Continuing a Legacy featuring Trent McDuffie | Defending The Kingdom 6/19

1
00:00:00,240 –> 00:00:03,640
Speaker 1: Thank you, Danage. On the day when you get opportunity

2
00:00:03,160 –> 00:00:07,840
Speaker 1: to day they can play. Hell, I’ll do what touchdown

3
00:00:08,480 –> 00:00:13,360
Speaker 1: Kansas City. The Chiefs all right in the thick of it, baby.

4
00:00:13,480 –> 00:00:17,000
Speaker 1: Hello once again everyone, and welcome to this edition, a

5
00:00:17,040 –> 00:00:19,960
Speaker 1: special edition, if you will, of Defending the Kingdom. Mitch

6
00:00:19,960 –> 00:00:21,759
Speaker 1: hold us with your voice and the Chiefs along the

7
00:00:21,840 –> 00:00:25,720
Speaker 1: senior team Reporter Matt McMullan aka the Mad stat Yes,

8
00:00:25,760 –> 00:00:29,480
Speaker 1: we have just completed mandatory mini camp and now the

9
00:00:29,520 –> 00:00:33,320
Speaker 1: closest thing the NFL has to a plant shutdown happens

10
00:00:33,320 –> 00:00:35,519
Speaker 1: over the next couple of weeks and then before we

11
00:00:35,560 –> 00:00:37,760
Speaker 1: know it’ll be Saint Joe Missouri and the Chiefs will

12
00:00:37,800 –> 00:00:41,480
Speaker 1: be on the field for training camp of twenty twenty two.

13
00:00:42,120 –> 00:00:45,280
Speaker 1: We want a special episode of Defending the Kingdom. For

14
00:00:45,440 –> 00:00:50,080
Speaker 1: this show, we will focus on the Juneteenth Holiday, a

15
00:00:50,240 –> 00:00:55,000
Speaker 1: national holiday now, and talk about how the Chiefs and

16
00:00:55,080 –> 00:00:58,560
Speaker 1: the Chief’s Kingdom relates to the Juneteenth Holiday. But before

17
00:00:58,600 –> 00:01:01,360
Speaker 1: we do that, Matt, it’s our tradition now that we

18
00:01:01,400 –> 00:01:04,080
Speaker 1: go around the world, so thirteen names in places as

19
00:01:04,080 –> 00:01:06,640
Speaker 1: always now, of course, in honor of thirteen seconds. I

20
00:01:06,640 –> 00:01:10,520
Speaker 1: can’t forget that. So we have Raymond in Leadville, Colorado.

21
00:01:11,120 –> 00:01:14,680
Speaker 1: Bob in Sydney, Australia. He’ll be here this upcoming season

22
00:01:14,680 –> 00:01:16,959
Speaker 1: for the Titans game. It’s making the truck from Sydney.

23
00:01:17,000 –> 00:01:19,760
Speaker 1: So looking forward to seeing you. Bob. We’ve got Lyle

24
00:01:20,360 –> 00:01:23,240
Speaker 1: at table Rock Lake, Missouri. Have you ever been there?

25
00:01:23,360 –> 00:01:27,400
Speaker 1: I have incredible Yeah, let’s say pilgrimage in the summertime

26
00:01:27,480 –> 00:01:30,000
Speaker 1: for many folks and fans of the Chiefs King. Never

27
00:01:30,000 –> 00:01:31,479
Speaker 1: been there before, but I want to go. I wish

28
00:01:31,480 –> 00:01:34,240
Speaker 1: the beautiful Folco’s just opened up an invitation. If you

29
00:01:34,319 –> 00:01:36,679
Speaker 1: want matched at LA to go to table Rock Lake,

30
00:01:37,280 –> 00:01:39,680
Speaker 1: send us your invitation. You’ll have one hundred by the

31
00:01:39,760 –> 00:01:41,480
Speaker 1: end of the episode. My in laws always talk about it.

32
00:01:41,520 –> 00:01:43,679
Speaker 1: They want to go there too. It’s beautiful. Yeah, gotta

33
00:01:43,680 –> 00:01:46,920
Speaker 1: go see Lyle at table Rock Lake. Mark and Glasgow,

34
00:01:46,959 –> 00:01:51,760
Speaker 1: Montana is listening. He declared Glasgow, Montana as Chiefs Kingdom North.

35
00:01:52,640 –> 00:01:55,840
Speaker 1: This is a cool one. We have Piom in Tehran

36
00:01:56,760 –> 00:02:01,000
Speaker 1: in the Middle East. Yeah, listening to DTK, Dust and Taylor, Texas,

37
00:02:01,240 –> 00:02:04,640
Speaker 1: Gary in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Dennis in New Hampshire,

38
00:02:05,000 –> 00:02:09,560
Speaker 1: Derek and Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York. Troy in Shingle, House, Pennsylvania.

39
00:02:09,560 –> 00:02:11,280
Speaker 1: I think we hear from Troy every single week, thanks

40
00:02:11,280 –> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 1: for listening. Troy Daniel declared Hollister, California as Central Coast

41
00:02:15,639 –> 00:02:18,679
Speaker 1: Chiefs Kingdom, Tyler in Atlanta as listening to d t K.

42
00:02:19,080 –> 00:02:22,760
Speaker 1: And lastly we’ve got Nicki. They declared Hannibal, Missouri as

43
00:02:22,840 –> 00:02:26,000
Speaker 1: Kingdom on the River. Mark Twain was a huge Chiefs fan.

44
00:02:26,080 –> 00:02:28,960
Speaker 1: There you go. He existed before the Dallas Texans and

45
00:02:29,040 –> 00:02:31,680
Speaker 1: Chiefs existed. But we just go ahead and claim Samuel

46
00:02:31,680 –> 00:02:35,359
Speaker 1: Cleman’s ak Mark Twain Hannibal Missouri as a Chiefs fan.

47
00:02:35,480 –> 00:02:37,200
Speaker 1: You want to go to Lake of the I’m sorry,

48
00:02:37,200 –> 00:02:39,519
Speaker 1: you want to go to Table Rock Lake, which is phenomenal.

49
00:02:40,800 –> 00:02:43,239
Speaker 1: I think I want to go to Shingle House, Pennsylvania. Yeah,

50
00:02:43,240 –> 00:02:45,919
Speaker 1: and see Troy. Yeah, just hang out. I just want

51
00:02:45,919 –> 00:02:49,000
Speaker 1: to see Shingle House, Pennsylvania. I’m just so I’m just

52
00:02:49,000 –> 00:02:52,079
Speaker 1: so intrigued. Yeah, by Shingle House. We have so many

53
00:02:52,120 –> 00:02:54,880
Speaker 1: Pennsylvania people on the chief staff, like Brett veach Coat,

54
00:02:54,919 –> 00:02:58,799
Speaker 1: Treed Well and you just in the sixty five TPT staff. Yeah,

55
00:02:58,880 –> 00:03:02,800
Speaker 1: Joe Baker going on people Danes in there. He’s pretty

56
00:03:02,800 –> 00:03:04,600
Speaker 1: close to Shingle House. I think, in fact, that’s my

57
00:03:04,639 –> 00:03:07,000
Speaker 1: new nickname for him, all right, A shingle House, of course,

58
00:03:07,200 –> 00:03:11,239
Speaker 1: or the franchise lead producer the franchise. He’s fantastic there.

