I just saw a report about
Roy Shivers, the first African American to be named general manager of a major league football team. Shivers is the GM of the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. When Shivers was appointed, he named
Danny Barrett head coach. Barrett was only the second black head coach in the history of the CFL. Together, Shivers and Barrett make up the first African American head coach/GM pairing in all of pro football history.
Shivers has said he hired Barrett to make a statement, "Because if I didn't do it, who would?" Says Shivers: "My father taught me that, 'Hey, never forget where you came from. If you get your foot in the door, you help somebody."
ETA: You may be able to watch the documentary
here if you're reading this message on Friday 5 November . It's a RealAudio feed, so I can't say for certain it'll work beyond that date. The documentary starts at 24 minutes and 30 seconds into the broadcast, and ends at about the 50 minute mark.