I was wholeheartedly embarrassed the other day when my boss told me Mannie Jackson was at the basketball game and that I needed to write a blurb about him. He seemed pretty confident that I knew who he was — which I didn’t — so I hit up my good friend Google.

Google pulled through for me and I quickly discovered that Jackson is kind of a big deal. He was the first African-American letter winner and starter for Illinois basketball during the 1957-58 season, alongside Governor Vaughn. Jackson played professionally with the Harlem Globetrotters and then became a top executive at Honeywell, Inc. He purchased a struggling Globetrotters team in 1993 and helped revive the organization to a status like the glory days. Jackson was one of three African-American basketball players honored this season as part of Illini Basketball Honored Jersey program.

I was disappointed in myself. I attempt to call myself vigilant of underappreciated athletes and I was ignoring a major demographic — African-Americans. Now, it’s high time to make up for my lack of knowledge by learning more about black athletes at the University and looking at what impact they made. It is Black History Month, after all.

In the early 1900s, African-Americans were banned from participating in most intercollegiate athletics altogether as a result of the Jim Crow laws. Black athletes, along with all colored people, were seen as racially inferior to whites.

The University began recruiting black male athletes in the 1930s, typically to play basketball. Several sports were white-only until the 1950s, when the Civil Rights movement gained full force. This battle wasn’t only on the collegiate level but worldwide, proved when Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in the Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

One of the pioneer black athletes at Illinois was Albert Spurlock, who ran track in 1934-35. Spurlock was the first athlete recognized for winning a varsity letter in any sport at Illinois. He had to wait tables through college because during that time, scholarships weren’t given to black athletes.

“Because of discrimination and the coaches didn’t want to be bothered with it, I guess, the blacks couldn’t win a varsity letter,” Spurlock said in an interview with Ellen Swain for a 2001 Oral History Project for the University archives.

In the interview, Spurlock discussed the discrimination he faced at Illinois and how he lived in a very hostile environment, but that’s what it was like for everyone. He said he made some friends on the team but only talked to them during meets. Spurlock was racing during the time when track star Jesse Owens was competing, when black athletes were making their names as powerhouses.

Spurlock was a pioneer of African-Americans, and over time, as conditions began to get better in society, it was also shown through sport. More and more African-American athletes are recruited every year: On signing day Wednesday, 20 of the 25 football recruits were African-American.

African-American track star Tonja Buford-Bailey is one of the most decorated Illini female athletes of any color. Buford won more titles than any other Illinois athlete, male or female. She holds more titles than any other student-athlete in Big Ten history. Buford proved herself as an athlete despite her color and gender.

There’s one athlete that I’m sure everybody in our generation remembers — Dee Brown, who was the face of Illini basketball during the 2004-05 title game run. He was Illinois basketball’s last big hero and his combination of swag and success quickly popularized the team.

These are only a small fraction of the African-American athletes who have made a lasting impact on Illini athletics. Many of these athletes demonstrated the importance of equality and stayed strong during a time when they were not accepted. When I interviewed Jackson a few weeks ago, he was elated that he was finally being recognized for making it through such tough times. And he deserves that recognition, like everybody else.

Here’s to us recognizing those who persevered during tough times and to some of these new recruits and current athletes becoming the next campus legends.

Emily is a graduate student. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @EmilyBayci.