59
00:03:11,360 –> 00:03:15,360
Speaker 1: But this episode, whether you’re from Single House, Pennsylvania, or

60
00:03:15,400 –> 00:03:19,840
Speaker 1: Table Rock Lake, California, Rhode Island, or Washington, we mentioned

61
00:03:19,880 –> 00:03:23,120
Speaker 1: at the outset of the podcast to talk about Juneteenth,

62
00:03:23,160 –> 00:03:27,520
Speaker 1: and that is the national holiday observed this year on

63
00:03:27,560 –> 00:03:31,320
Speaker 1: the twentieth of June. Because the Juneteenth Day, June nineteenth,

64
00:03:31,840 –> 00:03:34,960
Speaker 1: is on a Sunday, but it is now a national holiday.

65
00:03:35,240 –> 00:03:38,320
Speaker 1: Dates back to eighteen sixty five in Galveston, Texas. It’s

66
00:03:38,320 –> 00:03:43,000
Speaker 1: also been called Freedom Day Jubilee Day. Union Army General

67
00:03:43,080 –> 00:03:48,160
Speaker 1: Gordon Granger had Order number three, which made it a celebration,

68
00:03:48,200 –> 00:03:50,840
Speaker 1: if you will, announced national holiday, but it celebrates, of

69
00:03:50,880 –> 00:03:56,640
Speaker 1: course the freedom of African Americans, Black Americans. At that time,

70
00:03:56,800 –> 00:03:59,720
Speaker 1: we thought we would tie in the Chief’s Kingdom to

71
00:04:00,120 –> 00:04:04,000
Speaker 1: Juneteenth in the holiday. Yeah. So last year I had

72
00:04:04,080 –> 00:04:07,160
Speaker 1: the great pleasure of sitting down with Bobby Bell and

73
00:04:07,240 –> 00:04:10,120
Speaker 1: kind of just learning about what his experience was like

74
00:04:10,440 –> 00:04:14,120
Speaker 1: when he was a young player in the AFL and

75
00:04:14,280 –> 00:04:18,760
Speaker 1: later the NFL. And Bobby wrote an incredible article for

76
00:04:18,839 –> 00:04:21,480
Speaker 1: our website that you can find on Chiefs dot com

77
00:04:22,480 –> 00:04:26,279
Speaker 1: detailing how difficult things were for him, and I think

78
00:04:27,160 –> 00:04:30,719
Speaker 1: through his words you can kind of learn not only

79
00:04:30,760 –> 00:04:33,920
Speaker 1: how difficult things were for African American athletes back then,

80
00:04:34,160 –> 00:04:38,279
Speaker 1: but also how the Chiefs and the AFL played such

81
00:04:38,279 –> 00:04:42,279
Speaker 1: a role in kind of changing that a bit. And

82
00:04:43,080 –> 00:04:46,600
Speaker 1: it’s really interesting stuff. Bobby was, interestfully to interrupt you.

83
00:04:46,760 –> 00:04:50,640
Speaker 1: It’s one of my favorite stories about Chief’s kingdom history. Yeah,

84
00:04:50,640 –> 00:04:54,240
Speaker 1: and it’s it’s not been told enough from a standpoint

85
00:04:54,240 –> 00:04:57,240
Speaker 1: of the National Football League or US sports history. In

86
00:04:57,279 –> 00:05:00,000
Speaker 1: my opinion, absolutely, people just really don’t know about it.

87
00:05:00,040 –> 00:05:01,280
Speaker 1: And that’s why I thought it was so great that

88
00:05:01,320 –> 00:05:03,120
Speaker 1: Bobby took the time to really kind of put this

89
00:05:03,160 –> 00:05:07,440
Speaker 1: all together. Bobby finished third in Heisman Trophy voting his

90
00:05:07,480 –> 00:05:10,680
Speaker 1: final year at Minnesota. He was an All American, but

91
00:05:10,760 –> 00:05:13,760
Speaker 1: yet he talked about how he didn’t think he’d play

92
00:05:13,800 –> 00:05:18,279
Speaker 1: in the NFL because the NFL just wasn’t recruiting black

93
00:05:18,320 –> 00:05:21,280
Speaker 1: players and when black players were in the NFL, they

94
00:05:21,279 –> 00:05:25,640
Speaker 1: weren’t given a real opportunity to really thrive and lead well.

95
00:05:25,680 –> 00:05:28,520
Speaker 1: The Vikings drafted him in the second round, but they

96
00:05:28,520 –> 00:05:30,919
Speaker 1: wouldn’t guarantee his contract. He’s like, Wow, would I go

97
00:05:30,960 –> 00:05:32,760
Speaker 1: play for you if you’re not going to guarantee my contract.

98
00:05:32,760 –> 00:05:35,240
Speaker 1: I was third in Heisman Trophy voting. Are you kidding me?

99
00:05:35,240 –> 00:05:37,280
Speaker 1: And one of the best players in the nation. Well,

100
00:05:37,320 –> 00:05:39,720
Speaker 1: the cool thing about the story is Lamar Hunt, who

101
00:05:39,760 –> 00:05:41,719
Speaker 1: was still kind of getting the AFL off the ground.

102
00:05:42,080 –> 00:05:45,680
Speaker 1: He traveled to Minnesota to go talk to Bobby and

103
00:05:45,720 –> 00:05:48,000
Speaker 1: he said that he would guarantee his contract, like no problem,

104
00:05:48,160 –> 00:05:50,760
Speaker 1: And Bobby came to the Chiefs and the rest is history.

105
00:05:51,279 –> 00:05:53,600
Speaker 1: But think about that nineteen sixty nine team, that Super

106
00:05:53,600 –> 00:05:56,520
Speaker 1: Bowl team for the Chiefs, all the different players that

107
00:05:56,600 –> 00:06:00,440
Speaker 1: were from HBCUs. So Bobby wasn’t but the and he

108
00:06:00,600 –> 00:06:02,480
Speaker 1: thought that Chiefs were so great during this time as

109
00:06:02,480 –> 00:06:04,839
Speaker 1: they were giving black players an opportunity and at the

110
00:06:04,880 –> 00:06:08,760
Speaker 1: time NFL teams were not recruiting from HBCUs at all.

111
00:06:08,839 –> 00:06:10,880
Speaker 1: So listen to all these players. Willy Lanier at Pro

112
00:06:10,920 –> 00:06:13,680
Speaker 1: Football Hall of Famer from Morgan State, Otis Taylor from

113
00:06:13,720 –> 00:06:15,560
Speaker 1: Prairie View, A and m ODIs Taylor should be in

114
00:06:15,600 –> 00:06:19,320
Speaker 1: the Hall of Fame. Buck Buchanan, Grambling State, Robert Holmes

115
00:06:19,400 –> 00:06:23,560
Speaker 1: Southern University, Frank Pitt’s Southern University, Jim Kearney, Praye View

116
00:06:23,640 –> 00:06:26,200
Speaker 1: A and m Emme at Tanas Pro Football Hall of Famer,

117
00:06:26,600 –> 00:06:31,320
Speaker 1: Bishop College, Glocester Richardson, Jackson State, Nolan Smith Tennessee State,

118
00:06:31,600 –> 00:06:35,040
Speaker 1: Goldie Sellers, Grambling State, and Willie Mitchell Tennessee State. I’m

119
00:06:35,080 –> 00:06:37,800
Speaker 1: sure there’s several more. It’s just so interesting to see

120
00:06:37,800 –> 00:06:41,320
Speaker 1: how the Chiefs were recruiting from these HBCUs giving black

121
00:06:41,360 –> 00:06:43,800
Speaker 1: athletes an opportunity and not just an opportunity to play,

122
00:06:43,800 –> 00:06:46,080
Speaker 1: but to lead. Because Willy Lanier is a great example

123
00:06:46,080 –> 00:06:48,120
Speaker 1: of this. He was the middle linebacker for one of

124
00:06:48,160 –> 00:06:50,800
Speaker 1: the greatest defenses of all time. And this really laid

125
00:06:50,800 –> 00:06:53,760
Speaker 1: the framework in the example for NFL teams in the

126
00:06:53,839 –> 00:06:56,880
Speaker 1: years to follow that black athletes deserved to be in

127
00:06:56,880 –> 00:07:00,440
Speaker 1: the NFL, and the Chiefs really were where that started,

128
00:07:00,520 –> 00:07:02,599
Speaker 1: and it’s a thing that this franchise should be proud of.

