Breaking Racial Boundaries in Sports

03/20/2014 9:46 AM

As part of Bradley University’s 2013-2014 theme “Celebrating Civil Rights – Past and Present”, a screening of the 2013 film 42 will be shown on Thursday, April 3 at 6:30 p.m. in Renaissance Coliseum.  The movie tells the life story of history-making Jackie Robinson and it portrays his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers and the racism he encountered as the first African American player in Major League Baseball. 

Prior to the movie at 6 p.m., Doug Alligood ’56, discusses his experiences as an African American student athlete at Bradley, one of the few schools allowing black athletes to play sports. 

Alligood is currently the Senior Vice President of Horizontal Markets at BBDO New York. A trailblazer while at Bradley, Alligood became one of the first black executives in the advertising industry. He entered Bradley in 1952 after his first college of choice refused to accept him because he was African American. Bradley, on the other hand, offered him a scholarship and the University arranged a tuition payment plan for his family. During his time at Bradley, Alligood was a member of the Air Force ROTC, the band, the Chorale, and he served as a resident advisor. After serving in the Air Force, he joined BBDO in Detroit and worked on the Pepsi and Dodge accounts. He left BBDO to become director of corporate advertising for RCA, then became president of UniWorld Group. He returned to BBDO in 1984 and became an expert on minority advertising. In 2005, he co-wrote Color Television: 50 Years of African American and Latino Images on Prime Time Television. In 1994, the University honored Mr. Alligood by inducting him into the Centurion Society, which honors alumni who have become national or international leaders in their field. He has received numerous awards, including an AdColor Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

Th event is free and open to the public and we hope the media will attend.  Alligood’s presentation will begin at 6:00 in Renaissance Coliseum and the film screening will begin at 6:30. 

Bradley’s Civil Rights theme honors the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This year-long, campus wide theme focuses on how learning from the past can shape the future. This educational journey will take students outside of the traditional classroom with events such as reenactments and performances, presentations, guest speakers, contests, and movie screenings.  To learn more please contact the Bradley University Office of Public Relations at 309-677-2242 or 309-677-3260.