One evening in August 1971, one hundred high school football players, exhausted from a grueling training schedule, arrived at Gettysburg National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Fog rolled in thicker than mall-goers on sale day, and faster than cheetahs on crystal meth. A vision of anger, fury, and pure righteous frustration stepped forward to curse out the racially split team, pointing out that on that hallowed ground, young men their age had died, searing lead spheres ripping through them, for the same reason the football players quarreled. Brothers fought brothers and fathers fought sons, because just like the soon-to-be-legendary football team, they could not look past the color of a man’s skin to see the content of his character, the vision of anger said. On that fateful night, T.C. Williams’ Head Football Coach Herman Boone began building a team like no other.
Far calmer than he was at the Gettysburg National Cemetery, Boone waited patiently in DCC 308 on Thursday night, wearing a white turtleneck and black sweater vest, as if in exaggerated emphasis of the contrast that he overcame. In an interview before giving his talk, Boone made some remarks about the production of the Walt Disney Pictures movie Remember the Titans, as well as some of the experiences that have defined his extraordinary life.
Despite some significant details being changed, Boone said he “was quite satisfied with the outcome” of the motion picture, although he joked that they “could’ve found somebody better looking” than Denzel Washington to portray him. Boone stressed the importance of sports, saying that “teammates transcend narrow minded thinking.” It was the astounding effort made by the Titans that allowed their entire high school to make the transition to an integrated student body.
Boone also recalled, “That was the first time that either one of them had ever talked to a person of a different race ... because they had to overcome ... stereotyping that they learned from their parents and friends.” According to the coach, diversity is not about different skin colors, but rather who each person is as an individual. “Then, now, and to my death, I will try to convey that message,” Boone said sincerely.
Once his talk began, Boone spoke easily and directly to the mostly full auditorium, transitioning from a clip of the movie with a joke about not being Denzel Washington. He quickly made his first point, outlining the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and emphasizing the importance of continuing to live by his message—namely accepting the soul of another person instead of making judgments based on skin color. Boone had dedicated his life to that creed long before the events depicted in the blockbuster movie.
He challenged the RPI students to assess how thoroughly they accepted this idea: “If you’re walking down the meanest street in Troy, 11 o’clock at night, and you look behind you and there are three teenagers walking behind you, what color would you pray they were?” He also challenged RPI students to make a difference with respect to diversity. Boone stressed the importance of diversity of the corporate world, saying that as the future “senior management of the country,” RPI students have to ensure that they accept and practice diversity.
The 1971 Titans have a website, http://www.71originaltitans.com/, which Boone encouraged those in attendance to visit. It contains biographical information about players and coaches, many photos from both then and now, information about contacting the players, and information about the team’s impact on integration nationwide.
Boone spoke for over an hour about his experiences and the entire audience gave him a standing ovation in recognition of his amazing achievements. During a question and answer session afterwards, Boone spoke of his father, citing him as the lifelong source of the attitudes that Boone impressed so thoroughly on the Titans in 1971. “Dreams have no expiration date,” the legendary coach said.
