The year was 1965. The American Football League had gathered its best athletes in New Orleans for the All-Star Game, an event meant to celebrate the league’s rising prominence and its brightest stars.

But the moment Black players stepped off the plane, the city reminded them of its past.

Taxis passed them by. Hotels turned them away. Restaurants refused service. They were All-Stars in uniform—yet unwelcome on the streets they were supposed to help showcase.

Abner Haynes had seen racism before, but this was different. This was bold. Blatant. Humiliating. And he wasn’t alone in feeling it.

Inside hotel lobbies and narrow hallways, players began to talk. Quiet conversations turned into shared anger and disbelief. What good was an All-Star invitation if you couldn’t sit at a lunch counter? What message would it send if they smiled, suited up, and pretended this treatment didn’t matter?

Abner didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.