The Story of Black High School Football in Texas:
A Panel Discussion
We’re honored to have co-curator Michael Hurd, Author of Thursday Night Lights – the award-winning book which inspired this exhibit, as our Panel Leader. Learn more about him and the esteemed panelists below. If you’re a football fan, don’t miss this illuminating discussion. Scroll down to register.
Free for Members | $10 Non-Members
Panelists Include:
Robert Brown: Robert Brown is chairman of the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Assn., based in Houston. He attended and played football at LaMarque Lincoln, and is a former head coach at M.C. Williams High School in Houston.
Charles “Poppa Charlie” Brooks: Charles “Poppa Charlie” Brooks was a champion-level athlete at Galveston Central in football, basketball, baseball, and track. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons. He taught, coached, and was an administrator for 43 years in Galveston ISD.
Thurman Robins:
Thurman Robins is the author of “Requiem For A Classic,” which covers the history of the football rivalry and PVIL showcase game, “The Turkey Day Classic” played between Yates and Wheatley high schools in Houston. For many years, in between the 1940s-1960s, the game was the largest attended high school sports event in the country.
Michael Hurd, Author and Co-Curator of “Thursday Night Lights”
We are honored to have Michael Hurd as guest-curator of the Thursday Night Lights exhibit and author of the book on which it is based lead a panel discussion about the African American men and boys who coached and played football at the state’s all-Black high schools from 1920-1970. Michael Hurd is a writer and historian, an Air Force Vietnam veteran, and the former director for the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture at Prairie View A&M University. His book Black College Football, 1892-1992, is the only work that comprehensively documents the legacies of football programs at historically Black colleges. His 2017 book, Thursday Night Lights; The Story of Black High School Football in Texas, covers the history of football programs at Black high schools in Texas during segregation from 1920 – 1970. The PVIL or Prairie View Interscholastic League was the organization that governed the academic and athletic competitions between African-American high schools in Texas for much for the 20th century. It was created as a counterpart to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) that only served white high schools at the time. The panel discussion will feature past football players and coaches who competed in the PVIL and will speak on their experiences in the league.
Click here to get your copy of Thursday Night Lights.
Free for Members | $10 Non-Members
Panelists Include:
Robert Brown: Robert Brown is chairman of the Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Assn., based in Houston. He attended and played football at LaMarque Lincoln, and is a former head coach at M.C. Williams High School in Houston.
Charles “Poppa Charlie” Brooks: Charles “Poppa Charlie” Brooks was a champion-level athlete at Galveston Central in football, basketball, baseball, and track. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons. He taught, coached, and was an administrator for 43 years in Galveston ISD.
Thurman Robins:
Thurman Robins is the author of “Requiem For A Classic,” which covers the history of the football rivalry and PVIL showcase game, “The Turkey Day Classic” played between Yates and Wheatley high schools in Houston. For many years, in between the 1940s-1960s, the game was the largest attended high school sports event in the country.
Michael Hurd, Author and Co-Curator of “Thursday Night Lights”
We are honored to have Michael Hurd as guest-curator of the Thursday Night Lights exhibit and author of the book on which it is based lead a panel discussion about the African American men and boys who coached and played football at the state’s all-Black high schools from 1920-1970. Michael Hurd is a writer and historian, an Air Force Vietnam veteran, and the former director for the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture at Prairie View A&M University. His book Black College Football, 1892-1992, is the only work that comprehensively documents the legacies of football programs at historically Black colleges. His 2017 book, Thursday Night Lights; The Story of Black High School Football in Texas, covers the history of football programs at Black high schools in Texas during segregation from 1920 – 1970. The PVIL or Prairie View Interscholastic League was the organization that governed the academic and athletic competitions between African-American high schools in Texas for much for the 20th century. It was created as a counterpart to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) that only served white high schools at the time. The panel discussion will feature past football players and coaches who competed in the PVIL and will speak on their experiences in the league.