Mississippi State hires an African-American Football Coach
[Finally. -Thomas]
Posted on Thu, Dec. 04, 2003
Pride and Shame in Miss. State Hiring
STEVE WILSTEIN
Associated Press
As proud as Mississippi State earned a right to be for its hiring of Sylvester Croom, the shame of the South is that it took so long.
It took 70 years and 340 coaches before a Southeastern Conference school finally let a black coach into its all-white fraternity.
It took hundreds of worthy black candidates - smart, talented former players, assistant college and pro coaches, and head coaches at smaller schools - submitting their resumes and being denied before one got the job.
It took nearly 50 years after Brown vs. Board of Education, nearly 40 years after the Civil Rights Act, more than 30 years after black players started getting scholarships in the SEC, for Croom to get his chance.