As part of ESPN’s celebration of “Black History Always,” and in conjunction with the ACC’s Unity Week, ACC Network will air ACC Unite: No Struggle, No Progress tonight at 7 p.m. ET. The one-hour virtual roundtable hosted by Dalen Cuff will examine how the social justice struggle has manifested itself in society, what progress needs to be made and the path forward. Roundtable guests from each of the ACC’s 15 institutions include trailblazers who broke the color barrier, coaches, administrators and student-athletes who have been leaders in the fight for social justice and racial equality:
- Charlie Davies: Former Boston College midfielder on the men’s soccer team (2004-06) and US National Team member; father was an immigrant from Gambia
- Darien Rencher: Clemson running back; 2020 Disney Spirit Award winner (given to college football’s most inspirational figure)
- Marissa Young: Duke softball head coach; one of two black softball coaches in the Power 5
- Leonard Hamilton: Florida State head men’s basketball coach; three-time ACC Coach of the Year
- Eddie McAshan: First black football player at Georgia Tech; three-year starting quarterback (1970-72); first black quarterback to start at a major southeastern university
- Wade Houston: First black scholarship basketball player at Louisville (1963-66); first black head coach at an SEC school (Tennessee) in 1989
- Ray Bellamy: First black scholarship athlete at Miami as a wide receiver on the football team (1968-69); first black student body president (1971)
- Brianna Pinto: Midfielder on the North Carolina women’s soccer team (2018-20); third overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft; three-time all-ACC selection
- Grant Gibson: NC State offensive lineman; grandfather is Harvey Gantt – first black mayor of Charlotte and first black person to attend Clemson
- Devereaux Peters: Forward on the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Team (2007-12); third overall pick in the in the 2012 WNBA Draft; two-time WNBA Champion
- Chinaza Ndee: Pitt volleyball senior captain; first team all-ACC; born in Nigeria, came to the US when she was five years old.
- Etan Thomas: former center on the Syracuse basketball team (1996-2000); 12th overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft
- Carla Williams: Athletics Director at Virginia, first black female athletic director at a Power 5 school (2017); 2019 Women’s Leaders in Sports Administrator of the Year
- Jerry Gaines: first black athlete at Virginia Tech (1967); program record holder in the 120-yard high hurdles
- Michael DeShields: former defender on Wake Forest’s men’s soccer team (2017-19); fifth overall selection in the 2021 MLS Draft
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