Through the Banks of the Red Cedar (Arkansas Premiere)
Bentonville Film Festival

May 4th, 1:45pm

Honey Bee Theatre
247 NE 2nd Street
Bentonville, AR 72712

May 5th, 10:00am

Marvel Experience at Skylight 3
350 SW A Street
Bentonville, AR 72712

Tickets & Information: Individual tickets may be purchased online or in-person at the box office: http://bentonvillefilmfestival.com/schedule/

THROUGH THE BANKS OF THE RED CEDAR

A Documentary Film

In 1963 Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty gave 23 African American young men the opportunity of a lifetime. The daughter of football legend Gene Washington uncovers how the first fully-integrated college football team in America changed the game forever.

Gene Washington's professional football career ended long before his filmmaker daughter, Maya Washington, was born. As a result, Maya never fully explored her once famous father’s career or its impact on her life and on American history. In an effort to better connect with her father and appreciate the sport that changed the trajectory of his life, she retraces Gene’s footsteps from the segregated South to Michigan State, and later the NFL, throughout the course of a modern football season. Their father/daughter bond grows as Maya immerses herself in today’s college football culture, imagining what life was like for Gene and his teammates, the first fully-integrated college football team in America. 

Current and former players reflect on how the racial demographics seen on the field today are due in large part to Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty’s innovative approach to recruiting African American men from the South to MSU in the 1960s, known as the “Underground Railroad” of college football. The success of Daugherty’s teams (MSU’s 1965 and 1966 back-to-back Big Ten and National Champions) forced America to re-think prejudices that previously kept African American players from earning scholarships or starting positions. The impact of this is still felt in college and professional football today. 

The film delves into the triumphs and defeats of Daugherty’s integrated team as they finish the season with the historic 1966 'Game of the Century,” a 10-10 tie against Notre Dame. Teammates Gene Washington, Bubba Smith, Clinton Jones, and George Webster make history as first round picks in the 1967 draft. Gene Washington and Clinton Jones bring momentum to the Minnesota Vikings, playing in the 1969 Super Bowl alongside legendary teammates Joe Kapp, Alan Page and Carl Eller. 

Former players recall the highlights of the Minnesota Vikings’ “Purple People Eater” years, as well as the racial discrimination black players faced in the league, speaking to the overall impact African American pioneers had on players' rights, including free agency and the right to negotiate salaries. Her appreciation and gratitude for her father grows deeper as together they reveal how what happened 50 years ago is still relevant today.