The writings of Wilt Chamberlain on display, and other Black History Month events at KU

Wilt Chamberlain poses with copies of his book A

Here’s something I for one did not previously know about Wilt Chamberlain: He wrote books.

The 7-foot-1 former Kansas University and NBA basketball Hall-of-Famer’s 1991 book “A View from Above” — in which he discusses race relations and other issues he faced during his basketball career — will be displayed this week along with written works by former KU track star Ernie Shelby, former KU basketball star Lynette Woodard and other Kansas athletes. “Black Literary Suite: Sports Figures with a Kansas Connection,” presented by KU’s Project on the History of Black Writing, will be on view in Watson Library through March. A public program and reception with special guest Kevin Powell is planned for 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday at the library.

Wilt Chamberlain poses with copies of his book A

“Athletes aren’t generally recognized for their writing. You’ve got those stereotypes, and we want to push against any form of stereotype,” said Maryemma Graham, a KU distinguished professor of English who founded and directs the Project on the History of Black Writing. “Our focus is always on writing. These athletes have published their stories, and they are involved in helping sports to become highly visible and important to our culture.”

“Many of the athletes and authors featured in the suite found their voice using writing,” added English graduate student Matthew Broussard, the project’s digital coordinator. “KU rightfully gets a lot of attention for our long tradition of athletic excellence, but we also want to shed some light on another side of some of these athletes.”

Wilt Chamberlain plays in his first game as a Kansas Jayhawk against Northwestern University on 1956. Wilt had 52 points and 31 rebounds in his debut.

Posted by Project on the History of Black Writing on Monday, February 1, 2016

The Project on the History of Black Writing, within KU’s Department of English, is the only archive of its kind and has been in the forefront of black literary studies and inclusion efforts in higher education since its founding at the University of Mississippi in 1983 and subsequent move to the KU in 1998, according to KU. (I visited and wrote about another of the project’s events last summer, an institute for scholars of black poetry.)

“Sports Figures with a Kansas Connection” is one of several Black History Month events planned at KU. Here are several more that are coming up, according to KU’s Langston Hughes Center. All are free and open to the public.

• “The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey To Manhood,” featuring author and activist Kevin Powell. 5 p.m. Wednesday at 110 Budig Hall.

• “Black Lives Matter,” featuring Opal Tometi, co-founder of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Lied Center.

• “An Evening with Black Physicists,” featuring Vera Loggins of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Kevin Reynolds of NASA Ames; and Christopher Bruner, Theresa Amante and David Menager of KU. 7 p.m. Feb. 29 at the Commons in Spooner Hall.

UPDATE: Here’s one more event we reported separately from the original writeup here.

• “The Power of Sport: A Conversation on Business, Race and Sports,” featuring keynote speaker Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation, and Shawn Alexander, associate professor of African and African-American studies and Langston Hughes Center director, leading a panel discussion with former KU athletes including Wayne Simien, Lisa Braddy and Ernie Shelby. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday in the Kansas Union Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required through eventbrite.com. (Read more here.)


• I’m the Journal-World’s KU and higher ed reporter. See all the newspaper’s KU coverage here. Reach me by email at sshepherd@ljworld.com, by phone at 832-7187, on Twitter @saramarieshep or via Facebook at Facebook.com/SaraShepherdNews.