New honorary street signs will soon recognize eight African American Syracuse University football players who boycotted the team over inadequate academic support and medical care decades ago. The actions ultimately brought about changes to SU athletics.
Back in 1970, the Syracuse 8 as they were called, stopped attending spring practice, vowing not to return until changes were made. Carmen Harlow was in his early teens and would join the team a few years later. He spoke to Syracuse Common Councilors as the group’s designated representative.
“These guys stuck their necks out. They protested that spring, 1970, and I was part of it," Harlow said. "I was a young student at Roosevelt Junior High School at the time. And the [SU] students joined them. I remember all around Walnut Avenue, Marshall Street, that whole campus was supporting them.”
The Syracuse 8 - Greg Allen, Richard Bulls, John Godbolt, Dana Harrell, John Lobon, Clarence "Bucky" McGill, A. Alif Muhammad, Duane Walker, and Ron Womack - were suspended for their boycott, which continued into the fall home opener. Following the loss, student protests on campus developed into a riot spilling onto Marshall Street. But Harlow said support wasn’t universal.
“There were some teammates that didn't want them back on the team," he said. "They called them militants, they called them every name in the book. A lot of things went on. There was some racism that was going on there. And you had to speak about it. Because it's the truth.”
A months-long internal investigation followed, and a report declared the affair “an act of institutional racism unworthy of a great university.” It also concluded that the athletic department “showed an unwarranted insensitivity” and was overly dismissive of concerns raised by African American student-athletes on the team.
The Syracuse 8 returned to campus in 2006 to receive the university’s highest honor, the Chancellor's Medal . Choking back tears, Carmen Harlow told councilors the street signs carry additional meaning.
“On behalf of them, I want to thank you," he said. "They're crying just like I am. It's going to be honored off campus. It means a lot.”
Crews will install the signs at the intersections of Walnut and Waverly and Walnut and East Water street sometime next month.
