Power of One May 18th, 2011
Faculty members from Oregon State University have developed a film series focused on social justice and the struggle for equality and the inaugural event on May 17 will feature OSU basketball coach Craig Robinson and former coach Paul Valenti as part of a panel discussion.
This free public event begins at 5 p.m. in the Founders Loge at Reser Stadium (second floor, east side entrance).
Created by the Association of Faculty for the Advancement of People of Color at OSU, the “Power of One Film Series” will feature films based on individuals who have had an impact in changing society through their struggle to bring about social justice.
The first film in the series is “Glory Road,” based on the true story of Don Haskins, the head coach at Texas Western College in El Paso in the mid-1960s. Haskins was the first Division One basketball coach to recruit and play a full team of African American athletes against white athletes in a major tournament. Haskins broke an unwritten code of team segregation that had existed since basketball became a major sport on colleges across the United States and his desegregated team won the NCAA championship in his first year of coaching.