‘This is really great’: Clinton raises money for Duke Slater statue
Duke Slater was a trailblazer. The first African American and all American at the University of Iowa. The field is named in his honor. And a statue will be erected right here in Clinton.
“For the university to recognize him and have his name on the field — that that means a lot,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “I mean, a phenomenal football player. Obviously an excellent student and had to put up with some hardships that maybe weren’t necessarily in front of some other players that he played with.”
“Really he had some huge obstacles to overcome,” Clinton superintendent Gary DeLacy said. “Whether you go back to football where he was the only black athlete at Iowa, then to be able to pivot and become one of the first black judicial judges in the city of Chicago, and so on.”
“Duke Slater’s legacy is more than just football,” Duke Slater statue committee member Bill Misiewicz said. “It has a lot to do with who he was as a person, because if you put it in the context of the times he was growing up at the turn of the century that he as an African American football player and student.”
Over 140 people turned out to Lyons church in Clinton. Various items were auctioned off, with the funds going to help erect a statue of Slater outside of Clinton high school and the Duke Slater scholarship fund.
“It shows that Clinton will support something that they believe in.” Misiewicz added.
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