News Archive

A story in the Indianapolis Star features Donald Silas, J.D. ’96. Silas is one of the “IU Ten,” the Black football players who boycotted and were ultimately dismissed from Indiana University’s football team in 1969. The team members were protesting their treatment based on their race. A story about Silas’s life appeared in the Indianapolis Star February 14.

Silas grew up in Haughville, the neighborhood to the west of the IUPUI campus, and was thinking of quitting high school when his football coach convinced him that he could play at the college level. Silas got his grades in shape and signed to play for Indiana University. In 1969, Black teammates boycotted practice in protest of the way they were being treated. Four players returned to the team while the ones who would become known as the IU Ten were dismissed.

After playing professional football in Canada and the Midwest, Silas returned to IU, earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1981 on the IUPUI campus. He then went to work for the Indiana Department of Corrections where he saw a need for greater advocacy for the inmates. That led Silas to earn a law degree at IU McKinney. He practiced law for several years before becoming a teacher, a job that ultimately allowed him to give back by follow in the footsteps of educators he admired growing up.

Five members of the IU Ten met with university officials in April 2015. One of those officials was Fred Glass, J.D. ’84, who then was the athletic director. During these meetings, the team members shared what led to the boycott and the impact it had on their lives. Silas described the experience as a “sincere effort” on the part of the university to ease the pain of the boycott and its aftermath.

Silas said he is proud of the changes brought about by the sacrifices he and his nine other teammates made over 50 years ago.

The article reports that Silas was recently diagnosed with  terminal liver cancer and while his end-of-life plans are in place, there is a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral arrangements.

Readers may view video clips from the interview with Silas on the newspaper’s website.