Conversation about one of first Black Penn State football players kicks off Inclusion Challenge
The story goes that on Nov. 29, 1946, Penn State’s football team was scheduled to take on the University of Miami.
Miami, however, was racially segregated, and the Hurricanes said the only way Penn State could play on their field was to leave their two Black players at home. Penn State players refused to play without the entire team being included and canceled the game. That history is the foundation of the “We Are Penn State” phrase.
One of those Black athletes, Wally Triplett, went on to become the first Black player to take to the field in an NFL game as a member of the Detroit Lions. A movie about him is in the works.
“The story of Wally is an inclusive one,” said Darryle Tillman, a pharmacist at Penn State Health St. Joseph Medical Center and a relative of Triplett. “His white teammates said, ‘We’re either going to play all of us together or none of us.’”
Tillman said the story of that unplayed football game 75 years ago is a metaphor for Penn State Health.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do here,” he said. “We all need to work together as a team to provide patient care.”
He and his mother, Judith Tillman, whose father was Triplett’s cousin, are featured in a video about Triplett that Penn State Health employees can watch beginning today, the first day of the Penn State Health Inclusion Challenge.
The 22-day challenge will run through June and feature one or two activities each weekday that center on diversity, advancing inclusion and showing respect for others. The first week’s theme is a “Foundation for Inclusion.”
Sponsored by Penn State Health’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Inclusion Challenge activities are listed at pennstatehealthnews.org/events.
“The story of Wally and the history of ‘We Are’ forms the foundation for Penn State Health’s values of respect, integrity, teamwork, excellence and compassion,” said Lynette Chappell-Williams, vice president and chief diversity office for Penn State Health. “It’s the perfect place to start the Inclusion Challenge.”
Other activities this week:
Wednesday, June 2: Appreciating Our Multiple Identities
- Watch a TED Talk by novelist Chimamanda Adichie on “The danger of a single story” here.
Length: 19 minutes
Thursday, June 3: Human Connections through Sharing Our Identities and Sharing Empathy
- Watch “All That We Share” from TV2 Denmark here. Please note this video contains mature content.
Length: 3 minutes - Watch “The Human Connection to Patient Care” from Cleveland Clinic here.
Length: 5 minutes
Friday, June 4: Wrap-up to Our Foundation for Inclusion Week
- Weekend activities include reading the book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent” by Isabel Wilkerson. A limited number of copies are available by emailing diversity@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
- Watch the PBS documentary “A Class Divided” here.
Length: 53 minutes - Cook Manoomin Elk meatballs. The recipe is here.
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