Texas Longhorns unveil statue of first Black letterman Julius Whittier

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Texas Longhorns unveil statue of first Black letterman Julius Whittier

Texas unveiled a new 12½-foot statue of trailblazer Julius Whittier, the Longhorns' first Black letterman, outside the north end of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday. Whittier, who died in September 2018, arrived at Texas as one of the school's first Black scholarship athletes and played on the 1970 team that won a national championship. He played offensive line and tight end on three teams that won the Southwest Conference and was on the freshman team when Texas won the 1969 national title. Honoring Whittier was among the list of changes that Texas athletes pushed for in June as a social justice movement took place following the death of George Floyd. Texas says the school began work on the statue this summer. "This should have happened long ago," legendary Texas running back Earl Campbell said." "Julius paved the road that gave us the opportunity," said Leaks, who became the first Black football player from Texas to earn All-American and all-conference honors in 1971. "I'm proud that UT has chosen to commission the statue of Julius, who was the first and showed us the path. The statue will provide future students with an understanding of what we were a part of and the statement that was made."

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