Caldwell, Curtis Honored as Wake Forest’s ACC UNITE Award Recipients

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced the winners of the second-annual ACC UNITE Award, which was created to honor individuals affiliated with the league who have made an impact in the areas of racial and social justice. Jim Caldwell (football) and Charlene Curtis (women’s basketball) are the Demon Deacons’ two honorees this year, as they are the first male and female black head coaches in ACC history in their respective sports.
 
The UNITE Award is an initiative of the ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social Justice (CORE – Champions of Racial Equity) and was developed and approved by its 15 member institutions. C.O.R.E was created in June 2020 to support the ACC’s commitment to social justice and racial equity. Members of C.O.R.E. include conference office staff members and campus representatives from each of the league’s 15 institutions. C.O.R.E.’s mission is to promote and encourage inclusion, racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy. 
 
The UNITE Award is presented annually to individuals who:

• Best exemplify ACC CORE’s mission to promote and encourage racial equity and social justice through education, partnerships, engagement and advocacy; 
• Have helped create meaningful, lasting change by improving systems, organizational structures, policies, practices and attitudes; 
• Have been a pioneer and/or helped pave the way for minorities either at the institution or in the community

In the first year of the award, the league celebrated the individuals who – according to available information – were the first male and female athletes of color to integrate the athletic teams at each current ACC institution. Wake Forest’s honorees were Robert Grant and Kenneth “Butch” Henry (1964, football), and Keeva Jackson and Sonya Henderson (1981, women’s basketball). Grant and Henry were the first Black football student-athletes to enroll at a Division I institution in the South.
 
Wake Forest Director of Athletics John Currie:
“As a charter member of the ACC, Wake Forest University is proud to participate in this effort to annually honor the incredible trailblazers at each institution. Jim Caldwell and Charlene Curtis were true pioneers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Their kindness and class resonated throughout the student-athletes and staff they led. They were…