As recently as 1968, it was widely believed in the NFL that Black people lacked the character to play QB; into that hostility wade three pioneers who would be the first Black QBs to crack NFL starting lineups: Marlin Briscoe, Joe Gilliam and James Harris.
Just as show business in the 1970s typecast Black characters, so did the NFL; star college quarterbacks like Tony Dungy are switched to lesser positions by their pro teams; others, like future Hall of Famer Warren Moon, take alternative routes.
While President Ronald Reagan campaigns and governs on a wave of white backlash against Black progress in the 70s and 80s, Doug Williams endures racial bias and personal tragedy to become the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
Black QBs of the '80s and '90s revolutionize how the position would be played forever after; Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick introduce the previously forbidden "Black style" to QB play and redefine the position.
