Media Coverage & Public Reaction
A fair amount of media coverage was centered around the events of Bydrsong's death and his achievements as a former Northwestern basketball coach. However, to this day there is no memorial of Ricky Byrdsong on the Northwestern campus. In 2000, an award was created in his honor by the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative. Anya Cordell, Byrdsong's neighbor, wrote the anti-hate crime book, "Race: An Open and Shut Case." Cordell said that she was inspired by the urge to combat the hate that fueled Benjamin Smith's deadly shooting rampage. Byrdsong’s children also received college scholarships from the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, an organization which helps victims of families from hate crimes.
In 2009, a documentary about Byrdsong, entitled "Fly Like the Byrd," was created by Northwestern students from the Medill School of Journalism. This documentary examines race relations and how Ricky's legacy has lived on, ten years later. The 25 minute documentary can be viewed here http://vimeo.com/5204860
Read more about this topic: Ricky Byrdsong
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