I know a few things about
track and field. I also know a few things
about unfulfilled dreams. Those words –
could have been, should have been, and would have been – come to mind whenever I
watch young folks run around a track.
Making it to the other
side of disappointment requires people capable of inspiring you to keep
running. You have to run past the ache
of a lost race. You have to get up when
the muscles aren’t strong enough to get you to the finish line.
Leroy Walker knew how to arouse
faith in victory. Walker died on Monday at the age of 93.
Walker was the first
African American to lead the U.S. Olympic Committee and the first black man to
coach an American Olympic team. He led
the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1992 to 1996, heading the Summer Games in
Atlanta and leading the way when the 2002 Winter Olympics were awarded to Salt
Lake City.
Walker coached Olympic
track and field teams from Ethiopian, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Trinidad and
Tobago before the United States gave him a chance to be the first black head
coach of its team. He led the team that
traveled to Montreal in 1976. The team came
home with 22 medals, including gold in the long jump, discuss, both men’s
relays, Bruce Jenner winning the decathlon and Edwin Moses dominating the 400-meter
hurdles.
He was born in Atlanta, the youngest of 13 children and the grandson of a former slave. His father, a railroad fireman, died when he was 9. When his daddy died he was sent to Harlem to live with an older brother. He moved back South to attend Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., where he earned 11 letters in football, basketball, and track and field. From there he attended Columbia University where he earned a master’s degree.
He was hired to coach football
and basketball at North Carolina Central University in Durham. Walker started the track program in between the
basketball and football season, and decided to give up the other two sports to
focus on track.
Walker kept running. He earned a doctorate from New York
University in 1957 and was named chancellor at North Carolina Central
University in 1983.
Walker talked about that
trip to Harlem in a 1993 interview with the Times. His mother gave him specific instructions before
setting him free to run alone. “I’ll
never forget what she told me,” he said. “If anything gets in your way, look it
in the eye, grab hold of it and find a way to achieve in spite of it. One thing that was drilled into me was to not
let circumstance determine what I could begin to be.”
You keep running no matter
what. Run when you get tired. Run the day after you forfeit the race. Run
when you hurt and no one believes you have what it takes to win that race.
I remember the conversation
I had with Walker at an affair in 1991 to honor his years of services at North
Carolina Central University. It was held
in the building with his name. It came
after he was awarded the Eagle Award from the United States Sports Academy, the
Academy’s highest international honor.
He spoke of his work at the University and his love for his family. I left the event wanting to run and to follow
those amazing footsteps.
Durham, NC has witnessed the
death of many great leaders. Earlier
this year it was Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans.
In 2009, we lost John Hope Franklin.
These are rare breeds that come along to teach lessons that take us
further than the common classroom discussion.
It’s been one of the gifts afforded those who walk the streets of this
amazing city.
Walker inspires me to
run. Yes, I wonder about what could have
been if I had a coach like Walker. The
truth is I had two great ones –Coach Fred at Hickman High in Columbia, MO who
saved my life when I needed more than a coach and Pops Logan who saw greatness
in me. I’m thankful for great coaches
and mentors who lead the way.
Walker is that legend who
subtracts a few seconds whenever you run that race.
Walker moves me to
run. So, I keep running. Not around the track on the field, but that
track of life that we all must run. I
run with pride and hope. I run knowing
that nothing can keep me from running this race. Nothing can get in the way of the gold medal
at the finish line.
Coach Walker has paved the
way. It’s up to us to keep running.
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