Football player, civil rights campaigner alumnus speaks on Thursday
Walter Beach was a star for Central Michigan University football, but he also made his mark off the field.
CMU welcomed back Beach at 1 p.m. Thursday when he made a speech in the Powers Hall Ballroom.
Laughter ricocheted throughout the ballroom as Beach, a former football and track star, recounted the experiences that made him into the man he is today.
Beach attended CMU from 1956 to 1960 and said he was the only African American on the football team.
Beach said the support of his team members and coach made things much easier.
“I never had to fight over anything anyone said about me," Beach said. "They fought for me, and I was proud that coach Kelly knew how to handle the discomfort I had."
Beach said his involvement in the civil rights movement did not end upon graduation.
Beach’s professional football career with the Cleveland Brown’s was brought to a halt when the team’s owner disapproved of his civil rights involvements.
After suing the NFL and winning, Beach continued his efforts.
In his speech, Beach stressed to the audience the importance of always doing what they can to make a difference in their community.
“That’s the most relevant thing about life, you can do what you can do," Beach said. "Everything I’ve done is out of the essence of my being."
The speech touched on empowerment, motivation and action.
Values in culture was another concept Beach returned to throughout his speech. He said strong values were a big part of the community he grew up in.
“My mother always told me, 'right is right, right’s don’t wrong anyone and wrongs don’t right anyone,'” Beach said.
St. Clair Shores junior Marie Morgan said she found the speech interesting.
“I didn’t know much about him before, but I thought his speech was amazing and inspirational,” Morgan said.
Others expected something completely different out of the speech.
“I thought it would be more about history, but (I) still enjoyed the anecdotes and stories," said Mason junior Brett Linsley. "I also liked how he didn’t let football define him."
Beach will be attending the home football game against Northern Illinois on Saturday to donate memorabilia from his time at CMU and career to the Museum of Cultural and Natural History.
“The museum does its best to collect in all areas of CMU’s dynamic history," said Director of the Museum of Cultural and Natural History and Director of the Museums Studies Program Jay Martin, "but we’re particularly happy to have items from Walter Beach because he represents so many important milestones in CMU’s history"
