N.C. A&T to host ceremony for first-ever Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University will host some of the country’s most accomplished in sports media on Saturday.

The idea to start the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame has long been on Rob Parker's mind. He's worked in sports television and radio for more than 30 years, appearing on ESPN's First Take, Fox Sports’ Undisputed, and more recently MLB Network. But he got his start as a writer. 

“We need to honor our own people and the contributions to journalism," Parker said. "You know, sometimes I think that Black writers just don’t get the respect or recognition that they deserve.”

In 2023, Parker taught a one-day baseball writing masterclass at N.C. A&T. And that was enough to convince him that A&T was the right place to host the event.

“I was so impressed by the students, the questions, how much they were involved and interested in what I was talking about," Parker said. "And I wanted this to be for students to be able to connect with these legends in the business.”

The inaugural Hall of Fame class, which was selected via a poll of more than 30 writers across the country, features some heavy hitters: Mike Wilbon, former columnist for the Washington Post and host of ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption; Claire Smith, who became the first female Major League Baseball beat writer with the Hartford Courant and the first woman in the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame; and William C. Rhoden, columnist for ESPN’s Andscape, a Black-led media platform dedicated to telling stories about the Black experience.

In 2018, Andscape started its Rhoden Fellowship, which gives HBCU students the opportunity to learn from industry leaders and tell stories about race, class and culture through the lens of sports.

Rhoden said he’s honored to be considered alongside Smith and Wilbon, and that the start of the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame comes at an important time.

“At a time we're now in in history, where there’s just an attack on the importance of diversity and equity, where there's an attack on Black institutions, whether it’s the Museum of African-American History, anything that has to do with telling the story of African Americans is being under attack. Books are being banned," Rhoden said. "It is important for us to tell those stories, and honor the storytellers.”

The ceremony will also posthumously honor “The Original Six" pioneer sportswriters and editors: Bryan Burwell, Thom Greer, Sam Lacy, Wendell Smith, Larry Whiteside and Ralph Wiley.

Parker says he hopes the ceremony will pay proper homage to the trailblazers, while also serving as a bridge to future Black storytellers.

“Students and these living legends, connecting in the same room, and us acknowledging them for their greatness, and also inspiring future journalists as we go forward in sports," Parker said. "That’s the goal: educate and inspire.”

The ceremony will take place Saturday evening. More information, including where to buy tickets, can be found on N.C. A&T's website.