The Harvard-Navy lacrosse game of 1941 was an intercollegiate lacrosse game played in Annapolis, Maryland, between the Harvard University Crimson and the United States Naval Academy Midshipmen on April 4, 1941. Before the game, the Naval Academy's

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

told Harvard that the Navy team would not play against a racially integrated team. Harvard's one

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

player, Lucien Alexis Jr. of New Orleans, left of his own accord after Harvard's athletic director told Harvard's coach to send him home. Harvard's players, supported by their coach, had voted to forfeit the game rather than play without him. The game went on as scheduled. Both Harvard's and the Naval Academy's administrations were criticized for their actions.

Game

On April 3, 1941, the Harvard lacrosse team's 18 players arrived at Annapolis, Maryland, to play the Naval Academy in a scheduled intercollegiate match. That day, the Naval Academy's superintendent, Rear Admiral Russell Willson discovered that Harvard's team included one black player, Lucien Alexis Jr. He informed Harvard's coach, Dick Snibbe, and athletic director, William J. Bingham, that Navy's squad would not play against a racially integrated team. Angry at the Naval Academy's stance, Snibbe and Alexis' teammates elected to forfeit the game and return to Harvard. Bingham intervened and ordered the Harvard coach to send Alexis home and play the game. Learning of Bingham's directive, Alexis voluntarily decided to depart and told his teammates that it was his idea. The game was played as scheduled the next day and Navy won 12–0.

Reaction

Harvard's student newspaper, ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

'', learned of the incident and sharply criticized Bingham and Harvard's administration. The newspaper said of the incident:Fisher, p. 133. In response Bingham said: "We were guests of the Naval Academy and had no choice in the matter. Had the game been played at Cambridge, I would have insisted that he be allowed to participate." Newspapers in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

picked up the story and criticized Harvard's and the Naval Academy's administrations for their actions. The Harvard Council for Democracy in Education complained to U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt about USNA's actions in the incident. The

Harvard Corporation The President and Fellows of Harvard College (also called the Harvard Corporation or just the Corporation) is the smaller and more powerful of Harvard University's two governing boards, and is now the oldest corporation in America. Together with ...

told Bingham and the Harvard Athletic Association to inform all future sports competitors that the school would not tolerate further racial discrimination against its student athletes. One week after the incident, Alexis and the rest of Harvard's lacrosse team traveled to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, New York, to play a game against the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. In contrast to the reception the Navy had given Harvard's team, at West Point a cordon of cheering cadets, led by black cadets attending the academy, welcomed Alexis and his team.

Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of several U.S. presidents, including ''Lyndon Johnson and the American Drea ...

counts this incident among several that pressured President Roosevelt, in June 1941, to sign

Executive Order 8802 Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit ethnic or racial discrimination in the nation's defense industry. It also set up the Fair Employment Practice Committee. It was the first federal ac ...

that prohibited

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...

in the defense industry.Danelo, 2005.

Later events

In 1949 Wesley A. Brown was the first black student to graduate from the Naval Academy. On May 10, 2008, a dedication ceremony was held on the Naval Academy campus for its newest building, the

Wesley Brown Field House The Wesley Brown Field House is a sports arena at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It is located between the 7th Wing of Bancroft Hall and Santee Basin. The facility houses physical education, varsity sports, club sport ...

, named for him. Brown participated in the

ribbon-cutting ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, Naval Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, and Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley. Also present were almost one thousand guests. Lucien Victor Alexis (1887-1981), Harvard '17, was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the US Army and later became the principal of the only black high school in New Orleans. His son Lucien Victor Alexis Jr. graduated from Harvard in turn and went into the service in World War II. After his return, he got a degree from Harvard Business School. He later served as head of a New Orleans business college for black students, segregated by state law. He married and had children. He died in 1975.Roger Angell, "Class Report"
''The New Yorker'', 17 November 2008, accessed 12 February 2015 His daughter Lurita Alexis Doan became an entrepreneur, owning her own business from 1990 to 2005, and approved as the first woman and second African American to serve as Administrator of the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

(2006 to 2008), during the administration of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

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