"These black athletes' accomplishments will finally be recognized and given their proper place in history thanks to this production."
Atlanta business mogul Ron Bivins is the brainchild behind the upcoming Georgia Public Broadcasting production, As If We Were Ghosts, which airs on all GPB's Georgia stations on June 13 and June 19 (Juneteenth). It airs at 9 p.m. Monday, June 13 and 5 p.m., Sunday, June 19, 2022.
In 2005, Bivins saw several interviews GPB conducted with Georgia black high school athletes, now ages 60s to 90s, who were “ghosted” by the white societyin Georgia.
After several discussions with former Atlanta Hawks player Herb White, then a communications executive with GPB, and other GPB executives, Bivins gained the rights to all of the footage. He began his pursuit of giving life to the upcoming production, As If We WereGhosts, which highlights the harsh treatmentof Black high school-athletes durin segregation and their unwavering spirit to overcome challenges.
Bivins, a graduate of A.S. Staley High School, Americus, Ga., played quarterback on the football team, basketball and baseball. He never got to enjoy his trophies and honors since his all-Black highschool was mysteriousky burned just prior tofull integration.