The White House announced yesterday that President Obama will be giving Bill Russell, a former NBA star, the Medal of Freedom. This high civilian honor is presented to individuals who have made contributions to the security or the national interest of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.

Bill Russell is a former Boston Celtics Captain who led the team to eleven championships in thirteen years and was named NBA’s Most Valuable Player 5 times. He then went on to be the first African American to coach in the NBA. Russell is also an impassioned advocate of human rights and marched along side Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Dandy Dons by James W. Johnson describes for the first time how the unprecedented accomplishment of the Dons, led by coach Phil Woolpert and future hall-of-famers Bill Russell and K. C. Jones, paved the way for black talent in major college basketball and transformed the sport.

They Cleared the Lane by Ron Thomas shows how in the first half of the twentieth century pro basketball was tainted by racism, as gifted African Americans were denied the opportunity to display their talents. Thomas tells the largely untold story of what basketball was really like for the first black NBA players, including Bill Russell.