Former coach Herman Boone speaks at UNC

When football Coach Herman Boone wanted to buy a “Remember the Titans” poster, he was outraged that it cost $350.

“But that’s about me!” he said.

On Wednesday, the legendary high school football coach came to UNC to discuss racial issues past and present and ways in which the student body can fulfill Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.

The event was hosted by the Campus Y and titled “A Time to Break Silence,” after one of King’s speeches.

Boone touched on his early coaching years in Williamson, N.C., including a 1961 incident in which he was fired for joining a civil rights protest with his team.

The firing eventually led him to T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., to coach an integrated team at a time of rampant segregation — a situation which became the premise of the famous film.

“These young men broke the silence and showed the world how to overcome their fear of diversity,” Boone said.

He also quoted some of King’s speeches and letters and urged students to use their education to continue to promote King’s dream through serving and teaching future generations.

Boone said he thinks younger generations have preserved King’s legacy in many ways, but he said there is still a long way to go — in terms of gun violence, drugs and mistreatment of children, among other things.

“If you do the things that Dr. King asks you to do, then and only then will you give our children permission to win,” he said.

Boone’s remarks were followed by a question and answer forum with professors Jan Boxill and Hodding Carter on the intersection of civil rights and sports.

“The inspiration that he showed both with his team and the way he spoke here is to get people to think about others, care about others, and learn about others, and not see people as black and white,” Boxill said.

Sophomore Mariah Akinbi said that having Boone on campus helped shed light on the relationship between athletics and scholarship and that he was a fitting guest to help honor Martin Luther King Jr.

“His presence here tonight speaks volumes about what we as a community here in Chapel Hill, and also we as a larger country and world, should be focused on in pursuing justice through the lens that he did,” she said.

Brandon Wong, a Campus Y first-year member-at-large, played a leading role in bringing Boone to campus.

He said he thought Boone’s presence contributed to the group’s mission of promoting social justice through pluralism, since the speaker appeals to a diverse audience.

“I think having a speaker like Coach Herman Boone brings in lot of audiences who saw the movie and loved it,” he said.

“We want to appeal to them and bring in as many people as we can and engage them in the legacy of Dr. King.”

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