While it should be celebrated throughout the entire year, Black History Month gives the United States an opportunity to appreciate the contributions and historical significance of Black Americans in culture.

The contributions go into sports as well. At SIU, there are currently two Black head coaches: Kelly Bond-White of women’s basketball and Richard Jones, the director of track and field and cross country. Both are quick to recognize the importance and impact of Black History Month.

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To Jones, Black History Month as an excellent opportunity for educating Americans. 

“It’s an opportunity for the country to be exposed to information that they may not have regularly seen or been aware of,” Jones said. “We take this as an opportunity for us to do a deep dive in history… and the contributions that African Americans have done for this country and in so many different disciplines.”

Protecting and looking back at these contributions is critical in Jones’ eyes, as knowledge about these great contributions will be lost if it isn’t shared. 

“It should be something that is in all of the levels of education that we’re going through,” Jones said. 

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“African American history is really American history,” Jones said. “It’s not a separate history, it’s just our contributions to this country.”

Men’s basketball player Damien Mayo Jr. helps bring a younger perspective to Black History Month, especially the cultural significance.

“Growing up in St. Louis and seeing the culture behind it, the Black history and seeing the role models always meant something to me because I see myself in their shoes,” Mayo Jr. said. “I want to be a part of Black history. I want to be a person that’s celebrated and talked about when this month comes around.”

Part of what may help Mayo Jr., a junior guard, be remembered is the message that he delivers to younger generations.

“Spread love. I know there’s a lot of negativity and hate within the world,” Mayo Jr. said. “A lot of people are taught to think a certain way, and if you teach people to love each other and always look to offer a helping hand, the world will be a better place.”

In her younger days, Bond-White had a similarly strong role model that helped instill high expectations into her.

“My high school coach, Arthur Penny, took the time to invest in me. They took me around Chicago and then outside of Chicago to camps and colleges… and it showed me there was an expectation of higher education. That was no longer a dream for me; it was an expectation,” Bond-White said.

After this experience, Bond-White wants to make sure to pay it forward to her athletes today.

“And that’s what I want for all our young people, regardless of what that is, to be able to say, ‘You know what, I’ve seen her do it, so why can’t I go out there and exceed even further than what they’re doing?’”

Bond-White also talked about the legacy of Black female coaches like Vivian Stringer, Marian Washington, Dawn Staley and Carolyn Peck, and how she wants to “carry out and continue what they’ve done” in terms of creating access to opportunities for young people.

“That’s all I’m trying to continue, is to help open doors for all our young people, men and women, that come through this way… by way of basketball or not, it’s just a responsibility that I feel like I’m in a position to be an extension of that, to help young people reach their dreams,” Bond-White said. “And hopefully, as they start reaching, they start reaching back and pulling people with you to show them what else is out there.”

The opportunities aren’t limited to young athletes coming fresh out of college. Jones has seen an increase in opportunities for Black track and field coaches, something that he is happy to see.

“There’s opportunities for African Americans to become coaches in certain programs… now that we have African American head coaches in other positions, maybe at small universities, is giving them an opportunity to kind of move up to some of the large ones,” Jones said. “Over these last few years, there has been a pretty significant shift in those positions for African American men and women alike.”

Bond-White had advice, learned from the poet Maya Angelou, that she dispenses to both her athletes and for those, especially Black women, pursuing coaching jobs.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated,” Bond-White said. “You got to understand that sometimes that adversity, that’s how you can know who you are, what you can rise from and how you can still count out of it on top. But at first, you got to understand that life is tough at times, and you got to be willing to stand and fight.”

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.

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