"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : FORMER GRAMBLING STATE & SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY - Track & Field Olympians

"The mind is the strongest muscle in your body. If you can overcome the doubt in your mind, you can achieve success." -Jesse Owens When people talk about former track and field runners who possessed Olympic Class Speed, it's not unusual for names such as Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis, Bob Hayes, Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah, Wilma Rudolph, Evelyn Ashford, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner to come up in the conversation. Well, I recently posted a Black History Trivia Question online about a former Southern University Track & Field Runner who had won a Gold Medal at the 1968 Olympic Games. Former Wossman High School Championship Basketball Coach George "Vamp" Belton mentioned Rodney "Lightning Rod" Milburn Jr., who attended Southern University in 1972. At the 1972 Olympic Games, Rodney ran an unprecedented time of 13.24 seconds in the 110 hurdles,"Establishing A New World Record" as well as winning himself an Olympic Gold Medal! Another name that came up was Willie Davenport, who attended Southern University in 1968, and won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1968 Olympic Games that was held in Mexico City. During the 1968 Olympic Games, Willie ran an impressive time of 13.3 seconds. in the 110 hurdles, "Setting An Olympic Record, " and he won the Gold Medal in the process! Also, in a different conversation about Grambling State University Track & Field Runners who had performed at the Olympic Games, the names Debra Edwards Armstrong and Stone "Cold" Johnson came up. Debra attended Grambling in the early 1970s ; not only did she possess Olympic Class Speed, in 1975 she was U.S. Champion in the 200 meter race! Stone "Cold" Johnson attended Grambling in 1960, and participated in the 1960 Olympic Games held in Rome. During the trials for the 1960 Olympics, Stone ran a time of 20.5 seconds in the 200 meter race, "Setting A New World Record!" Cassandra Shelling stated that her father, Roy Neal Shelling, who also attended Grambling at that time, said that Stone was the fastest man alive! In closing, I would like to say that these are just a few of the many, many forgotten Student-Athletes that have come through Southern University and Grambling State University. Furthermore, it is my hope that some of the people who read this article will tell someone, who will tell someone, who will tell someone, and help spread the word about "OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE!"