Remembering the black experience on the campus of SIUC during the late 30’s and early 40’s, James Price said his biggest racial encounter was not being able to play on the varsity basketball team.

I was black, that was the only reason I could see for not being able to play, so because I was not able to play on varsity I became involved in the black basketball team which was an intramural sport, Price said. The track coach let blacks run so I ran and lettered in track for four years, but when we ran in Cape Girardeau, Mo., blacks weren’t allowed to participate.

Price said at the time he was here it was not fashionable to fight discrimination, just accept the way things were.

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I don’t know what would have happened if we protested we didn’t have the protection of the law, Price said.

Many generations of former black

see GENERATIONS, page 5