WASHINGTON - In 1956, American University hired David Carrasco as the first Mexican-American to be named a head coach for a major U.S. university’s men’s basketball program. Coach Carrasco went to work recruiting the first integrated team ever in Washington, D.C. and the Mason Dixon Conference, ensuring that his groundbreaking opportunity was shared with a trio of D.C.’s finest black scholastic players; Dickie Wells, Will Jones and Jim Howell. 

Hailing from Spingarn, Dunbar and Archbishop High Schools, AU’s campus in Northwest D.C. was a world apart. Below, we share this historic story and celebrate the vision, character and courage that allowed Coach Carrasco and these first integrated teams to soar high – making two College Division, NCAA Final Four appearances and breaking barriers everywhere they went.

In a powerful event held in honor of Black History Month, American University paid homage to a pivotal moment in its history by commemorating Coach David Carrasco's groundbreaking decision to integrate AU men's basketball during an era of heavy segregation in Washington, D.C. The panel discussion, titled "Desegregating DC Basketball," was moderated by David Aldridge, SOC/BA ’87, senior columnist for The Athletic, and featured Harvard Professor David Carrasco; former NBA head coach and general manager Ed Tapscott, WCL/JD ’80, also a former AU head coach - the first Black head coach in the school's history; and AU's current men’s basketball head coach Duane Simpkins.

Click above to read a recap of the event written by Keith Pierce, Director of Strategic Communications & Marketing at the Washington College of Law, and to view a photo gallery.

Scroll through the PDF in the frame above to read “Champions of Another Kind” from the Winter 1998 edition of American Magazine.

Scroll through the PDF in the frame above to read “Willie, Dickie, and Beanie” from the Winter 1998 edition of American Magazine.