Garden City, N.Y. - On Thursday, the Adelphi University Department of Athletics hosted its 19th Annual Black History Month Celebration -- a tradition that celebrates the achievements of Black people in our community and around the world.

The conversation, which was led in front of a record virtual attendance on Zoom by the University's Board of Trustees chairman Ron Lee '67, centered upon the accomplishments and path of world-renowned Olympic long jumper Bob Beamon -- a 1972 graduate and 2000 honorary degree recipient of Adelphi and a 1991 inductee of the Adelphi Athletic Hall of Fame.

"We are fortunate to have someone like Bob Beamon as part of the Adelphi family. He had a great impact on the civil rights movement of the late 1960's and for him to share his insights and experiences with our students and staff was such an incredible learning opportunity for all of us," said Adelphi Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation Danny McCabe. "We also appreciate Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Ron Lee, for hosting the discussion and infusing his historical perspective throughout the evening."

It was the first time in the department's history that its annual commemoration of Black History Month had to be moved to a virtual setting, as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

While the evening outlined Beamon's route toward a gold medal and a world-record-breaking jump at the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, Beamon also reflected upon the current social injustices facing our nation and how it compared to the same unrest that he confronted in the thick of the civil rights movement of the 1960's.

"There are different ways of protesting. There are different ways to make a difference," Beamon said. "We need to create some new ideas and innovative concepts that will make America greater than it ever was before. I see us moving forward (as a nation). I see us doing some great things."

The discussion first unfolded in Beamon's roots in New York City, where he was an All-City basketball player and All-America track athlete at Jamaica High School in the borough of Queens. In fact, Beamon wanted to be an All-American in basketball and All-City in track.

Beamon, who started out as a triple jumper and is a former national high school record-holder in the event, went on to set city and state records in the long jump with a mark of 7.77 meters (25 feet and six inches). He began his collegiate tenure at North Carolina A&T University -- a Historically Black College and University institution (HBCU) -- before transferring to Texas Western College (now-UTEP) in 1967.

Texas Western had recently gained national notoriety. In the 1965-66 college basketball season, Don Haskins became the first head coach to recruit athletes of color. The Miners ultimately won the 1966 NCAA National Championship, with a rotation of only seven Black players in the national final against the University of Kentucky's all-white program.

In 1968, Beamon, prior to the Olympic trials, had lost his athletic scholarship for boycotting a track meet at Brigham Young University, in protest of the Book of Mormon's views on the African-American community.

"We made a decision and stuck to our decision," Beamon recalled. "I believe that God was so much with me to give me that strength to continue to go on, despite all of the other obstacles that were in my way."

"I think it was very empowering to hear how he and his teammates -- just for standing up for the rights of Black people -- were going to lose their scholarships and the opportunity to compete at the Olympics," said Adelphi men's basketball student-athlete Joshua Koulamallah. "They stayed with what they believed in, regardless of the consequences."

The nation was consumed by racism, the war in Vietnam and the women's liberation front. That April, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -- a civil rights hero and activist -- was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.

Beamon even considered boycotting the Olympics, but qualified as one of three jumpers -- alongside then-current world record-holder Ralph Boston -- and represented his country on the world's grandest athletic stage.

He was scheduled to jump fourth in the finals -- against a field that included 1964 Olympic long jump champion Lynn Davies and two-time Olympic medalist Igor Ter-Ovanesyan. Not to mention Boston, who mentored Beamon during the Olympic trials.

"I was pretty confident that I would win this event. I just felt so good about it. I had no thoughts (that there wasn't a chance that I'd win)," Beamon said. 

As he prepared for his first jump, Boston offered Beamon some helpful advice. 

"Always be the first to put a long, long first jump out there."

And did he. 

Widely considered as one of the greatest moments in sports history, Beamon jumped 8.90 meters to shatter the world record and win the gold medal. No Olympian had ever even eclipsed 28 feet and Beamon jumped 29.

It wasn't until the official raised the white flag that Beamon celebrated. Because that meant it was a good jump. And that took time. The officials had to bring out a manual tape to measure the jump. The existing implement couldn't measure that far. It was the 'Leap of the Century'.

"Those few moments of joy have been with me all my life," Beamon expressed.