But the odds are, what Harrison says he was "meant to do," arose for real in a meeting with the former Dean of Kinesiology Dee Edington.
It was when he worked out the details of his University employment that he popped the question.
"Could I name the center after Paul Robeson?" he asked, fearful that Robeson's communist leanings of the 1950s would slander him again.
Didn't happen.
Edington loved the idea of naming Harrison's lab environment - a cultural center for the study of race and gender in sport - after Robeson.
Every professor in the Division of Kinesiology is afforded a certain amount of lab space for their personal research, projects, etc. but Harrison wanted to share his with the masses.
The hero of heroes:
In February, Black History Month, names and accomplishments are looked upon as heroes.
Robeson, though, stands tall above the rest. His status receives little mention but his numbers loom large in the sphere of African-American history.
He's a legend that deserves to be honored with a month of his own - or a center of research.
Robeson graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers in 1918 and he captivated the masses with a rousing valedictory speech on graduation day.
The scene will be re-enacted by Michigan linebacker and future neurosurgeon Dhani Jones at the one-year anniversary of the Robeson Center's opening on April 9.
Despite his ambitious goals, Jones will be hard-pressed to capture the creativity, imagination and aura of invincibility that surrounded Robeson.
His four-year career at Rutgers finished with 15 varsity athletic letters and All-America status in football. He became a professional football giant for the Akron Pros and played for another black hero, Fritz Pollard.
Robeson earned his respect the first day he tried out for football and faced racial slurs. His own teammates beat him physically, separating his shoulder and breaking everything but his will.
He got up time and again and made the varsity. Harrison's center celebrates the feat with a painting. Soon that painting will be a part of the Curt Flood art gallery within the center.
There is someone quietly celebrating African-American achievement on Michigan's campus.
The Center of it All:
Harrison's Center plans to use nine separate walls to hang images and testimonials in the three-room center located in the basement of the CCRB.
These images are from Michigan Athletic Director Tom Goss, University President Lee Bollinger and student-athletes everywhere.
Therein lies the focus of Harrison's mission - he wants to recognize the academic achievement as much as the athletic side.
That's why he named the center for Robeson, not only a great athlete but an exceptional scholar. Harrison, whose educational journey has taken him around the country, played college football so he knows the "dumb jock" stereotype. He also knows that having a doctorate and working in his field places him among only 40 people in the nation pursuing similar subjects.
"The Center is an agent of social change," he said, using expressive gestures to emphasize his point. "We do it because it's important. If we don't do it, the light won't be shown."
Former Michigan football players Eric Mayes and Jarrett Irons are among 23 people who have joined Harrison.
On April 9 when Jones gives his speech at the center's one-year anniversary, a panel of student-athletes - of all races and various sports - will ponder the issues of race, sport and academia.
Cash flow:
Robeson is currently being honored by a Smithsonian exhibit celebrating his life and a PBS special - athletic, academic and as an actor. But for a man whose full life as a role model ended with his death in 1976, Robeson would be most honored by the movement Harrison has put forth.
The small lab space is beginning to draw national acclaim and even noted sociologist Harry Edwards is assisting in Harrison's plans. Harrison says the Center will grow as funds and time allow. For now, it's just Harrison's message getting louder.
- Mark Snyder can be reached via e-mail at msnyder@umich.edu
02-25-99
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