129
00:07:03,800 –> 00:07:06,840
Speaker 1: There was a quota. There was some outstanding black athletes

130
00:07:06,880 –> 00:07:10,320
Speaker 1: in the Mlyn Tunnel of the Giants, Marion Motley of

131
00:07:10,400 –> 00:07:12,640
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns, but it was almost like there was

132
00:07:13,200 –> 00:07:16,640
Speaker 1: a feeling of an unofficial quota. The Chiefs broke through

133
00:07:16,680 –> 00:07:19,840
Speaker 1: that barrier and then it opened the door. When you

134
00:07:19,840 –> 00:07:22,640
Speaker 1: talk about Willy Lanier, he has become an outstanding civic

135
00:07:22,720 –> 00:07:25,520
Speaker 1: leader in Richmond, Virginia down through the years. So he

136
00:07:25,520 –> 00:07:27,880
Speaker 1: took his Pro Football Hall of Fame career from Morgan

137
00:07:27,960 –> 00:07:31,040
Speaker 1: State and became a civic leader. We know what Bobby

138
00:07:31,080 –> 00:07:33,960
Speaker 1: Bell has done in this community. Gives me chills to

139
00:07:34,000 –> 00:07:36,640
Speaker 1: talk about it. And don’t you think the Vikings when

140
00:07:36,720 –> 00:07:39,480
Speaker 1: Joe Capp was harassed in that Super Bowl victory by

141
00:07:39,480 –> 00:07:41,520
Speaker 1: the Chiefs and Super Bowl four and Bobby Bell’s all

142
00:07:41,520 –> 00:07:44,600
Speaker 1: over the field along with Willy Lanier and you just

143
00:07:44,720 –> 00:07:48,360
Speaker 1: mentioned so many players that were HBCUs on that Super

144
00:07:48,440 –> 00:07:51,679
Speaker 1: Bowl championship team, don’t you think the Vikings were going Wow,

145
00:07:51,720 –> 00:07:53,960
Speaker 1: I think we screwed up here. We should have guaranteed

146
00:07:54,000 –> 00:07:58,600
Speaker 1: Bobby Bell’s contract, But the Chiefs really Lamar Hunt in

147
00:07:58,640 –> 00:08:04,400
Speaker 1: so many ways opened the door for opportunities for African

148
00:08:04,440 –> 00:08:08,960
Speaker 1: American athletes, specifically HBCU athletes. Yeah, it’s just a really

149
00:08:08,960 –> 00:08:11,840
Speaker 1: cool thing that this franchise was a part of. And

150
00:08:11,880 –> 00:08:13,440
Speaker 1: when you look back at the history of it, we

151
00:08:13,480 –> 00:08:15,480
Speaker 1: think about how the Chiefs beating the Vikings in that

152
00:08:15,560 –> 00:08:18,320
Speaker 1: game was great for the AFLs legitimacy like it made

153
00:08:18,520 –> 00:08:21,120
Speaker 1: the AFL everyone knew, Okay, this league is for real.

154
00:08:21,440 –> 00:08:23,960
Speaker 1: But also I think for showing that this is the

155
00:08:24,000 –> 00:08:27,160
Speaker 1: way you should be doing things. We should be inclusive

156
00:08:27,360 –> 00:08:29,960
Speaker 1: and including all athletes in our league. And the NFL

157
00:08:30,040 –> 00:08:33,800
Speaker 1: followed suit from the AFL, and I’d recommend again just

158
00:08:33,880 –> 00:08:36,520
Speaker 1: reading the piece that Bobby wrote one dot com last year.

159
00:08:36,520 –> 00:08:38,760
Speaker 1: You can easily find it. It just really says a

160
00:08:38,760 –> 00:08:41,320
Speaker 1: lot about all the things that he had to go

161
00:08:41,400 –> 00:08:44,280
Speaker 1: through back then, but how this franchise and how Lamar

162
00:08:44,360 –> 00:08:47,280
Speaker 1: helped change things for the better. I’m also going to

163
00:08:47,280 –> 00:08:50,680
Speaker 1: give you some ideas here when you come to gha

164
00:08:50,760 –> 00:08:53,560
Speaker 1: field at Arrowhead Stadium, or you visit training camp in

165
00:08:53,640 –> 00:08:56,840
Speaker 1: Saint Joseph, or whenever you make the pilgrimage here to

166
00:08:57,120 –> 00:09:00,480
Speaker 1: the center of the Chief’s Kingdom, if you will, for

167
00:09:00,600 –> 00:09:03,760
Speaker 1: our round the world listeners and viewers and those who

168
00:09:03,840 –> 00:09:06,840
Speaker 1: make the trips like our friend and from Sydney, Australia,

169
00:09:06,920 –> 00:09:08,960
Speaker 1: there’s some suggestions I want to give you as it

170
00:09:09,040 –> 00:09:14,160
Speaker 1: pertains here to the Juneteenth celebration, and I’m gonna give

171
00:09:14,160 –> 00:09:17,280
Speaker 1: three of them. I’ll space these out, but one is

172
00:09:17,320 –> 00:09:21,000
Speaker 1: the Buffalo Soldiers monument. It’s at Fort Leavenworth on Post

173
00:09:21,640 –> 00:09:24,640
Speaker 1: forty five to fifty minutes from where we’re setting here

174
00:09:24,640 –> 00:09:27,640
Speaker 1: at Arrowhead Stadium at the practice facility. It was dedicated

175
00:09:27,640 –> 00:09:29,800
Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety two, but it was for the ninth

176
00:09:29,840 –> 00:09:33,360
Speaker 1: and tenth Cavalry Regiments, which were an all black cavalry

177
00:09:33,440 –> 00:09:36,920
Speaker 1: regiment that was mustered in and organized in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas,

178
00:09:37,440 –> 00:09:40,600
Speaker 1: September the twenty first, eighteen sixty six. They were involved

179
00:09:40,880 –> 00:09:43,800
Speaker 1: all the way up to World War two, the Philippine

180
00:09:44,000 –> 00:09:47,679
Speaker 1: Insurrection involved also at the War with Spain. I mean,

181
00:09:47,720 –> 00:09:49,400
Speaker 1: if you look at the history of the ninth and

182
00:09:49,400 –> 00:09:52,920
Speaker 1: tenth Calvary, there’s still re enactors that live here in

183
00:09:52,920 –> 00:09:55,560
Speaker 1: the Chiefs Kingdom that’s part of the Buffalo Soldiers Monument.

184
00:09:55,880 –> 00:09:58,800
Speaker 1: It is a must when you come here to visit

185
00:09:58,840 –> 00:10:01,199
Speaker 1: the Chiefs Kingdom. I got two, but we’ll spread these

186
00:10:01,240 –> 00:10:05,559
Speaker 1: out in this episode. Another one, and it’s very interesting,

187
00:10:05,960 –> 00:10:09,080
Speaker 1: is the Negro Leagues Museum at the eighteenth and Vine

188
00:10:09,679 –> 00:10:13,080
Speaker 1: part of Kansas City, which also includes the Jazz Museum.

