7. See. Hatred and prejudice are born of ignorance. Possible Problems Moral-Ethical Emphasis, Assignments and Projects School board members voted unanimously on Monday to remove former superintendent T.C. The following additional resources were consulted in the preparation of this Learning Guide: This Learning Guide was written by James Frieden and Mary RedClay and was last updated on October 14, 2012. In the movie, Coach Boone states, "We are not like all the other schools in this conference, they're all white. Football at T.C. Selected Awards & Cast It features songs by several recording artists including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Hollies, Marvin Gaye, James Taylor, The Temptations, Cat Stevens, and Steam. According to Coach Boone, winning was very important to the bonding experience, along with communication, and getting to know the other team members. The purpose of this question is to get students to think objectively about people who have made a difference in their lives. Experience a celebration of how a town torn apart by resentment, friction, and mistrust comes together in triumphant harmony. Additionally, some of the championship game scenes were filmed at the Sprayberry High School football stadium in East Marietta, Georgia. A dicey option but it could happen. I havent found one person who can say one nice thing about T.C. Some of the 1971 Titans players have commented that race was not uppermost in their minds, but that they were concentrated on football. This is a historic moment for everybody, Hutchings, a Black man, told reporters. I mean folks find reasons to keep names of other places and I cant find one.". (Play by the rules; Take turns and share; Be open-minded; listen to others; Dont take advantage of others; Dont blame others carelessly). "Titans Spirit" is a seven-minute instrumental. He also says the kiss with Gerry never happened. Teachers can modify the movie worksheets to fit the needs of each class. Those other options included the Eagles, Falcons, NorEasters and Thunder. Yoast sought to be more obviously nurturing. Discussion Questions His neighbors offered to buy him out, telling him, We dont want you here. Coach Boone declined and lives in the house to this day. He had coached Bertier since junior high. The Titans become a model of integration for a city in troubled times. WebHowever, while researching the Remember the Titans true story, we learned that actor Ryan Gosling's character, Alan Bosley, is not a real person. by G. Sullivan Nonfiction Grades 5 and up; and I am Third by Gale Sayers and Al Silverman Nonfiction Grades 6 and up. 72 et seq. May 1, 1971. p. 10. Best Books for Young Adults by Betty Carter, Second Edition, Young Adult Library Services Association; 2000; Childrens Catalogue, Eighteenth Addition, edited by Anne Price and Juliette Yaakov, the H.W. (LogOut/ When the team came back from camp, there was an obvious difference in their racial attitudes. Even though the Titans and Falls East hasnt been around for 26 years, the tradition is still there, and if MFHS can no longer use Indians, Titans is a good alternative, especially if they revive that logo. Boones coaching style was very harsh. Williams was created by merging three racially integrated schools. How did playing football help the students overcome their racial prejudice? Still, it was primarily Southern and high school football was the dominant sport. It is one of two schools that will have its name changed by Alexandria Public Schools in the coming year. See also TWMs Historical Fiction in Film Cross-Curricular Homework Project and Movies as Literature Homework Project. What was most difficult for the players to accept in the changes the team had to face? According to the film, he wanted to make sure that the white students that he had coached, in some cases since junior high school, were treated fairly. Since Bertier was older and already revered in the city (and perhaps because he was on the white side of the racial divide, we dont know) it was Bertier who made the initial overtures to Campbell. He served as the superintendent of Alexandria public school system from the 1930s until 1963 and opposed integration in schools following the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Brown vs. the Board of Education. Many also tried to change the name in 2004, but others claimed changing it would make people forget about the 1971 Titans team depicted in the famous film. The film combines four stories: (1) the time-tested formula of the triumph of an underdog sports team; (2) the friendship between the two coaches, the black head coach and his white assistant, despite the fact that many thought that the white coachs experience and years of service meant that he should be the head coach; (3) the friendship of two players, Gerry Bertier, the white team captain, and Julius Campbell, a talented black player; and (4) the story of a racially divided team coming together and playing as a unit despite the racial hatred roiling the community around it. This is false as well; all the schools the Titans faced were integrated years before. If coaches are first and foremost teachers, list what they should teach their students in order of importance. In 2004, when residents tried to change the name, one of the reasons it was not changed was out of fear that famed 1971 Titans football team would be forgotten. 