UCLA Chancellor Gene Block welcomed more than 900 people to Royce Hall Tuesday night for the Los Angeles premiere of “Forgotten Four: The Integration of Pro Football.” The documentary tells the story of two former UCLA players who were among four African American athletes who broke the color barrier in professional football in 1946.
“After tonight, and after this documentary receives the widespread attention it so richly deserves, the forgotten four will be forgotten no more,” Block said. The chancellor was joined by EPIX CEO Mark Greenberg, who also welcomed the audience to the event.
On March 21, 1946, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, both former players for the Bruins, ended the National Football League’s 13-year ban to keep blacks from playing in the league by playing for the Los Angeles Rams. In that same year, two other athletes, Marion Motley and Bill Willis, became the first African Americans to play in the All-America Football Conference, a new professional football league. But their breaking of the color barrier in professional football has been largely overlooked in the history of sports.
The Royce Hall event, presented by UCLA and EPIX, the cable network that produced the documentary, also included a panel discussion examining the intersection of race and sports in America. The panel featured UCLA civil rights scholar Paul Von Blum, Olympic gold medalist and UCLA alumnus Rafer Johnson, NFL columnist for USA Today Jarrett Bell and the film’s executive producer Ross Greenburg. The discussion was moderated by Los Angeles Times reporter Kurt Streeter.
The film “is a powerful and timely reminder of the need to remember the hidden history of African American accomplishments in athletics and in all fields,” Von Blum, a senior lecturer in African American studies and communications studies, said before the event.
“Long before the magnificent entry of Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball, pioneering African American football players made their mark in the National Football League, setting the stage for other athletes of color, like Jackie Robinson himself, to continue the long historic struggle for racial justice in America,” Von Blum said.
Also on hand for the event were family members of all four barrier-breaking athletes: Kalai Strode, Woody Strode's son who also attended UCLA; Karin Cohen, Kenny Washington's daughter; Clem and William Willis Jr., sons of Bill Willis; and Tony Johnson Motley, Marion Motley's grandson.
Also in attendance were former Pro Bowl quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins Donovan McNabb, who served as a consultant for the film, and Los Angeles Lakers Xavier Henry and Jordan Clarkson. Wesley Smith, who was also executive producer of the film, and California Assemblymember Cheryl Brown, who represents San Bernardino, attended the event.
Listen to the film's introduction by Block and the full subsequent panel discussion:
The documentary will be shown Sept. 23 on EPIX at 8 p.m. But check your local listings to confirm.
