Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
At a panel Wednesday night at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the introductions alone lasted more than eight minutes and covered Olympic medals, Emmys, and more. <\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Basketball Hall of Famer Valerie Still and award-winning broadcaster Brenda VanLengen discussed the history of women\u2019s sports and their hopes for the future in a conversation moderated by Philadelphia Sisters<\/a> cofounder Ashley Lunkenheimer. Alongside the discussion, a one-night-only exhibit showcased an array of historical artifacts, from field hockey, tennis, and baseball memorabilia to items from Still\u2019s personal collection.<\/p>\n And as women\u2019s sports continues to grow in popularity, Still says the history can be remembered, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t happen by chance that women\u2019s history gets lost,\u201d Still said. \u201cWomen\u2019s sports, for me, is a social movement. We don\u2019t want to be better than the men; we want to be better than perfection.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, VanLengen, and HSP are all working to ensure that women\u2019s sports history remains intact.<\/p>\n Still, who grew up in Camden and calls the city \u201cEast Philly,\u201d began researching her own history first. After retiring from basketball in 1999 following the dissolution of the American Basketball League<\/a>, she began looking into her family tree and discovered that abolitionist William Still<\/a>, known as the \u201cfather of the Underground Railroad,\u201d was part of her lineage. She is is his great-great-grandniece.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was extremely emotional,\u201d Still said. \u201cHere I am with all my accomplishments when really not that long ago my ancestors were enslaved, they were in somebody\u2019s will.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Valerie Still is celebrating the 200th anniversary of her abolitionist uncle\u2019s birth | from 2021<\/a><\/p>\n Still was one of the first women to earn a basketball scholarship to Kentucky and remains the Wildcats\u2019 career points leader 43 years after playing there. She urged people in the audience to research their family histories and record them. <\/p>\n After finding family photos of her grandmother playing basketball in the 1920s, VanLengen began asking, \u201cWhy could my grandmother play then, but my mother couldn\u2019t in the \u201950s and \u201960s?\u201d<\/p>\n Her research led her to produce a docuseries titled If Not for Them, which captured the stories of women who played and loved basketball at the turn of the 20th century and who have since fought for equality in women\u2019s sports. VanLengen is still fundraising for the series but said the project is about 75% of the way there.<\/p>\n One of the women interviewed for the series attended the panel. At 83, Lurline Jones is a local legend not only for her decades of coaching, but also for her work as a civil rights leader. In 1979, she filed a lawsuit under Title IX after the Philadelphia refused to hold a city girls\u2019 basketball championship.<\/p>\n For Jones the fight now is to keep kids invested in sports as schools continue to roll back opportunities, programs, and access to equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough right now because the school district doesn\u2019t provide them with the opportunity,\u201d Jones said. \u201cSports do so much for young people, it changes them and builds leadership and gets them in school … there\u2019s a lot left to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Still recalled during the panel how the progress that has been made brings her to tears.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a come-to-Jesus moment last night because my dream was to play with Dr. J and the 76ers,\u201d Still said. \u201cThe Philadelphia Sisters are bringing that day to Philadelphia in 2030<\/a>. I\u2019m that little girl again. It really is one of those moments where sports are more than what we just see. It\u2019s more than points, it\u2019s more than rebounds, more than how fast you\u2019ve been running. It\u2019s about being the best that you have been, and dreams do come true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Fans at USWNT\u2019s draw vs. Spain at Subaru Park say NWSL expansion team in Philly is \u2018long overdue\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n