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Hall of Fame sportswriter Rob Parker is bringing the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame to North Carolina A&T. The occasion will be commenced with an inaugural induction ceremony this upcoming April.
The ceremony scheduled for April 12, 2025, at 6 p.m. is in partnership with North Carolina A&T’s student chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists and the Associated Press Editors. The ceremony will honor William C. Rhodes, Claire Smith, and Mike Wilbon as the inaugural inductees.
“We have had so many great Black sportswriters and editors who have contributed to this business big time and should be recognized,” Parker remarked. “The best thing is that the students at North Carolina A&T will get a chance to meet these living legends and be inspired by their journalism excellence.”
William C. Rhoden, a graduate of Morgan State University who has written for ESPN's Andscape and was formerly a sports columnist for The New York Times, will be among the first inductees alongside Mike Wilbon, co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption and a former columnist for The Washington Post, and Claire Smith, the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame's writers' wing.
After conducting a baseball writing masterclass at North Carolina A&T last spring, Rob Parker got the idea for the Hall of Fame. In order to bring this concept to life, he received help from David Squires, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications.
“This Hall of Fame will give long-deserved recognition to those who paved the way in the exploding sports media industry,” Squires noted. “This will be an enriching experience for the students who participate.”
The celebration will honor “The Original Six,” a group of groundbreaking Black sportswriters and editors who significantly influenced the field of sports journalism: Bryan Burwell, Thom Greer, Sam Lacy, Wendell Smith, Larry Whiteside, and Ralph Wiley, in addition to honoring Rhoden, Smith, and Wilbon.
JOMC's Crosby Hall will house the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame, creating an annual tradition to recognize the exceptional work of Black editors and sportswriters at North Carolina A&T.
