Bill Russell with Coach Red Auerbach
Bill Russell Supporting the NAACP
Bill Russell Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Bill Russell died earlier this week at the age of 88. News of his death and tributes about his life made the headlines in media sources around the country and the world. In the world of sports, Bill Russell was one of the greatest winners of all time. In the 1950’s, he led the University of SanFrancisco to two national basketball titles. In the 1960’s, he led the Boston Celtics to eight straight NBA championships and a total of eleven in thirteen years. In 1966 he became the first Black coach in any major American team sport. His record of success in basketball will likely never be equalled.
Yet tributes to Bill Russell were not limited to sports media, because his life was not limited to basketball. He was also active in the Civil Rights Movement at a time when he experienced the bigotry of legal segregation in the South and racial prejudice in the North especially in the Celtics home city of Boston. When Medgar Evers was murdered in Jackson, MS in 1963, Bill Russell contacted Medgar’s brother Charles to see how he could be of help during this traumatic time. Charles asked him to lead an integrated basketball clinic in the highly segregated city of Jackson. Mr. Russell agreed and led the clinic despite opposition from the local KKK. He also participated in the famous March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington on August 28, 1963 where Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Fifty years later, Bill Russell spoke at the anniversary of that march.
Even in the city of Boston where he led the team that won eleven championships, Bill Russell and other Black teammates experienced ongoing acts of racial hatred. When he was away on a team road trip, his house was vandalized including destruction of some of his trophies and racial hatred slogans smeared on the wall in feces. Some white Bostonians stayed away from Celtic games because the team was “too black.” Yet Bill Russell continued to stand up for racial equality in very public ways. In 2011 President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Obama cited a quote by Mr. Russell, “I am not a basketball player. I am a man who plays basketball.” The legacy of Bill Russell on the basketball court may never be equalled. The legacy of Bill Russell off the court is standing up for the equality of all people. You and I can admire his basketball legacy. You and I are called to live into the same legacy of equality for all. The video posted below provides a summary of Bill Russell’s life and legacy. Take a few minutes to watch it and pay special attention to the part near the end where the three young Black anchors of the show reflect on how the life of Bill Russell paved the way for them.