189
00:10:13,400 –> 00:10:15,360
Speaker 1: The Blue Room one of my favorite places to go

190
00:10:15,480 –> 00:10:19,120
Speaker 1: for jazz, particularly when it’s like the night when they

191
00:10:19,240 –> 00:10:21,960
Speaker 1: show up and they’re just doing the jam sessions. But

192
00:10:22,640 –> 00:10:25,360
Speaker 1: even our own Chiefs players have been able to discover

193
00:10:26,360 –> 00:10:29,000
Speaker 1: something is cool as the Negro Leagues Museum. Yeah, two

194
00:10:29,040 –> 00:10:31,920
Speaker 1: of our newest players, so Justin Reid and Trent McDuffie,

195
00:10:32,400 –> 00:10:34,600
Speaker 1: earlier this month had an opportunity to go to the

196
00:10:34,640 –> 00:10:38,199
Speaker 1: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum alongside about a dozen high school

197
00:10:38,240 –> 00:10:40,880
Speaker 1: football players from Lincoln College Prep, which is so close

198
00:10:40,920 –> 00:10:43,480
Speaker 1: to the old side of Municipal Stadium where the Chiefs

199
00:10:43,520 –> 00:10:46,240
Speaker 1: first played, of course, and Bobby Bell played his first

200
00:10:46,280 –> 00:10:49,760
Speaker 1: games for the Chiefs. A really, really cool visit because

201
00:10:50,200 –> 00:10:53,160
Speaker 1: Bob Kendrick is the president of the Negro League Baseball Museum,

202
00:10:53,280 –> 00:10:55,600
Speaker 1: and the guy’s like a walking encyclopedia. I mean, he’s

203
00:10:55,600 –> 00:11:00,640
Speaker 1: absolutely incredible, and he explained to these guys just how

204
00:11:00,800 –> 00:11:03,520
Speaker 1: the Negro Leagues in so many ways were the precursor

205
00:11:03,800 –> 00:11:07,280
Speaker 1: for positive change in America all over the place. So

206
00:11:07,360 –> 00:11:11,000
Speaker 1: if you think about it, major League Baseball reintegrated. So

207
00:11:11,120 –> 00:11:14,280
Speaker 1: Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in nineteen forty seven.

208
00:11:14,640 –> 00:11:17,640
Speaker 1: In nineteen forty eight, that’s when the military integrated. In

209
00:11:17,720 –> 00:11:21,080
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty four, that’s when public schools integrated and the

210
00:11:21,120 –> 00:11:24,120
Speaker 1: Civil Rights Act was passed in nineteen sixty four, Baseball

211
00:11:24,160 –> 00:11:26,840
Speaker 1: was ahead of all this stuff. Football actually was as well,

212
00:11:26,880 –> 00:11:31,040
Speaker 1: because in nineteen forty six football reintegrated the NFL did

213
00:11:31,400 –> 00:11:33,280
Speaker 1: so sports always find out way to lead the way

214
00:11:33,280 –> 00:11:35,960
Speaker 1: I feel like in society, society follows sports lead. But

215
00:11:36,520 –> 00:11:39,360
Speaker 1: this was really the case with the Negro Leagues. And

216
00:11:39,800 –> 00:11:43,000
Speaker 1: Bob Kendrick talks about how if you’re any minority athlete,

217
00:11:43,640 –> 00:11:46,120
Speaker 1: your history begins with the Negro Leagues, and it’s such

218
00:11:46,120 –> 00:11:48,439
Speaker 1: a cool thing. So he gave a tour to Trent

219
00:11:48,559 –> 00:11:51,120
Speaker 1: mcduffee and Justin Reid, and afterward I had a chance

220
00:11:51,120 –> 00:11:53,280
Speaker 1: to catch up with Trent about the visit and what

221
00:11:53,400 –> 00:11:56,040
Speaker 1: Juneteenth means to him. All Right, I’m joined here by

222
00:11:56,040 –> 00:11:58,800
Speaker 1: Trent mcduffee on the hollow ground of the Negro League’s

223
00:11:58,800 –> 00:12:01,240
Speaker 1: Baseball Museum, or on the hymend right here, Trent, and

224
00:12:01,240 –> 00:12:03,360
Speaker 1: he said, a chance to walk through this amazing place.

225
00:12:03,360 –> 00:12:05,160
Speaker 1: Your brand new to Kansas City, and this is one

226
00:12:05,160 –> 00:12:06,480
Speaker 1: of the things you really have to see when you

227
00:12:06,520 –> 00:12:09,480
Speaker 1: move here. What do you think of the museum here today? Honestly,

228
00:12:09,679 –> 00:12:12,240
Speaker 1: this is probably one of like the dopest places I’ve

229
00:12:12,280 –> 00:12:16,440
Speaker 1: ever seen, And that’s saying a lot, because I’ve seen

230
00:12:16,480 –> 00:12:18,600
Speaker 1: a lot of cool stuff, but be able to like

231
00:12:18,679 –> 00:12:22,480
Speaker 1: sit here with life size statues and learn the names

232
00:12:22,480 –> 00:12:25,400
Speaker 1: of all these Hall of famers that honestly you won’t

233
00:12:25,440 –> 00:12:28,480
Speaker 1: hear because they’re just not in the books, and so

234
00:12:28,559 –> 00:12:30,640
Speaker 1: coming here and learn about their history and what they’ve

235
00:12:30,679 –> 00:12:35,200
Speaker 1: done for us way back in the past that’s kind

236
00:12:35,200 –> 00:12:39,080
Speaker 1: of been overlooked is special to see and to learn

237
00:12:39,120 –> 00:12:42,679
Speaker 1: about and definitely something that I can now go teach

238
00:12:42,720 –> 00:12:46,040
Speaker 1: others because I feel like this experience was super cool

239
00:12:46,080 –> 00:12:49,320
Speaker 1: to me and something very valuable. So Bob Kendrick is

240
00:12:49,320 –> 00:12:51,560
Speaker 1: the president of this great place, and it does an

241
00:12:51,559 –> 00:12:53,880
Speaker 1: amazing job giving tours. The guy’s like living history. And

242
00:12:53,880 –> 00:12:55,560
Speaker 1: one thing that he said that kind of stuck with

243
00:12:55,600 –> 00:12:57,520
Speaker 1: me is that we remember the people that crossed the bridge,

244
00:12:57,520 –> 00:12:59,640
Speaker 1: but not those that build it. And the athletes in

245
00:12:59,679 –> 00:13:01,760
Speaker 1: the need leagues really built the bridge for in so

246
00:13:01,840 –> 00:13:04,800
Speaker 1: many ways, for not just baseball but professional sports. For you,

247
00:13:04,920 –> 00:13:06,680
Speaker 1: was there anything when you were walking through here that

248
00:13:06,679 –> 00:13:08,240
Speaker 1: you learned that you didn’t know before that kind of

249
00:13:08,240 –> 00:13:11,440
Speaker 1: stuck with you? Yeah, I mean, shoot, the list probably

250
00:13:11,440 –> 00:13:16,040
Speaker 1: goes on forever, but on this wall, actually I remember

251
00:13:16,080 –> 00:13:18,319
Speaker 1: he was talking about how the fans at the New

252
00:13:18,440 –> 00:13:22,520
Speaker 1: League Baseball games they weren’t segregated, And for me, that

253
00:13:22,640 –> 00:13:26,520
Speaker 1: was shocking because I’ve always just known segregation, segregation, like

254
00:13:26,720 –> 00:13:29,080
Speaker 1: there was no in between. So when you told me

255
00:13:29,080 –> 00:13:32,160
Speaker 1: about how this league was able to create an atmosphere

256
00:13:32,200 –> 00:13:35,000
Speaker 1: like that just goes to show how special it was

