Dr. Yanela G. McLeod,
Ph.D., an adjunct professor of history, and director of Communications and Alumni
Relations in the FAMU College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, is leading an ffort to produce a one-hour documentary commemorating the 50th
Anniversary of the FAMU vs University of Tampa football game, the first ever
NCAA football game between a team from a predominately Black university and
white university.
The documentary, "Changing the Game: The Jake Gaither Story," shares the civil rights legacy of legendary Florida A&M
University head football coach Alonzo S.
“Jake” Gaither, who skillfully, without contention, championed social
change by using sports to improve race relations in and beyond the state of
Florida. The movie will focus on the iconic coach’s private campaign to
organize and play the South’s first integrated college football game. The
Rattlers emerged victorious 34-28 in the historic game that helped debunk a
number of long-standing racial myths about black athletes, black coaches, and
race relations between Florida’s segregated populations.
McLeod has assembled an all-star team of cinematographer Sean Woods, Gerald Tookes, researcher/writer/historical E. Murell Dawson, Ph.D., and film consultant Kenneth Jones.
McLeod is seeking to raise $50,000 to fund the venture. You can help by chipping in here.