11. If MFHS declines to revive the Titans mascot, perhaps the community could support that name, and push for a village wide vote. Why not? which would have been violated had Coach Yoast cooperated in the conspiracy; Citizenship because it would have been bad for the City to raise racially divisive issues; Caring because he cared for the players and they for him. The film focuses on Louie Lastik and Ronnie Bass, but there were probably others. Some of the concepts to be discussed in a good discussion of this question are that the rite of passage is not universally recognized and only affects those involved in sports. The schools mascot is a Titan, and the athletic teams are called The Titans.. In addition to websites which may be linked in the Guide and selected film reviews listed on the Movie Review Query Engine, the following resources were consulted in the preparation of this Learning Guide: drafts of the Guide were submitted to Coaches Boone and Yoast for their comments. He argued Black & white students learn differently. TWO CONTRASTING TRADITIONS RELATING TO RACISM IN AMERICA and a Tragic Irony of the American Revolution: the Sacrifice of Freedom for the African-American Slaves on the Altar of Representative Democracy. WebRemember The Titans is based on the true story of an African American football coach hired by a Virginia high school in 1971. He also made the players get to know each other and learn about their families. If the superintendent holds a hearing and finds the use promotes discrimination, he or she must order the school district to stop. Williams player. [1], Among mainstream critics in the U.S., Remember the Titans received generally positive reviews. I mean, after all in the past 25 years, the United States of America has seen an African-American presence. The Titans had a solid football team for many years after 1971 and won most of their games by large margins. After a victory in one big game, Coach Boone chartered a plane for the teams trip home. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denzel Washington, and his attempt to integrate the T. C. Williams High School (now Alexandria City High School) football team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. This film chronicles true events that occurred during1971 in Alexandria, Virginia, when the school board came under court order to integrate both faculty and students in the public schools. Roger Ebert, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times[26], Todd McCarthy, writing in Variety, said, "As simplistic and drained of complexity as the picture is, it may well appeal to mainstream audiences as an 'if only it could be like this' fantasy, as well as on the elemental level of a boot camp training film, albeit a PG-rated one with all the cuss words removed. Sports, Pop Culture, Politics, Beer, Women. The high school famous for inspiring the film Remember the Titans will remove the name of a segregationist from its title. There is no one agreed upon right of passage to adulthood in modern Western Society. That night, while celebrating the victory, Gerry is severely injured in a car accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. We were allowed to ask what we liked better Indians/Titans/or a possible name change to something else. All Rights Reserved. T.C. He was 62, weighed 220 pounds, and was extremely fast. Is there prejudice other than racial prejudice shown in the film? 1970 was Herman Boones first year as an assistant coach at T.C. Answers will vary. I think we need actually a new vocabulary. Julius would work for the city of Alexandria and remain friends with Gerry until his death. Will Patton portrays Bill Yoast, Boone's assistant coach. However, both men saw coaching as, first and foremost, a means of teaching students lessons about character, accomplishment, and life. Initially, Boone turned the job down because he believed that the position rightfully belonged to Yoast. (Alexandrias population in 2001 was 60% white.) In addition, racial prejudice leads one to other wrongful actions, as it did Bertiers former friend. 8. Who honored the Citizenship Pillar of Character in this film and how did they do it? section: | slug: virginia-high-school-of-remember-the-titans-fame-to-be-renamed | sport: collegefootball | route: article_single.us | It was also used during the 2008 Democratic National Convention to accompany the celebration and fireworks at Invesco Field after future president Barack Obama gave his nomination acceptance speech, and was also used immediately following his victory speech upon winning the 2008 Presidential Election.[13]. Of the coaches in the city who could do the job, Yoast had been working there the longest. There are several Pillars that they asked him to violate, but primarily, it was the Pillar of Trustworthiness. Do you agree that Coach Yoast was too soft on the black players? Based on the true story of football coach Herman Boone -- who passed away in 2019 -- it portrays Boone's efforts to integrate the T.C. Ronnie Bass, nicknamed Sunshine by his teammates, had come from California. Alexandria is adjacent to Washington, D.C. and, in 1971, it had many urban characteristics. Solomon started a petition to rename the high school for a simple reason. At least one of the adults should not have been active. This happened all over the South, perhaps haltingly at times, with backsliding often, but ultimately the actions of people like Boone, Yoast, Bertier and Campbell improved the lives of many people in that region. Williams High School football team back in 1971. In addition to Bertier and Campbell, the team was blessed with other players who helped bridge the racial divide. I feel like thats a suitable solution. Those lessons include: the ethical precepts contained in the ethical principles of Trustworthiness, Responsibility, Respect, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship; helping the students mature; allowing young men a field of endeavor in which they can achieve something; providing rites of passage from adolescence to maturity for some adolescents. He pushed everyone very hard. I say that the best way to address this issue is to address it forthrightly, and straightforwardly, and embrace the complicated history and the complicated presence of America. It grossed an estimated $115.6 million in the U.S., and $136.8 million worldwide. Coach Boone did tutor students to help them get into college. Williams. Bertier was a remarkable leader and was respected by much of the city. Answers will vary. All home games were filmed in Dallas, Georgia at Paulding County High School. There is no one right answer. Mike Nichols wrote a column about the Indian mascot recently, and Ive argued here that other people could take offense to ethnocentric mascots. The only person to whom he expressed sadness, to our knowledge, was Coach Yoast, who told Bertier about the wheelchair Olympics. Their opponents didnt appreciate the fact that the Titans had an advantage in having only seniors and juniors at the school. 