Alabama State Alum Howard Bankhead Inducted Into African American Golfers Hall of Fame

Alabama State alumnus Howard Bankhead will be inducted into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame.

According to the African American Golf Digest, Howard Bankhead will be inducted into the 19th Annual African American Golfers Hall of Fame during its annual event in Palm Beach County, Fla., May 25-29.   He is a graduate of Alabama State University, class of 1981.  

"My motto was,"Give youth a gift for life - Youth Golf Development,"  Bankhead mentioned to HBCU Legends.  "I was first shocked when I received the message of the nomination; after I was chosen, I was honored and still am. Helping young people to develop as a whole, including academically (reading, math STEM), athletically (fitness -golf), and spiritually (life skills and character), is a blessing.

Plus, because I was denied access to golf because of the melanin in my skin (young Black American), I wanted to give something to our Black youth that was denied me growing up in north Alabama in the 60s and 70s."

He is known for his dedication to serving his community and founding several youth development programs. These programs include the Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development, The First Tee of Huntsville, and Par Excellence Youth Development (PEYD), all located in the Huntsville, Alabama, area.  The multi-day program is packed full of activities. It includes a leadership conference, golf skills camp and tournament, reception, awards dinner celebration, auction, and the 13th Annual African American Collegiate & Youth Golfers Hall of Fame hosted by Malachi Knowles, founder of Inner City Youth Golfers Inc. 

The mission is "to celebrate and honor the history and achievements of Black Americans and other significant supporters who have contributed to growing the game of golf since the early 1800s." