50 years ago today, Perry Wallace walked into Vanderbilt’s Kirkland Hall & spoke to the university’s Human Relations Committee, a group of 9 white administrators convened by Chancellor Alexander Heard. It was one of the most courageous speeches in American sports history (1/23) 
This was the summer after Wallace’s sophomore year. He had become the first African American varsity basketball player in SEC history in the '67-'68 season, and he took the opportunity to talk about his experiences with racism on and off the court. (2/23)
It was a tense period in American history. MLK had been assassinated in April. RFK in June. On the eve of the ’68 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Sports Illustrated was running a 5-part series on racism in sports in July ’68 called "The Black Athlete: A Shameful Story" (3/23)
Wallace’s words on July 25, 1968 were as raw and emotional as I ever encountered in my research for STRONG INSIDE. Finding the speech was one of my biggest thrills. Digging through boxes in the Vandy archives, I discovered Perry’s own typewritten speech, w/ hand-made edits (4/23)
He began his remarks by expressing surprise and disappointment that nobody had bothered to ask about his experience until he volunteered, and then said he hoped his remarks would “be of assistance in future attempts for recruitment of Negroes at Vanderbilt.” (5/23)
He mentioned the headline of 1 of the SI articles, “The Cruel Deception." It rang true. Nobody had warned him abt the social isolation he’d experience. “I was simply brought in & expected to survive in an alien culture w/ no outlets for the originality of my own culture" (6/23)
He'd been told he wouldn’t encounter racism when VU traveled to SEC cities. But he got death threats everywhere. “To emphasize the effect of the dishonesty, I was stifled most by my disillusionment. I trusted you & almost destroyed myself trying to prove you were right.” (7/23)
He talked about racist jokes by teammates and coaches, and becoming the first black player ever to play at Ole Miss, a game in which he was bloodied, intentionally, and no fouls were called. It was a “nightmare,” a “long hellish trauma.” (8/23)
But coming back to campus offered no relief, with “a student body unable to imagine my experience or have any understanding. Slowly Vanderbilt became a well-mannered extension of the University of Mississippi and I found no place really to call home ..." (9/23)
"The same people who cheered for me invited me to parties at frats I couldn’t join," Wallace continued, "and these same people stood up and cheered when the band played ‘Dixie.’ It sounds the same to me in Mississippi as it does at Vanderbilt.” (10/23)
In all, Wallace said, he was “expected to play like a superhuman despite the pressure of a load on my back that belonged to a University that set out on a monumental undertaking and took the road of least resistance, or least assistance.” (11/23)
In closing, Wallace asked, “Will you continue to destroy me and will you try to destroy others? Do you think I’m going to sit & watch you destroy my black brothers and me? I’d rather turn into the monster you’re making me than to go down without making some impact ..." (12/23)
1 man told Wallace he was overreacting. “You might have the crowd giving a guy a hard time because he has red hair.They might call out, ‘Red!’ Wallace stood his ground.“There’s a difference between calling a guy Red and calling me n****r. Red is different than n****r.” (13/23)
A few days later, the VU athletic director called Wallace into his office, intent on silencing him. “You’ve got to admit that what we don’t need is protest,” the AD said. “What we need is law and order.” (14/23)
“Any society needs law and order,” Wallace replied. “But we also need justice. And the problem is that racism doesn’t amount to justice. Bigotry doesn’t amount to justice.” (15/23)
“If you feel so strongly about that, then why don’t you leave?” the AD said. That could have been the end, the experiment over, the integration of the SEC instantly rendered unfinished business. But Wallace understood the significance of his journey. (16/23)
“Sir, it’s not my job to leave,” Wallace replied. “It’s not my job to get up and leave injustice in a country that claims to have justice. I have a right to be here like anybody else, and I’m not going to leave Vanderbilt.” (17/23)
Courageous words spoken 50 years ago today by a man who was far more than a basketball player. I miss Perry Wallace for many reasons, but one big one is that we could so use his voice in these troubled times. (18/23)
As a Vanderbilt alum, I'm proud he didn't leave the school He stuck it out, at great personal cost, and changed this campus forever. And I'm proud that eventually leadership changed and recognized what a treasure he was. (19/23)
Over the last several years of Wallace's life, he was recognized and honored in numerous ways by Chancellor Nick Zeppos and Athletic Director David Williams. Wallace appreciated it and always said, "put me to work." He wanted to help students, to be actively engaged. (20/23)
Wallace had become a university professor, a law professor at American University in D.C. He loved helping young people. Just like with his speech 50 years ago today, he was always trying to help people understand, always on the side of justice. (21/23)
New generations of Vanderbilt students learned about their school's history and Wallace's role when VU required freshmen to read STRONG INSIDE each of the last 2 years, not shying away from difficult history but actively embracing and learning from it (22/23)
And when Perry died on Dec. 1, 2017, his wishes were to have his memorial service on campus. What a difference this man made ... in many ways, starting 50 years ago today when he refused to just 'shut up and dribble.' (23/23)
