producer. Emilie Deutsch is vice president, Features and Original Programming, CBS Sports.  For more information, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

Following the documentary screening and the panel discussion, Northington will sign copies of his book, "STILL RUNNING, The Autobiography of Nate Northington, the First African American Football Player in the Southeastern Conference." That event will take place beginning at 6:30 p.m. just outside of  Worsham Theater.

 

MEDIA CONTACT: Carl Nathe, 859-257-3200; carl.nathe@uky.edu.