{"id":2327,"date":"2020-03-04T09:20:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T14:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/?p=2327"},"modified":"2020-03-02T09:35:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-02T14:35:03","slug":"remembering-the-titans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/remembering-the-titans\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering the Titans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Norah Ludke and Abigail Ernst<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

September 23, 2020, will be exactly 20 years since the movie, Remember the Titans <\/em>came out. In honor of the anniversary, we asked Titan alumni, and past and current staff, to recount their experiences and stories. These stories include memories and events at T.C. at the era the movie portrayed and at the time that the movie was released. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember the Titans <\/em>was based on the 1971 T.C. football team. Many of the people whose stories we collected had personal connections with the coaches and players, despite racial and gender barriers. The movie told the story of some, but there are many more stories to be told. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verona Iriarte, from the Class of 1973, played volleyball and received a varsity letter as a co-captain during the time period that the movie was set. As a Puerto Rican, Black, and Native American female athlete, Iriarte\u2019s achievement predated the Title IX amendment, making it an especially impressive accomplishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Title IX is a federal law that states \u201cNo person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iriarte recalls that although there was racism prevalent at T.C. in 1971, the film\u2019s portrayal of racism was not accurate. \u201c[The] evidence of racism was in the curriculum and in the City of Alexandria,\u201d Iriarte said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desegregation in ACPS took time. The process involved federal and state legislation, violent protests, political unrest, and changes in the ACPS School Board and Alexandria City Council. Ten years after Brown vs. Board of Education<\/em>, ACPS finally had a plan for desegregation in 1965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLooking back on the experience, I recall it as being my best high school year,\u201d said Scott Marinoff, a 1972 graduate, about his senior year. \u201cI had attended Bishop Ireton (BI) in ninth and tenth grades, then GW in eleventh,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marinoff started high school in ACPS under a new consolidation plan that sent all juniors and seniors in the city to T.C., while freshmen and sophomores attended either George Washington (GW) or Francis C. Hammond high schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the inaugural school year, many students felt they were playing an active role in bringing change and progress, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeff McCarney, Class of 1973, transferred to T.C. when T.C., Hammond, and GW were merged. He had attended BI freshman and sophomore years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI attended Parker-Gray Middle School, so I was already used to an integrated [school],\u201d said McCarney. The movie, however, suggests that ACPS integrated in the year the movie is set. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polly Cox, Class of 1973, says the movie inflated the racial tension at T.C. \u201cThere were fights between all types of students.\u201d Cox said. \u201cThe movie wants you to believe that this was the time frame of integration\u2026 that is totally false. I went to [an integrated] elementary, middle school and high school before 1971. Most of the movie is made up for [the purpose of] Hollywood.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alyce Horwat, from the class of 1976, remembers that she did not really notice racial issues as a kid. \u201cMy mom told me … I had a favorite teacher who taught music and I just raved about him all the time,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen she went to \u2018back to school night\u2019 and met him, she was in shock that he was black because I had never mentioned it. It was around 1969 and I think the parents were the ones with bigger issues.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Horwat said \u201cI did not feel a great divide as they showed\u201d. She recalls getting along with many different people in high school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also says that her biggest issue with Remember the Titans <\/em>was that \u201c it portrayed T.C. as in some sort of backwoods Virginia setting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe movie may have portrayed the feelings and actions of some people in the years before my attendance,\u201d said Horwat, \u201cbut it did not portray what my experience was like at all.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Les Wilmer, who graduated in 1973, also believes the movie exaggerated the situation. \u201cThe football team did not \u2018unite\u2019 the city,\u201d he said. He recalls many incidents of racial violence both at T.C. and in the city. According to Wilmer, many turned \u201cdeaf ears\u201d to these incidents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leslie Jones did not attend T.C. in the 1970s, however, she was teaching when the movie came out in 2000. She recalls attending the film premiere in Alexandria with the Junior Varsity Cheer team, which she coached. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones says at that premiere she met Coach Herman Boone and Coach Bill Yoast, and \u201cforged friendships with both of them.\u201d Over the years, she became closer to Boone as they went to various T.C. games together. She later met Coach Glenn Furman. \u201cIt was such a pleasure to know all three of these men,\u201d Jones said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Norah Ludke and Abigail Ernst September 23, 2020, will be exactly 20 years since the movie, Remember the Titans came out. In honor of the anniversary, we asked Titan alumni, and past and current staff, to recount their experiences and stories. These stories include memories and events at T.C. at the era the movie portrayed and at the time that the movie was released.  Remember the Titans was based on the 1971 T.C. football team. Many of the people whose stories we collected had personal connections with the coaches and players, despite racial and gender barriers. The movie told the story of some, but there are many more stories to be told.  Verona Iriarte, from the Class of 1973, played volleyball and received a varsity letter as a co-captain during the time period that the movie was set. As a Puerto Rican, Black, and Native American female athlete, Iriarte\u2019s achievement predated the Title IX amendment, making it an especially impressive accomplishment.  Title IX is a federal law that states \u201cNo person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.\u201d  Iriarte recalls that although there was racism prevalent at T.C. in 1971, the film\u2019s portrayal of racism was not accurate. \u201c[The] evidence of racism was in the curriculum and in the City of Alexandria,\u201d Iriarte said. Desegregation in ACPS took time. The process involved federal and state legislation, violent protests, political unrest, and changes in the ACPS School Board and Alexandria City Council. Ten years after Brown vs. Board of Education, ACPS finally had a plan for desegregation in 1965. \u201cLooking back on the experience, I recall it as being my best high school year,\u201d said Scott Marinoff, a 1972 graduate, about his senior year. \u201cI had attended Bishop Ireton (BI) in ninth and tenth grades, then GW in eleventh,\u201d he said.  Marinoff started high school in ACPS under a new consolidation plan that sent all juniors and seniors in the city to T.C., while freshmen and sophomores attended either George Washington (GW) or Francis C. Hammond high schools.  In the inaugural school year, many students felt they were playing an active role in bringing change and progress, he said.  Jeff McCarney, Class of 1973, transferred to T.C. when T.C., Hammond, and GW were merged. He had attended BI freshman and sophomore years.  \u201cI attended Parker-Gray Middle School, so I was already used to an integrated [school],\u201d said McCarney. The movie, however, suggests that ACPS integrated in the year the movie is set.  Polly Cox, Class of 1973, says the movie inflated the racial tension at T.C. \u201cThere were fights between all types of students.\u201d Cox said. \u201cThe movie wants you to believe that this was the time frame of integration\u2026 that is totally false. I went to [an integrated] elementary, middle school and high school before 1971. Most of the movie is made up for [the purpose of] Hollywood.\u201d  Alyce Horwat, from the class of 1976, remembers that she did not really notice racial issues as a kid. \u201cMy mom told me … I had a favorite teacher who taught music and I just raved about him all the time,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen she went to \u2018back to school night\u2019 and met him, she was in shock that he was black because I had never mentioned it. It was around 1969 and I think the parents were the ones with bigger issues.\u201d  Horwat said \u201cI did not feel a great divide as they showed\u201d. She recalls getting along with many different people in high school.  She also says that her biggest issue with Remember the Titans was that \u201c it portrayed T.C. as in some sort of backwoods Virginia setting.\u201d  \u201cThe movie may have portrayed the feelings and actions of some people in the years before my attendance,\u201d said Horwat, \u201cbut it did not portray what my experience was like at all.\u201d  Les Wilmer, who graduated in 1973, also believes the movie exaggerated the situation. \u201cThe football team did not \u2018unite\u2019 the city,\u201d he said. He recalls many incidents of racial violence both at T.C. and in the city. According to Wilmer, many turned \u201cdeaf ears\u201d to these incidents.  Leslie Jones did not attend T.C. in the 1970s, however, she was teaching when the movie came out in 2000. She recalls attending the film premiere in Alexandria with the Junior Varsity Cheer team, which she coached.  Jones says at that premiere she met Coach Herman Boone and Coach Bill Yoast, and \u201cforged friendships with both of them.\u201d Over the years, she became closer to Boone as they went to various T.C. games together. She later met Coach Glenn Furman. \u201cIt was such a pleasure to know all three of these men,\u201d Jones said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_7978.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2327"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2341,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions\/2341"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acpsk12.org\/theogony\/2019-2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}