8. In addition, in the mid-1980s, long after Coach Boone had retired, drug use was rampant on the team. 3. This movie is on TWMs short list of the best movies to supplement classes in United States History, High School Level. He had coached in Alexandria for many years. America is changing fast! (There was an incident in which Boone had fought some members of the Ku Klux Klan; he bears a scar on his head from this encounter.) 7:28 pm ET, 2024 5-star TE flips from Georgia to Florida State, Ohio St. OC Brian Hartline hospitalized after ATV crash, CFB coaches under the most pressure entering 2023, Texas names Quinn Ewers starting quarterback, Spring game takeaways: Clarity arrives in QB battles, Alabama, Ohio State among can't-miss spring games, Coaches under most pressure entering 2023, Petitti is perfect fit for Big Ten commish, Urban Meyer says 'book is closed' on potential return, NCAA to allow unlimited official visits for recruits, Rhule works to get Nebraska back to glory. WebIt's important to know for REMEMBER THE TITANS that it wasn't until 1971, 17 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, that black students came to T.C. Gwinnetts unique new high school now has a nickname and school colors. Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Donald Adeosun Faison, Craig Kirkwood. 4. The fights at the beginning of camp are underplayed in the movie. Williams was the Alexandria city schools superintendent for 30 years, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. If Coach Yoast could not have given his full allegiance to the team or fulfilled his responsibilities to the players, he should not have taken the job as the assistant coach under Coach Boone. Tomahawk However, racial hatred is difficult in a town busy celebrating the winning ways of its integrated football team with its integrated coaching staff. In 2018, at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the song was used during the Washington Capitals' Stanley Cup celebration as captain Alexander Ovechkin lifted the Cup in Las Vegas. ALEXANDRIA, Va. T.C. People in Alexandria gave a large measure of credit for the towns progress in race relations to the Titans. Shapiro, Len; Pollin, Andy (December 16, 2008). Your commute. The man for whom T.C. The story of what happened to the Titans in the 1990s shows that if a community doesnt have a plan in place and isnt willing to work hard to keep integration functioning, the community will become resegregated. Primarily the Pillar of Respect, but also the Pillars of Citizenship and Caring. A good discussion will include the following concepts: It took respect for others, the ability to communicate, the moral courage to change when necessary, and a commitment by the coaches not just to win football games but also to help the players mature. One of the things that impressed Yoast about Coach Boone was that he was fair, dishing out the same harsh treatment to the black players as well as white players. Students will see how the combination of self-sacrifice and self-interest motivated many of the people who struggled through these troubled times. Bertier is reported to have been upbeat after he was paralyzed and tried to cheer everyone up. The song was also played as veteran New York Mets players crossed home plate during the closing ceremonies at Shea Stadium, and as the New York Yankees were awarded their rings from their 2009 World Series championship. 3. Restaurant service fees on the rise: Heres how to spot them, New city earns title of nations top city for weed: report, 2023 hurricane season predictions released, Massive Texas sinkhole dredges up forgotten fears, How to watch the brilliant Lyrid meteor shower this month. It was Bass passing ability that made that offense especially effective because it drew defenders off the running game.). USATSI. He tried always to be fair and applied the same very tough standards to everyone. The purpose of the question is for students to realize that one of the primary ways that racial prejudice is overcome is for people to have a goal that is more important than their prejudice. Williams, and they really have not been successful.. Find three adults who grew up during the late 1950s and 1960s who lived in the South (or areas in the North with racial tension such as Boston) and interview them about their experience. Bertier was not injured before the last game of the season. These are remarkable and impressive men who were able to bridge the racial divide, serve their students, and become good friends. 10. 2. (As to kicking the white segregationist player who purposefully missed the block off the team, Coach Boone would listen to his team captains on personnel matters. They don't have to worry about race. The "where are they now" also omits the primary cause of Boone's retirement: He was fired from the school due to allegations of player abuse and coach complaints. SUBJECTS U.S./1945 1991, Diversity/African-American, & Virginia; Sports/Football; SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING Breaking Out; Friendship; Teamwork; Leadership; Male Role Model; MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS Trustworthiness; Respect; Responsibility; Citizenship. 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