For many communities in Texas, Friday means high school football.
But when Texas high schools were segregated, black athletes didn’t play under Friday night lights. They played on Wednesday and Thursday nights, while white high schools played Friday nights.
Author and former sportswriter Michael Hurd’s new book Thursday Night Lights examines the often-ignored story of black high school football from 1920 to 1970.
Hurd recently spoke with KUT about the separate systems that operated for much of that time – the University Interscholastic League for white public schools, and the Prairie View Interscholastic League, which provided governed black athletics.
You can hear more from Hurd at this weekend’s Texas Book Festival. He’s appearing twice on Saturday. Find more information on those appearances at the Texas Book Festival’s website.
You can listen to the extended version of this interview below:
