Integration and Triumph: T.C. Williams High Story

In the early 1970s, two schools in Alexandria, Virginia integrate forming T.C. Williams High School. The white American head coach of the Titans was replaced by an African American coach from the south. Tensions arise when players from different races were forced to play together on the same football team. Many tensions and stereotypes became less intense during their two-week training camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When the football team returned to their hometown of Alexandria, the players found the city in chaos due to the forced desegregation of the new high school. As the football season progressed, the team's undefeated record encouraged the community to accept the changes. After the Titans' perfect winning season, the team and the

Before camp the team started off in the third stage; the norming stage which is a bid for power. There was a lot of competition within in team as well as leadership struggle between players and coaches. The boys created cliques with others of their specific race and suggestions fell flat because pride stood in the way. Throughout the movie the Titans moved through stages. After camp, the boys went into stage four; the performing stage. The team started listening to one another, cliques dissolved, they used everyone special talents and the team’s spirit increased. The boys grew extremely close. At the end of the movie, the team moved into the fifth stage; adjourning. They celebrated their accomplishments, recognized everyone’s participations and life after their amazing season became bittersweet. The connection between them all remained but they did not have their day to day interaction like they once had. Life treated them well and for that, they were family for

This team had all odds against them and they still achieved their goal as a team. This movie taught me a underlying lesson. In order to work together you must build a common ground and agreement. It takes trust and communication to accomplish any goal you and your team set. Setting aside differences that may exist within your group and moving forward with similarities is the most important thing to remember. Every group has challenges and conflicts they must work through and together. Without your team on your side, you will not succeed. I can incorporate these learning into my behavior when working with future groups because I gained a sense of understanding that success does not have an “I”. A team is not just one person but a combination of other talents, experiences, thoughts and ideas. Teamwork makes the dream