When the two segregated high schools in Athens merged in 1970, high school football was a key part of civic life in the South. Local historian Mark Clegg takes on this subject in his book The Crimson and Gold: Football and Integration in Athens, Georgia.
When he published the book in 2024 with the University of Georgia Press, Clegg had no idea that local high school librarians would pick up the book and incorporate it into a summer book club for Clarke Central High School student athletes.
This summer, hundreds of students will get a copy of The Crimson and Gold and will learn the tumultuous history of their own school. Clegg sat down with WUGA’s Emma Auer to discuss his book and its impact on Athens youth.
