Introduction
Trinity has a rich history in the athletic department with many influential names and defining events. One issue that Trinity has struggled with in the past and even still struggles with today is racial diversity. A big help in advancing Trinity’s racial equality and diversity has been athletics, especially the Men’s basketball team during the 1960's and 1970's. Two players in particular stood out to me in the movement for racial equality: Felix Thurston and Larry Jeffries. I did most of my research on Felix’s story, but I could not mention Felix and racial equality without mentioning Larry Jeffries. They both played in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, just a decade after the integration of classrooms and schools, so it was not very common for teams to have multiple black athletes. Larry Jeffries was there first from 1965-1969, and Thurston overlapped coming in 1968 and graduated in 1971. In order to see the full impact they had on Trinity and the athletics program, it is important to look at the process of them coming to Trinity, their accomplishments and missions while they were at Trinity and what happened after they graduated. Felix Thurston and Larry Jeffries made an impact on Trinity’s racial equality with their struggles and effort during their time at Trinity.