Capitals development camp prospects tour African American history museum

WASHINGTON -- Mitchell Gibson said seeing the life-size bronze statue of
Willie O'Ree
at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture made him think.

"To see African American history gives us a unique perspective as hockey players," said Gibson, a Harvard goalie attending Washington Capitals development camp this week. "I've had maybe only a handful of African American teammates throughout my years of playing, and I think that needs to change."
Gibson was among more than 30 young players who toured the museum Wednesday. They walked through exhibits that chronicles the Black experience from slavery to the election of Barack Obama as the first Black President of the United States, from Paul Robeson to Dr. Dre, from Jackie Robinson to O'Ree breaking barriers in their sports.
Earl Stafford, a Capitals part-owner who is on the museum's 30-member council, said the tour was to provoke thought and give development camp participants insight into why it's important for hockey to become more inclusive.
"It's all part of this effort of diversity and inclusion that says hockey is for everybody," Stafford said. "I'm really excited that they did come and, hopefully it's not the last time they come."

Damion Thomas, the museum's sports curator, guided the players through the sports hall, where they were mesmerized by retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal's Size 20 sneaker.
They took a long look at the Black hockey exhibit, which features O'Ree's statue; a Columbus Black Jackets jersey that belonged to defenseman Seth Jones, who now plays for the Chicago Blackhawks; a stick used by retired NHL player Joel Ward; and items Washington's Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club, North America's oldest minority-oriented youth hockey program, and Ice Hockey in Harlem.
"What I hope the players take away from this tour … is that African American history is not just a history that belongs to African Americans, that it's a lens to understand all of American history," Thomas said. "We hope that this tour provides them with a broader perspective about America."
Before the players toured the museum, they listened to talks from two local Black hockey pioneers: Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club founder and coach Neal Henderson and Alexandria Briggs-Blake, a 2020
Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award
finalist who founded Maryland's Tucker Road Parents Hockey Association.
"I thought that it would interesting that they knew the Black history of Washington, D.C. because it is so far south and the second thing is that there are so many Black people playing hockey and so many Black people in Washington, D.C., who like hockey," said Henderson, who was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.

The talks and the tour struck a chord with Clay Stevenson, a Dartmouth College goalie who signed a two-year, entry-level contract with Washington on March 28.
"The hockey exhibit was really cool," Stevenson said. "I looked at the O'Ree [statue] then read that the percentage of (Black) players is still so low in the League.
"The exposure to the game, it needs to be more out there," Stevenson said. "I think back to what the game has done for me, how it's made me feel and the opportunities it's presented to me. I feel like anyone who wants to play the game should be given the opportunity."