257
00:13:35,040 –> 00:13:37,360
Speaker 1: and goes to show the impact I had on our

258
00:13:37,400 –> 00:13:39,920
Speaker 1: society way back then before we even knew it. Yeah,

259
00:13:39,920 –> 00:13:41,560
Speaker 1: it’s cool. Our sports are kind of that bridge in

260
00:13:41,559 –> 00:13:44,640
Speaker 1: a lot of ways. So we’re celebrating Juneteenth this month,

261
00:13:44,679 –> 00:13:47,160
Speaker 1: and our visit here is part of celebrating Juneteenth. When

262
00:13:47,200 –> 00:13:49,600
Speaker 1: you think about Juneteenth, what’s its importance to you? What

263
00:13:49,600 –> 00:13:51,920
Speaker 1: do you think about? Yeah, I mean definitely as a

264
00:13:51,920 –> 00:13:54,600
Speaker 1: little kid, you know, you don’t really know much. You know,

265
00:13:54,600 –> 00:13:57,520
Speaker 1: it’s a holiday, you know, it’s just celebrating, But there

266
00:13:57,600 –> 00:14:01,040
Speaker 1: was just not much I can go see where I lived,

267
00:14:01,080 –> 00:14:04,000
Speaker 1: and it was just hard to truly feel like you

268
00:14:04,040 –> 00:14:07,400
Speaker 1: were a part of Juneteen. But growing up and coming

269
00:14:07,480 –> 00:14:09,360
Speaker 1: here and just talk with my family and friends and

270
00:14:09,440 –> 00:14:12,960
Speaker 1: kind of just maturing, you definitely get to realize that

271
00:14:13,080 –> 00:14:15,240
Speaker 1: I’m in a position where I can now honor those

272
00:14:15,240 –> 00:14:18,400
Speaker 1: who have come before me. I can see what they’ve

273
00:14:18,400 –> 00:14:21,360
Speaker 1: done for me and realize that they’ve helped me get

274
00:14:21,400 –> 00:14:24,160
Speaker 1: to the position I am now before I was even

275
00:14:24,160 –> 00:14:26,920
Speaker 1: a thought. So being able to just see these guys

276
00:14:26,920 –> 00:14:29,360
Speaker 1: and just hear their stories is truly impactful to me.

277
00:14:29,720 –> 00:14:33,040
Speaker 1: You’re what two and twenty one young gun, but you’re

278
00:14:33,080 –> 00:14:34,760
Speaker 1: the old guy for the high schoolers that were here

279
00:14:34,760 –> 00:14:36,440
Speaker 1: that came along. And there’s two or some high schoolers

280
00:14:36,440 –> 00:14:38,680
Speaker 1: fro Lincoln College Prep, the high school fotball team. You’re

281
00:14:38,720 –> 00:14:40,240
Speaker 1: the guy they look up to, and you can be

282
00:14:40,280 –> 00:14:42,760
Speaker 1: that guy that’s kind of teaching them why this stuff

283
00:14:42,800 –> 00:14:45,600
Speaker 1: is important. What does that mean to you? Yeah, honestly,

284
00:14:45,720 –> 00:14:48,840
Speaker 1: it’s super dope whenever you get to go back in

285
00:14:48,880 –> 00:14:51,720
Speaker 1: the community and talk to the younger generation because like

286
00:14:51,800 –> 00:14:54,600
Speaker 1: for me, I was in their position three years ago

287
00:14:55,120 –> 00:14:57,280
Speaker 1: and it was just a trip to just see them

288
00:14:57,280 –> 00:14:59,200
Speaker 1: and talk to them and hear their stories and be like, man,

289
00:14:59,720 –> 00:15:02,560
Speaker 1: I get you, like I was literally there, Like it’s

290
00:15:02,600 –> 00:15:04,920
Speaker 1: still fresh in my mind. So being able to be

291
00:15:04,960 –> 00:15:07,560
Speaker 1: that person who can kind of just teach them and

292
00:15:07,640 –> 00:15:09,360
Speaker 1: just take things from my life that I can just

293
00:15:09,480 –> 00:15:10,920
Speaker 1: leave with them and if they want to use it

294
00:15:11,000 –> 00:15:14,800
Speaker 1: or not, It is important because I feel like growing up,

295
00:15:14,840 –> 00:15:16,600
Speaker 1: I was that kid who was like, oh, I want

296
00:15:16,600 –> 00:15:18,200
Speaker 1: to hear what this athlete has to say, what my

297
00:15:18,240 –> 00:15:21,080
Speaker 1: older brothers have to say. So just giving back now

298
00:15:21,240 –> 00:15:23,520
Speaker 1: is special for me. Well, it’s all part of kind

299
00:15:23,520 –> 00:15:26,080
Speaker 1: of learning about your new adopted home here in Kansas City.

300
00:15:26,080 –> 00:15:27,720
Speaker 1: It feels like you’ve been here forever already. It’s only

301
00:15:27,760 –> 00:15:29,680
Speaker 1: been a couple of months, but this is a chance

302
00:15:29,680 –> 00:15:31,920
Speaker 1: to really learn about this city a little bit beyond

303
00:15:31,960 –> 00:15:33,880
Speaker 1: just the chiefs. What did that mean to you? Kind

304
00:15:33,880 –> 00:15:36,280
Speaker 1: of learning about your new home. Yeah. I always like

305
00:15:36,320 –> 00:15:39,280
Speaker 1: going into somewhere new and kind of just getting into

306
00:15:39,400 –> 00:15:43,480
Speaker 1: the nitty grittiness of it, truly feeling like I’m a

307
00:15:43,480 –> 00:15:46,480
Speaker 1: part of the community because this community is going to

308
00:15:46,520 –> 00:15:51,000
Speaker 1: welcome me into something new and so be able to

309
00:15:51,000 –> 00:15:53,800
Speaker 1: come here and kind of just meet new people and

310
00:15:53,920 –> 00:15:56,360
Speaker 1: understand the new city that I’m in. I love Kansas

311
00:15:56,360 –> 00:15:58,520
Speaker 1: City already. I’ve only been here for a little time,

312
00:15:58,560 –> 00:16:00,200
Speaker 1: but I feel like I’ve been your friend of her.

313
00:16:01,400 –> 00:16:03,600
Speaker 1: It’s awesome for me, and it’s something that I can

314
00:16:03,680 –> 00:16:05,760
Speaker 1: just go home now and tell my family, like, hey,

315
00:16:06,120 –> 00:16:08,240
Speaker 1: I just know I learned something new about Kansas City.

316
00:16:08,280 –> 00:16:10,880
Speaker 1: That now when you guys come out, you can learn too.

317
00:16:10,960 –> 00:16:13,000
Speaker 1: So it’s pretty specially to be able to come to

318
00:16:13,040 –> 00:16:15,720
Speaker 1: these events and experience stuff like this. All right, great

319
00:16:15,760 –> 00:16:19,480
Speaker 1: stuff there from Trent, really really cool, and it was

320
00:16:19,520 –> 00:16:22,280
Speaker 1: awesome because they didn’t just go to the museum and

321
00:16:22,400 –> 00:16:25,840
Speaker 1: explore it and go home after the visit was over.

