In 1954, the African Americans who had once been slaves, started protesting against segregation. This movement had some great people leading the African Americans to slavery, many of them were known by everyone, Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks. These people were great inspiration to the civil rights movement, leading the way through politics and setting examples. But not everyone took this route to help the civil rights movement to be accepted. Some came through school, and some came through sports. One of these great leaders in sports was Willie O’Ree, the first African American to play in the NHL (national hockey league). Not known by many, O’Ree paved the way to freedom through hockey. Playing for more than fifty years as one of the only African American hockey players in the NHL. His story is not known by many, and he wasn’t the best player that was known, but he helped desegregation through small…show more content… At the age of 3 he started skating. Even as a toddler he was a good skater, his parents commented on his grace even at this early age. When he was five, he started on his first organized hockey league. But they never kept track of points, so no one ever one and his true skill didn't come out. Latter in life he enrolled in a hockey school where he excelled. This is only the beginning of his career, but his teachers and coaches say the champion that he would become. In 1951 the desegregation of hockey started. O’Ree’s team was the first African American team to play with the white teams. Even though this wasn't the first year that had desegregation, this was the first year that had affected the hockey in his home town. His team, the Fredericton merchants, played many games, but this was before O’Ree became a hockey legend. Over the next season he played for the Fredericton jr capitals. O’Ree only scored 3 goals, a personal low. This year was very hard on O’Ree, and his love of hockey was
