Black History is American history and by failing to remember the good and the bad…future generations lose momentum…

Long before Tiger Woods entered the golf world, Charlie Sifford was breaking barriers and making the road easier. A prolific golfer, Mr. Sifford was the first Black man to gain entrance to the PGA, an association that had a “whites only” clause in it’s bylaws. Although other Black players tried to integrate the PGA it was Sifford who after 9 years of unsuccessful attempts, finally broke the color barrier in 1961. Sifford credited Black athletes such as Joe Lewis and Jackie Robinson as helping him stay determined in spite of the death threats, hate mail and continual denials to the PGA. In 2004 Sifford became the first Black person inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Tiger Woods referred to Sifford as “the Grandfather I never had,” and in 2014 at the age of 91 and one year before his death, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

#BlackHistoryMonth
#CharlieSifford
#BarrierBreaker
#PGA
#Respect