“Breaking The Line” – A Story About Segregation And College Football

Sep 08, 2012; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Grambling State Tigers quarterback D.J. Williams (4) hands off the ball to running back Dawrence Roberts (43) during the first half against the TCU Horned Frogs at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

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College football has always been a staple of America. Although it wasn’t always equal. Eddie Robinson was the Head Coach at Grambling State from 1941 to 1997. His 408 all time wins are still #1 in college football. Even though he was a successful head coach, he was still viewed as inferior in Jim Crow Louisiana. “Breaking The Line” is the story about Grambling State and another historically black college Florida A&M University and their battles on the field and off with Jim Crow, segregation and civil rights. Be sure to check out our upcoming book review.

Trivia: The first person to email me (hookemheadlines@gmail.com) the national champion(s) of the 1967 college football season will receive a free copy of “Breaking The Line” by Samuel G. Freedman.

Here is the full press release:

"BREAKING THE LINEThe Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sportand Changed the Course of Civil Rights Arriving just before the fiftieth anniversary of the march on Washington, and in anticipation of the upcoming NFL season with black quarterbacks in starring roles, Samuel G. Freedman’s “BREAKING THE LINE: The Season in Black College Football That Transformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil Rights” (August 13, 2013; $28.00) vividly recreates the world of black college football in the civil rights era. A gripping chronicle of the 1967 season at Grambling and Florida A&M, Breaking the Line shows how these teams waged a brave and deliberate campaign to help bring about racial integration both on and off the gridiron.Two legendary football coaches—Eddie Robinson, at the pinnacle of his hall of fame career at Grambling college in northern Louisiana, and Alonzo S. “Jake” Gaither, nearing the end of his illustrious reign at Florida A&M in Tallahassee—commanded two of the most storied teams in all of black college, which were led by two gifted quarterbacks, Grambling’s James Harris and FAMU’s Ken Riley. The coaches’ paths had crossed before the 1967 Orange Blossom Classic in Miami, and would do so again after it, but never more significantly than in the tumultuous year of 1967.In the wake of two catalyzing events in the civil rights movement—Brown vs. Board of Education and the Montgomery Bus Boycott—and in the midst of Vietnam war protests and a wave of urban violence these two savvy black football coaches decided it was time to take strategic action to bring racial equality to sports and, through sports, to American society. In the shadow of white hostility, Jim Crow laws, and continued Klan terrorism in the Deep South, these two men, driven by courage and the force of history, advanced against segregation, one yard at a time. Robinson prepared Harris to break the color line at quarterback in the NFL, while Gaither won secret approval for the first-ever football game between black and white colleges in the south.Fierce rivals on the field, Robinson and Gaither were allies off it. They sought nothing less than to prove to the wider world black dignity and black excellence. The goal was social change and it was accomplished in the very region where universities like Alabama and Ole Miss were national emblems of entrenched segregation.The climax of Freedman’s story takes place at the 1967 Orange Blossom Classic game in Miami’s Orange Bowl Stadium onDecember 2. In the world of black college football, this championship game was the equivalent of the Super Bowl, and the 1967 contest between Grambling and Florida A&M did not disappoint. It was one of the most electrifying games in college football history.Breaking the Line also covers:• The history and role of historically black colleges• The realities of coaching in an era of segregation• The trials of the African-American middle class during the civil rights era• The student protests at Grambling in the fall of 1967, where Robinson was confronted by a kind of opposition he had never faced before• How an injury Gaither suffered in a sideline collision in a previous game kept him from attending the Orange Blossom Classic• How Gaither’s stealthy maneuvering with Florida’s governor and the regents made possible the first game between a historically black college and a predominantly white one: Florida A&M vs. University of Tampa on November 29, 1969• The cultivation of Grambling’s James Harris, the man who would become the NFL’s first black QB and who is still involved today with the sport he loves, serving as senior personnel executive for the Detroit Lions.Freedman’s lyrical prose engages and edifies as he eloquently narrates a story largely unknown to white America. Breaking the Line is an essential chapter of sports history and, most of all, of American history, highlighting the thrilling games, fascinating characters, and the rich culture of historically black colleges in the post-war era. The reader is transported back to that turbulent time when the struggle to end segregation seemed to gain ground only to lose it again. The characters in Breaking the Line were innovators, using the game of football to try to bring about a better society. In pursuing that vision and holding fast to their dreams, they will now claim their well-deserved chapter in the story of America.“Much more than just a sports book.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Freedman here looks at the nexus of 20th-century American culture, race and civil rightsthrough sports….This story is expertly reported and engagingly written.”—Library Journal“When history writes people out, it is our job to write them back in. Samuel G.  Freedman has done a marvelous job of that inBreaking the Line, his illuminating account of football and race in the South.”—David Maraniss, author of When Pride Still Mattered and Clemente“A powerful narrative of two men, two teams, and the stirring battle for dignity and honorduring a single tumultuous season in the 1960s South. Freedman masterfully brings to lifethe burning ambitions, the cleats on scrubgrass, and the struggle for victory by thesecoaches and players not only as black athletes but as men and as Americans.A riveting story not only of a season but of a country at the crossroads.”—Isabel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns“Samuel Freedman is one of our most gifted chroniclers of history recent and present.Breaking the Line is as particular in the humanity it portrays as it is important for the conflictit illuminates: an Iliad of college football and social justice.”—Diane McWhorter, author of Carry Me Home“Breaking the Line graphically captures the grim terror of the Jim Crow worlds in the Souththat defined the lives of Jake Gaither and Eddie Robinson during their coaching careers at Florida A&M and Grambling. With beautiful prose, Freedman frames black history and the civil rights movement through the lens of football. Breaking the Line reads like a novel and offers the reader a deep understanding of how football and black history intersect.”—William Ferris, author of Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi BluesABOUT THE AUTHORSAMUEL G. FREEDMAN is an award-winning author, journalist, and educator. A columnist for The New York Times and a journalism professor at Columbia University, he is the author of six previous books, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Inheritance, the National Book Award finalist Small Victories, and the National Jewish Book Award winner Jew vs. Jew.ABOUT THE BOOKBREAKING THE LINE: The Season in Black College Football ThatTransformed the Sport and Changed the Course of Civil RightsBy Samuel G. FreedmanPublished by Simon & SchusterPublication Date: August 14, 2013Hardcover Price: $28.00; Hardcover ISBN: 9781439189771; E-book ISBN: 9781439189795Visit Simon & Schuster on the web at www.simonandschuster.com"