322
00:16:26,080 –> 00:16:29,120
Speaker 1: These twenty high schoolers or however many it was, or

323
00:16:29,200 –> 00:16:31,600
Speaker 1: just buzzing wanting to talk to these guys, and it

324
00:16:31,640 –> 00:16:33,840
Speaker 1: would be really easy for Trent and Justin to say, hey,

325
00:16:33,880 –> 00:16:35,760
Speaker 1: we gotta run, we gotta go. You know, they’re right

326
00:16:35,760 –> 00:16:37,960
Speaker 1: in the middle of OTA’s at this point, but they

327
00:16:38,040 –> 00:16:40,840
Speaker 1: stayed for an extra hour just getting to know every

328
00:16:40,880 –> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 1: single one of these kids. And you can tell when

329
00:16:42,560 –> 00:16:44,800
Speaker 1: it’s real and when it’s not, and with these guys,

330
00:16:44,800 –> 00:16:46,960
Speaker 1: it was real. So it was really really cool to

331
00:16:47,000 –> 00:16:49,760
Speaker 1: see not just them experience the museum and all this

332
00:16:49,880 –> 00:16:53,240
Speaker 1: amazing history and learn about their new home in Kansas City,

333
00:16:53,440 –> 00:16:55,320
Speaker 1: but also take the time to really get to know

334
00:16:55,440 –> 00:16:57,960
Speaker 1: these kids, because the kids will never forget it, you know,

335
00:16:57,960 –> 00:16:59,960
Speaker 1: and it really can make a positive impact on their lives.

336
00:17:00,040 –> 00:17:03,120
Speaker 1: So all around, a really cool afternoon with those guys

337
00:17:03,880 –> 00:17:06,560
Speaker 1: and Justin and Trent are two impressive guys, so very

338
00:17:06,640 –> 00:17:11,760
Speaker 1: articulate and factors now in the Kansa City Chiese football

339
00:17:11,760 –> 00:17:13,680
Speaker 1: team and in the Chiefs Kingdom. But you can see

340
00:17:13,720 –> 00:17:17,480
Speaker 1: the depth of their character and understanding of their surroundings

341
00:17:17,600 –> 00:17:20,840
Speaker 1: is something that’s admirable. That twenty second in Brooklyn Facility

342
00:17:21,560 –> 00:17:25,240
Speaker 1: where Bobby Bell played in others, the Memorial Municipal Stadium

343
00:17:25,760 –> 00:17:28,560
Speaker 1: was the original home of the Kansa City Monarchs, which

344
00:17:28,640 –> 00:17:31,600
Speaker 1: was the most successful team in the Negro Leagues down

345
00:17:31,600 –> 00:17:34,920
Speaker 1: through the years. But there were also early heroes from

346
00:17:34,920 –> 00:17:38,160
Speaker 1: the Negro leagues. We know about Buck O’Neill, a Satil

347
00:17:38,200 –> 00:17:40,480
Speaker 1: Page and then went on to pitch in the major

348
00:17:40,520 –> 00:17:44,200
Speaker 1: leagues at like age fifty. Yeah, the Kansas City as

349
00:17:44,200 –> 00:17:47,400
Speaker 1: he had a rocking chair out there, but it brought

350
00:17:47,480 –> 00:17:50,000
Speaker 1: him into the lineup and it was awesome. Satil Page

351
00:17:50,080 –> 00:17:53,520
Speaker 1: was quite the quite the personality, but even cool Papa

352
00:17:53,560 –> 00:17:55,679
Speaker 1: Bell and Josh Gibson, it might be the most the

353
00:17:55,720 –> 00:17:58,879
Speaker 1: best catcher in the history of baseball came out of

354
00:17:58,880 –> 00:18:02,760
Speaker 1: those Negro leagues, and so that museum is another must

355
00:18:02,960 –> 00:18:05,000
Speaker 1: visit when you’re in the Chiefs Kingdom or coming to

356
00:18:05,080 –> 00:18:07,920
Speaker 1: gha Field at Arrowheads Stadium or training camp in Saint Joel.

357
00:18:07,960 –> 00:18:10,280
Speaker 1: Let me give you another one. You mentioned the integration

358
00:18:10,320 –> 00:18:14,119
Speaker 1: of schools. The Chiefs Kingdom was right there in the

359
00:18:14,160 –> 00:18:17,000
Speaker 1: middle of that story. Brown versus Topeka Board of Education.

360
00:18:17,720 –> 00:18:22,080
Speaker 1: The nineteen fifty four Supreme Court decision which really eliminated

361
00:18:22,160 –> 00:18:26,439
Speaker 1: separate versus equal, which was the segregated schools, was the

362
00:18:26,480 –> 00:18:29,960
Speaker 1: case that started in to Peaka, Kansas. And the Brown

363
00:18:30,080 –> 00:18:33,560
Speaker 1: versus to Peaka Board of Education site is a national park.

364
00:18:33,600 –> 00:18:36,439
Speaker 1: It’s a national site. It’s very well done with that

365
00:18:36,520 –> 00:18:40,160
Speaker 1: landmark decision that was made. Then. It’s at look here,

366
00:18:40,200 –> 00:18:44,280
Speaker 1: fifteen fifteen southeast Monroe, Topeka, Kansas. It is sixty six

367
00:18:44,320 –> 00:18:46,840
Speaker 1: minutes from where we are right now. It is a

368
00:18:46,920 –> 00:18:49,040
Speaker 1: must visit, a day visited if you live in the

369
00:18:49,080 –> 00:18:51,880
Speaker 1: Chiefs Kingdom. So many people have never visited the Buffalo

370
00:18:51,920 –> 00:18:55,760
Speaker 1: Soldiers Monument, or the Negro Leagues Museum, or the Brown

371
00:18:55,840 –> 00:18:58,680
Speaker 1: Versus to Peaka Board of Education site. I’ve got another

372
00:18:58,720 –> 00:19:01,600
Speaker 1: one that it was a little further on a day

373
00:19:01,640 –> 00:19:05,119
Speaker 1: trip for you, but very intriguing. Nonetheless, But before we

374
00:19:05,160 –> 00:19:08,399
Speaker 1: get to that one, I think now there’s a lot

375
00:19:08,440 –> 00:19:10,720
Speaker 1: of discussion around the National Football League and the twenty

376
00:19:10,720 –> 00:19:13,600
Speaker 1: twenty two Chiefs roster is involved in this as well

377
00:19:13,720 –> 00:19:18,040
Speaker 1: because discussion with the Heritage Bowl, where the HBCU players

378
00:19:18,080 –> 00:19:22,720
Speaker 1: have been given some real opportunities here, and the Chiefs

379
00:19:22,800 –> 00:19:25,720
Speaker 1: roster this year in the rookie class fits right in

380
00:19:26,320 –> 00:19:29,560
Speaker 1: to what the Chiefs did maybe when they were pioneers

381
00:19:30,080 –> 00:19:32,560
Speaker 1: back in the sixties. It’s all about continuing that legacy.

382
00:19:32,760 –> 00:19:35,040
Speaker 1: I mean, that’s a responsibility I think when you’re a

383
00:19:35,080 –> 00:19:37,240
Speaker 1: franchise like the Chiefs. I think it’s cool that Patrick

384
00:19:37,240 –> 00:19:39,920
Speaker 1: Mahomes was involved with the Legacy Bowl, really really cool.

385
00:19:40,520 –> 00:19:43,040
Speaker 1: And the fact that the Chiefs gave an HBCU player

386
00:19:43,080 –> 00:19:45,439
Speaker 1: an opportunity in the draft this year and Joshua Williams.

387
00:19:45,480 –> 00:19:48,520
Speaker 1: They drafted him in the fourth round out of Fayetteville State.

388
00:19:48,760 –> 00:19:51,120
Speaker 1: He was the first player drafted from an HBCU since

389
00:19:51,119 –> 00:19:55,320
Speaker 1: twenty twenty and the highest drafted since twenty nineteen. He

390
00:19:55,400 –> 00:19:58,200
Speaker 1: was the first player drafted from Fayetteville State in forty

391
00:19:58,320 –> 00:20:03,040
Speaker 1: six years. Really cool and just an outstanding young player.

