A statue dedicated to Willie O’Ree, the 1st Black NHL Player.
Although hockey is a mainstream sport, it is not a popular sport in Black Culture which is unfortunate. However, the influence African-Americans have on the sport runs deep. On June 2nd 2021, I had the pleasure to learn more about the contributions African-Americans made to hockey through a Q & A session with Dr. Damion Thomas, the curator of Sports: Leveling the Playing Field Gallery at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. He discussed the involvement of Black players in the early history of hockey, their influence on the sport today, and revealed a statue dedicated to the first Black player in the National Hockey League (NHL), Willie O’Ree.
The Hockey Collection at NMAAHC
You can also learn more about the diverse history of hockey by watching the film Black Ice.
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