Samuel G. Freedman, an award-winning author, professor and New York Times columnist, will speak about his book, “Breaking the Line: The Season in Black College Football that Transformed the Game and Changed the Course of Civil Rights” on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. in the MacKay Auditorium at Pugh Hall on the University of Florida campus.

The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

“Breaking the Line” shares the story of the historic battle for the 1967 black college football championship. In the novel, Freedman writes about two African American coaches, Eddie Robinson of Grambling State University and Jake Gaither of Florida A&M University, and two African American quarterbacks, James Harris and Ken Riley.

These four individuals helped integrate the South’s segregated colleges. They also redefined the roles of NFL quarterback, head coach and franchise general manager. The latest of Freedman’s seven books, “Breaking the Line” was released last August.

Freedman won a Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism for his book “Upon This Rock” in 1997. His book “The Inheritance” was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize. Freedman is a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. He writes the column, “On Religion,” for the New York Times and has contributed to several other publications, including The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and USA Today.

Posted: January 23, 2014
Category: College News
Tagged as: Guest Speaker