392
00:20:03,080 –> 00:20:05,320
Speaker 1: We’ve been watching him in OTAs and in mini camp.

393
00:20:05,840 –> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 1: He’s a guy that’s gonna help us win some games

394
00:20:08,000 –> 00:20:10,760
Speaker 1: this year. But it’s so cool that he’s representing Fayettville

395
00:20:10,800 –> 00:20:12,800
Speaker 1: State here in the NFL, and a lot of people

396
00:20:12,800 –> 00:20:15,840
Speaker 1: are behind him, and hopefully this trend continues of players

397
00:20:15,880 –> 00:20:19,960
Speaker 1: at HBCUs getting opportunities in the NFL because they truly

398
00:20:20,080 –> 00:20:22,840
Speaker 1: deserve it. Brian Cooks another one. So he played at

399
00:20:22,840 –> 00:20:25,080
Speaker 1: Cincinnati the last two years. We all know that as

400
00:20:25,080 –> 00:20:27,359
Speaker 1: a safety that Chiefs took him in the second round.

401
00:20:27,640 –> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: But before that he transferred from Howard, another HBCU, and

402
00:20:30,920 –> 00:20:33,400
Speaker 1: he’s a corner at Howard and just a monster there,

403
00:20:33,400 –> 00:20:36,119
Speaker 1: and that’s how he earned his opportunity at Cincinnati. So

404
00:20:36,160 –> 00:20:39,359
Speaker 1: two players with kind of an HBCU legacy currently on

405
00:20:39,400 –> 00:20:42,160
Speaker 1: this team. Two rookies on this team. One other one

406
00:20:42,200 –> 00:20:44,480
Speaker 1: that we don’t talk about as much. Ted Cruse is

407
00:20:44,480 –> 00:20:47,160
Speaker 1: our executive vice president of Communications. I got to write

408
00:20:47,160 –> 00:20:50,439
Speaker 1: an article on Ted a few months ago. Ted Cruz

409
00:20:50,520 –> 00:20:53,080
Speaker 1: is seen in the PR world as like the Patrick

410
00:20:53,119 –> 00:20:55,679
Speaker 1: Mahomes of PR. Like he if you talk to a

411
00:20:55,680 –> 00:20:57,639
Speaker 1: PR person and you say you know Ted Cruz, or

412
00:20:57,720 –> 00:21:00,080
Speaker 1: like you know Ted, I mean, he’s the best. And

413
00:21:00,119 –> 00:21:02,480
Speaker 1: he went to South Carolina State, which is an HBCU.

414
00:21:02,680 –> 00:21:05,800
Speaker 1: And what’s so cool about Bat is he likes to

415
00:21:05,840 –> 00:21:09,720
Speaker 1: tell young people, if you love sports, you can still

416
00:21:09,760 –> 00:21:12,880
Speaker 1: get into sports even if you’re not playing. And that’s

417
00:21:12,960 –> 00:21:16,240
Speaker 1: kind of what he tries to preach. And Ted’s amazing.

418
00:21:16,240 –> 00:21:19,000
Speaker 1: So if you’re interested in communications or PR, look up

419
00:21:19,040 –> 00:21:21,680
Speaker 1: Ted Cruz and what he’s doing with the Chiefs because

420
00:21:21,680 –> 00:21:23,840
Speaker 1: he also is from an HBCU and is continuing that

421
00:21:23,880 –> 00:21:26,520
Speaker 1: great legacy here on the PR set of things for

422
00:21:26,560 –> 00:21:29,000
Speaker 1: the Chiefs. I got another place for you to visit

423
00:21:29,240 –> 00:21:31,800
Speaker 1: when you come to Saint jo to training camp or

424
00:21:31,880 –> 00:21:35,359
Speaker 1: Gha Field at Earrowhead Stadium, or any other pilgrimage here

425
00:21:35,359 –> 00:21:36,800
Speaker 1: to the Chiefs Kingdom. And it’s going to take a

426
00:21:36,800 –> 00:21:41,320
Speaker 1: little more of a drive because the Buffalo Soldiers Monument

427
00:21:41,320 –> 00:21:44,520
Speaker 1: on Post at Fort Leavenworth easy drive about an hour

428
00:21:45,240 –> 00:21:47,199
Speaker 1: less than in about an hour to go to the

429
00:21:47,200 –> 00:21:51,280
Speaker 1: Brown Versus Topeka Board of Education site in Topeka. But

430
00:21:51,359 –> 00:21:53,920
Speaker 1: I’ve got another one that is one of again, much

431
00:21:53,960 –> 00:21:57,919
Speaker 1: like the Chiefs opening the doors to HBCU players in

432
00:21:57,960 –> 00:22:03,119
Speaker 1: the sixties, a Kansas town called Nicodemus, Kansas as a state,

433
00:22:03,240 –> 00:22:06,920
Speaker 1: opened the doors to black families that were looking to

434
00:22:07,080 –> 00:22:10,679
Speaker 1: make a new start in the late eighteen sixties. In

435
00:22:10,680 –> 00:22:15,240
Speaker 1: the eighteen seventies, Nicodemus is in Graham County, Kansas. It

436
00:22:15,359 –> 00:22:18,720
Speaker 1: is a National Historic Site. It is three hundred and

437
00:22:18,760 –> 00:22:21,680
Speaker 1: fifteen miles from where we are right here. It’s about

438
00:22:21,680 –> 00:22:23,840
Speaker 1: an hour from my hometown of where I grew up,

439
00:22:24,480 –> 00:22:28,720
Speaker 1: about four hours away from Arrowhead Stadium. But it is

440
00:22:28,760 –> 00:22:32,760
Speaker 1: a community that was around the Homestead Act and there

441
00:22:32,760 –> 00:22:36,240
Speaker 1: were an opportunity given to African American families to start

442
00:22:36,240 –> 00:22:38,359
Speaker 1: a new life. One hundred and sixty acres were given

443
00:22:38,359 –> 00:22:40,679
Speaker 1: to them like others in the Homestead Act, if they

444
00:22:40,680 –> 00:22:43,040
Speaker 1: could make it happen over a five year period. Well,

445
00:22:43,040 –> 00:22:45,879
Speaker 1: here we are in twenty twenty two, and there have

446
00:22:46,000 –> 00:22:50,400
Speaker 1: been generations of great families that have come from Nicodemus, Kansas,

447
00:22:50,600 –> 00:22:53,640
Speaker 1: which was an all black community in Graham County, Kansas.

448
00:22:53,880 –> 00:22:58,440
Speaker 1: Here’s where the NFL is involved with the Nicodemus, Kansas community.

449
00:22:58,480 –> 00:23:03,200
Speaker 1: And again people just just understand how awesome Nicodemus is

450
00:23:03,240 –> 00:23:06,199
Speaker 1: to visit. There’s a group called the Nicodemus Six and

451
00:23:06,280 –> 00:23:09,719
Speaker 1: leading the way was Arl Schweitzer. Sadly, he just passed

452
00:23:09,760 –> 00:23:13,800
Speaker 1: away on June the fourth. Varl Switzer was from Nicodemus.

453
00:23:14,200 –> 00:23:17,320
Speaker 1: He went to Kansas State. He became an All American

454
00:23:17,359 –> 00:23:20,440
Speaker 1: at Kansas State. He was the fourth overall pick by

455
00:23:20,440 –> 00:23:23,280
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers in the nineteen fifty four draft

456
00:23:23,720 –> 00:23:27,959
Speaker 1: and played for Green Bay. Later became a US Air

457
00:23:28,080 –> 00:23:31,639
Speaker 1: Force lieutenant. He was an officer. Then he came after

458
00:23:31,680 –> 00:23:33,040
Speaker 1: his time in the Air Force and played in the

459
00:23:33,080 –> 00:23:35,640
Speaker 1: Canadian Football League a New Varrel. He was a good

460
00:23:35,640 –> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 1: friend a terrific family. His nephew Marvin also played in

461
00:23:38,760 –> 00:23:42,480
Speaker 1: the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills the will Heights.

