DURHAM, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — It's impossible to think of March Madness without the Duke Blue Devils, who are one of the blue bloods of college basketball. The university’s rich history includes Black stars like Johnny Dawkins, Grant Hill, Jason Williams, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Zion W illiamson, and many more. Duke Blue Devils betting favorite to win NCAA Tournament "It is literally one of the biggest brands in sport on a global level," says Dr. Javier Wallace. Wallace, Funmi Ogunro, and Dr. Martin Smith produced a new documentary that celebrates the impact of a prominent player at a pivotal time in history. It’s called C.B.: Power to the Player. C.B. Claiborne was the first Black basketball player at Duke. Credit: Art is Cool & Ideal 48 "I didn't think of myself as just a basketball player. I was part of a group of students that was trying to change this campus," he says in the trailer. Long before the Who's Who of Hoops, the lesser-known trailblazer left his mark when he arrived at the campus six decades ago, a couple of years after the first Black students were integrated. “I mean I can remember going to ACC tournaments and looking around and not seeing any Black folks in the gym,” Claiborne recalls. "I hope [viewers of the documentary] take away how people being true to their values and being true to what they think is right can actually have a positive impact in the society," Claiborne told Queen City News. "Realizing how important the men's basketball program is to the university as a brand on a global scale it just blew away how a person who made this much impact wasn't recognized," said Dr. Wallace, a Duke postdoctoral associate and the production’s co-producer and co-director."He didn't come to Duke just to be at Duke. He came to Duke as a change maker in society," Wallace said. "He sacrificed playing time in order to protest the rights of Black students," says Ogunro, the co-producer, co-director, and editor. "When I came to Duke there was a kind of systematic exclusion of black students. It was true throughout the South, I mean, that was the time," said Claiborne. Of course, '65 was one of the high points of the Civil Rights Movement. He played guard for Duke, but Claiborne wanted to play a role in change outside the lines, sparking a list of demands for administrators. Credit: Art is Cool & Ideal 48Credit: Art is Cool & Ideal 48Credit: Art is Cool & Ideal 48 "Things like hiring the first black faculty member,” he says. “You know, getting the first African American studies program, having an impact with the wage relationships for the workers at Duke. So those things actually came to be." Claiborne accomplished so much but sacrificed a lot. Dr. Smith is the executive director of the film and a Duke Assistant Professor. "What if he was able to devote all his energy and time to basketball, and to studying, and he doesn't have to think about protests, he doesn't have to think about racial abuse, racial taunts. How much more could he have done?" Smith wonders. Claiborne never made it to the NBA, but his place in Duke history is undeniable.“He participated in that change to give us what Duke basketball is to the world now," says Wallace. “What I’m particularly proud of is that the portrayal is of more than just the basketball player,” Claiborne said. “So, they’ve done a great job of portraying what was going on at the time, the social environment.” “I mean sometimes when you plant a tree you never know how big that tree is going to be, how wide or anything like that,” he says. "CB: Power to the Player" will be screened at film festivals across the country. ...read more read less