
Wendell Hudson was the first African American scholarship athlete in The University of Alabama’s history. Last month, he made history, again, becoming the university’s first student-athlete to have his jersey retired.
But what about the unsung heroes whose stories are untold because they don’t have a storybook ending? Today, I want to reflect on the life of a forgotten pioneer.
Henry Harris was the first African American scholarship athlete at any SEC school in the Deep South (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana) . In the book Remember Henry Harris: Lost Icon of A Revolution: A Story of Hope and Self-Sacrifice in America, he’s praised as “the pride of the people and the promise of a new day.”
Harris and his siblings were raised by a single mother in Boligee, Ala., where he attended Greene County Training School. He was the editor of the school newspaper and president and valedictorian of his senior class. He also averaged over 30 points per game in basketball.
He was the center of an Alabama-Auburn recruiting face-off for what would be either school’s first black scholarship student-athlete and basketball player. Auburn won the battle and Henry began his college career in 1968. He was team captain and an All-SEC player by his senior season.
Off the court, Harris was a mentor for other black athletes that journeyed in his footsteps; but, on the court, he suffered a knee injury during his junior season and played through the pain for the duration of his career. That injury changed the trajectory of his life. Continue reading “The Legacy of Henry Harris”