University of North Carolina Athletics
GoHeels Exclusive: Celebrating Black History Month
February 26, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
When he enrolled at UNC in 1963, Larry Poe arrived in Chapel Hill at a time when national issues of integration and civil rights were being pushed to the forefront.
Just a year earlier, James Meredith had become the first African-American to attend the University of Mississippi. Medgar Evers, the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, had recently been assassinated. And tensions surrounding the upcoming March on Washington were escalating.Â
Amid all of that, Poe was on a campus that included about 15 African-American undergraduates at the time. Five, including himself, were in his graduating Class of 1965.
"Quite frankly," Poe said, "it was an island in a sea of turmoil around us."
Yet, Poe said he "never had any problems" at Carolina. He ultimately graduated with a bachelor's degree in zoology before serving 39 years on active and reserve duty in the U.S. Navy. He retired as a two-star rear admiral. He also spent 26 of those years in the CIA, rising to the rank of senior intelligence service officer.
Poe went on to become a member of the General Alumni Association's Board of Directors and a board member of the UNC Black Pioneers. He's currently the president of Poe Consulting Group, Inc. And this past Thursday, UNC honored Poe as part of its Black History Month celebration.
For the fourth consecutive year, the women's basketball program teamed up with the Carolina Black Caucus to host a tribute to Black History Month. The Tar Heels' game against Boston College served as a platform to recognize African-American pioneers from the basketball program and the University community. The latter included Poe and Dr. Harry Stafford, the primary care physician for the women's basketball, track and field, and cross country teams.
"When I was here, Billy Cunningham was the big man on campus, and I got to know him very well," Poe said. "We've had a lifelong connection. But there were no black basketball players or football players. (James) Womack was a black cheerleader. But that was the extent of it.Â
"It just really feels great to see how much women's basketball has grown and the roles that blacks have played in that."
Among those who have played the largest roles are Charlotte Smith and Tracy Reid. They were the other two individuals who were honored Thursday.Â
The No. 2 scorer in program history, Reid became the first Tar Heel drafted into the WNBA when the Charlotte Sting selected her seventh overall in the 1998 WNBA Draft. She was also named to the Kodak and Associated Press All-America teams in 1997 and 1998, becoming UNC's first two-time consensus choice.
As a junior during the 1993-94 season, Smith became the first National Player of the Year in program history. She is one of only two Carolina women's basketball players to have her jersey retired. Currently in her eighth season as Elon's head coach, she was able to attend Thursday's game before the Phoenix faced James Madison on Friday.
"It just recognizes contributions that African-Americans have made to the women's basketball program," said Smith of being honored. "I'm just excited about the contributions that everyone has made to the program because it's what's made us so successful."Â
Those contributions were also recognized last weekend, when the women's basketball program hosted its annual alumni weekend.
Smith also attended some of the festivities surrounding that event, during which the 1984 team that captured the first ACC Championship in program history and the 1994 team that won the NCAA Championship were recognized. Smith's buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Louisiana Tech handed the Tar Heels the latter.
"It's something you see every year," she said. "I go to the Final Four almost every year, and it's a shot that they show every year. So it's always refreshing to know we've made our mark in history that can't be erased."
That goes for all four of Thursday's honorees.
When he enrolled at UNC in 1963, Larry Poe arrived in Chapel Hill at a time when national issues of integration and civil rights were being pushed to the forefront.
Just a year earlier, James Meredith had become the first African-American to attend the University of Mississippi. Medgar Evers, the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi, had recently been assassinated. And tensions surrounding the upcoming March on Washington were escalating.Â
Amid all of that, Poe was on a campus that included about 15 African-American undergraduates at the time. Five, including himself, were in his graduating Class of 1965.
"Quite frankly," Poe said, "it was an island in a sea of turmoil around us."
Yet, Poe said he "never had any problems" at Carolina. He ultimately graduated with a bachelor's degree in zoology before serving 39 years on active and reserve duty in the U.S. Navy. He retired as a two-star rear admiral. He also spent 26 of those years in the CIA, rising to the rank of senior intelligence service officer.
Poe went on to become a member of the General Alumni Association's Board of Directors and a board member of the UNC Black Pioneers. He's currently the president of Poe Consulting Group, Inc. And this past Thursday, UNC honored Poe as part of its Black History Month celebration.
For the fourth consecutive year, the women's basketball program teamed up with the Carolina Black Caucus to host a tribute to Black History Month. The Tar Heels' game against Boston College served as a platform to recognize African-American pioneers from the basketball program and the University community. The latter included Poe and Dr. Harry Stafford, the primary care physician for the women's basketball, track and field, and cross country teams.
"When I was here, Billy Cunningham was the big man on campus, and I got to know him very well," Poe said. "We've had a lifelong connection. But there were no black basketball players or football players. (James) Womack was a black cheerleader. But that was the extent of it.Â
"It just really feels great to see how much women's basketball has grown and the roles that blacks have played in that."
Among those who have played the largest roles are Charlotte Smith and Tracy Reid. They were the other two individuals who were honored Thursday.Â
The No. 2 scorer in program history, Reid became the first Tar Heel drafted into the WNBA when the Charlotte Sting selected her seventh overall in the 1998 WNBA Draft. She was also named to the Kodak and Associated Press All-America teams in 1997 and 1998, becoming UNC's first two-time consensus choice.
As a junior during the 1993-94 season, Smith became the first National Player of the Year in program history. She is one of only two Carolina women's basketball players to have her jersey retired. Currently in her eighth season as Elon's head coach, she was able to attend Thursday's game before the Phoenix faced James Madison on Friday.
"It just recognizes contributions that African-Americans have made to the women's basketball program," said Smith of being honored. "I'm just excited about the contributions that everyone has made to the program because it's what's made us so successful."Â
Those contributions were also recognized last weekend, when the women's basketball program hosted its annual alumni weekend.
Smith also attended some of the festivities surrounding that event, during which the 1984 team that captured the first ACC Championship in program history and the 1994 team that won the NCAA Championship were recognized. Smith's buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Louisiana Tech handed the Tar Heels the latter.
"It's something you see every year," she said. "I go to the Final Four almost every year, and it's a shot that they show every year. So it's always refreshing to know we've made our mark in history that can't be erased."
That goes for all four of Thursday's honorees.
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