INDIANAPOLIS — Dress rehearsals are underway inside a historic school as performers get ready to pay homage to one of Indiana's most historic teams.
"A Touch of Glory" will be be presented during Black History Month at Crispus Attucks High School.
The stage production, produced by Deborah Asante & Artists, performed a community preview Feb. 9-11, and will return for NBA's All-Star Weekend, Feb. 16-18.
"I'm very excited about what audiences are going to see," said Terrance Asante-Doyle, the producer. "The timing of All-Star Weekend to Indy. This story. Historical significance. National spotlight. I was like, 'no-brainer.' I'm in."
The stage production tells the story about the 1955 Crispus Attucks boys basketball team that became the first all-Black team to win a state championship in any integrated sport in the country.
Asante-Doyle said the cast includes three actors who played high school basketball and one cast member who played college basketball. Actors portray the bond between the players and the challenges they faced 69 years ago. Asante-Doyle said it is important for people to know the history of Crispus Attucks High School.
"Let's go back to 1927 when this school was established. I don't know if people understand that it was a place to put the Black people," Asante-Doyle said. "The people who established this school were tied to the Ku Klux Klan. So, it was like, 'let's put them over there.'"
She also said the students were getting a great education in the early years of the high school.
"I think one of the unique things about Crispus Attucks as a school during that time, there were teachers that should have been professors. So, the quality of education that students were getting was that of a collegiate education because due to racism, the professors weren't able to get jobs at universities or colleges," Asante-Doyle said.
In the first 15 years of the team's history, the team was not allowed to compete in the state basketball tournament, but the rules changed in 1942.
In 1955, legendary basketball player Oscar Robertson and his teammates ran the table, despite facing obstacles.
"Racism. Segregation. What I like to call small-minded people," Asante-Doyle said. "They were playing a different pace of basketball, which was new. They got slapped with a bunch of calls that their counterparts weren't getting. In that year when they were winning, they became the city's team. Throughout the course of that season, the city was behind them."
The Tigers culminated their historic season by beating Gary Roosevelt in the title game, 97-74.
But the Crispus Attucks 1955 champions couldn't celebrate the way white teams did. They were not allowed to have a parade around Monument Circle.
"There was fear that there would be a disturbance," Asante-Doyle said. "When they finally won and achieved the goal, they did not get their victory lap, the parade. To be let down by your own city is really what resonated for me. It's like we won, we won. But, it was only a touch of glory."
Citywide recognition would come decades later.
The team was honored at an Indiana Pacers game and celebrated in a 500 Festival parade in Indianapolis.
Today, the 1955 state championship trophy, the championship banner and exhibits inside the school museum are a source of pride for the kids who now attend Crispus Attucks High School.
"It's a symbol for our school as to what is possible when we come together, when we work hard, we're able to achieve and reach that pinnacle of success," said Lauren Franklin, the school's current principal.
Winning extended beyond that magical 1955 season.
"The '55 team was the first. But then, they went on to an undefeated season and further demonstrated their dominance," Asante-Doyle said.
Crispus Attucks is still winning — athletically and academically.
"We just graduated 93.8% of our students this past spring, the spring of 2023 with 0% waivers. So, that's something we're incredibly proud of," Franklin said.
Basketball players have provided decades of inspiration at Crispus Attucks.
"These young men were capable of making a change — not just here at the school, but also in the city, in the state — and they gained national notoriety," Franklin said.
Now, there is a new way to tell the story, connecting Hoosiers with history, which includes getting free curriculum into schools.
"This curriculum is really going to tackle this timeframe. We're talking about the 1950s and 1960s. Civil rights," Asante-Doyle said. "Really celebrating the triumphs that came out of the trauma."
Asante-Doyle hopes the audiences who see the stage production understand it is an important part of Indiana history.
"I want them to feel connected because this is all of our story. Yes, it's Crispus Attucks, but this is an Indy story," Asante-Doyle said.
"A Touch of Glory" will be shared from the stage for generations to come.
To get your tickets to the show, click here.