462
00:23:42,560 –> 00:23:46,960
Speaker 1: Kevin and Jerald both have roots in Nicodemus, Kansas. Jerald

463
00:23:46,960 –> 00:23:49,160
Speaker 1: played for the Denver Broncos. He was a running back.

464
00:23:49,440 –> 00:23:54,119
Speaker 1: Kevin played for the Green Bay Packers as a running back. GAYL.

465
00:23:54,240 –> 00:23:56,520
Speaker 1: Sayers and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the great

466
00:23:56,600 –> 00:23:59,879
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears running back who played at the University of Kansas,

467
00:24:00,320 –> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 1: had his high school time at Omaha Central in the

468
00:24:03,359 –> 00:24:07,240
Speaker 1: Chiefs Kingdom and Omaha was born in Wichita, but Gael

469
00:24:07,320 –> 00:24:13,600
Speaker 1: says roots or Nicodemus, Kansas and the Ron Sayers from

470
00:24:13,600 –> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 1: the same family played for the Chargers, So out of

471
00:24:16,560 –> 00:24:20,320
Speaker 1: a tiny town in rural Kansas, which was an all

472
00:24:20,359 –> 00:24:26,200
Speaker 1: black community, became these great players. But as much or

473
00:24:26,240 –> 00:24:29,840
Speaker 1: more than that, great families that still have an impact

474
00:24:29,840 –> 00:24:33,880
Speaker 1: in the Chiefs Kingdom. Many Kansas City businesses have their

475
00:24:34,680 –> 00:24:38,760
Speaker 1: roots in Nicodemus, Kansas, in that Graham County area, whether

476
00:24:38,800 –> 00:24:41,040
Speaker 1: it’s Bogue where they went to school a lot of them,

477
00:24:41,119 –> 00:24:43,680
Speaker 1: or a hill city. But it is a terrific place

478
00:24:43,680 –> 00:24:45,680
Speaker 1: to visit. People don’t even know about it. They don’t

479
00:24:45,680 –> 00:24:48,360
Speaker 1: even know about the story of the exitdusters they call them.

480
00:24:48,640 –> 00:24:51,560
Speaker 1: But what has happened now over time, over generation and

481
00:24:51,600 –> 00:24:55,560
Speaker 1: a generation to generation of giving an opportunity, making the

482
00:24:55,600 –> 00:24:58,560
Speaker 1: most of it and really making their own history. So

483
00:24:58,800 –> 00:25:00,639
Speaker 1: when you’re in the Chiefs Kingdom there are some places

484
00:25:00,680 –> 00:25:03,360
Speaker 1: to visit. That’s cool. How do you find these things out? Well,

485
00:25:03,400 –> 00:25:05,400
Speaker 1: I grew up right, yeah, and that’s fair. I knew

486
00:25:05,400 –> 00:25:08,480
Speaker 1: I’ve got in a role was a friend, But I

487
00:25:08,560 –> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 1: knew a lot of those families, the Clarks, the Alexander’s,

488
00:25:11,440 –> 00:25:16,520
Speaker 1: Brogden Motors in a Latha, Kansas is centered that they

489
00:25:16,560 –> 00:25:20,000
Speaker 1: trace their roots back to the Nicodemus, Kansas area. But

490
00:25:20,040 –> 00:25:22,280
Speaker 1: when you just when you do the deep dive into

491
00:25:22,400 –> 00:25:25,399
Speaker 1: history the Chiefs Kingdom, it’s fascinating. And with the Juneteenth

492
00:25:26,000 –> 00:25:29,000
Speaker 1: National Holiday, you can do a deep dive here, whether

493
00:25:29,000 –> 00:25:32,119
Speaker 1: it’s the Negro Leagues’s Museum or the Buffalo Soldiers Monument,

494
00:25:32,240 –> 00:25:35,600
Speaker 1: or Brown Versus to Peak a Board of Education, or Nicodemus, Kansas.

495
00:25:35,680 –> 00:25:40,359
Speaker 1: Some of the most profound areas where opportunities were given

496
00:25:40,560 –> 00:25:45,080
Speaker 1: and great stories are right here, just within an hour

497
00:25:45,200 –> 00:25:47,960
Speaker 1: or so or less of where we’re sitting. That’s really cool.

498
00:25:48,000 –> 00:25:50,280
Speaker 1: And just just learning, you know, that’s the most important

499
00:25:50,320 –> 00:25:53,320
Speaker 1: thing with this, And I think the most important thing

500
00:25:53,320 –> 00:25:54,760
Speaker 1: as well is there’s still a lot of work to

501
00:25:54,800 –> 00:25:58,560
Speaker 1: do and still a lot to learn about. But celebrating

502
00:25:58,680 –> 00:26:02,879
Speaker 1: Juneteenth and learning from our players, learning from players that

503
00:26:02,920 –> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 1: have come before it is interesting, you know, and it’s

504
00:26:07,119 –> 00:26:09,360
Speaker 1: it’s something that we need to keep doing. But I’m

505
00:26:09,359 –> 00:26:11,160
Speaker 1: so glad we’ve had a chance to talk to guys

506
00:26:11,200 –> 00:26:13,800
Speaker 1: like Bobby Bell and then also on the flip side,

507
00:26:13,800 –> 00:26:16,080
Speaker 1: talk to Trent McDuffie, a guy who’s twenty one years old,

508
00:26:16,119 –> 00:26:20,120
Speaker 1: but who has a chance to inspire so many young

509
00:26:20,320 –> 00:26:22,960
Speaker 1: African American athletes. This is a really cool thing to

510
00:26:23,000 –> 00:26:26,000
Speaker 1: see transpire. And that’s the beauty of the NFL having

511
00:26:26,080 –> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 1: the stage that it does in this country is it

512
00:26:28,560 –> 00:26:33,159
Speaker 1: gives us an opportunity to create real positive change and

513
00:26:33,200 –> 00:26:37,160
Speaker 1: that process never stops, but you need to keep it going. Yep.

514
00:26:37,200 –> 00:26:41,440
Speaker 1: The Juneteenth National Holidays about freedom. It’s about a celebration,

515
00:26:41,560 –> 00:26:46,480
Speaker 1: but it’s also about opportunities, having an opportunity or yearning

516
00:26:46,480 –> 00:26:50,800
Speaker 1: to get an opportunity, and then making the most of it.

517
00:26:50,840 –> 00:26:52,520
Speaker 1: And we have seen that throughout the history of the

518
00:26:52,600 –> 00:26:55,480
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs and really in the area of the

519
00:26:55,560 –> 00:26:59,159
Speaker 1: Chiefs Kingdom. He’s Matt McMullen matched at senior team reporter.

520
00:26:59,200 –> 00:27:01,119
Speaker 1: I’m a Chulti’s waste to the Chiefs. Thank you for

521
00:27:01,200 –> 00:27:04,240
Speaker 1: joining us on this a little bit different edition, but

522
00:27:04,800 –> 00:27:07,240
Speaker 1: one of our most important editions. I think of defending

523
00:27:07,240 –> 00:27:13,800
Speaker 1: the kingdom. Touch down, lot down, and the celebration begins

524
00:27:13,800 –> 00:27:14,480
Speaker 1: in their head.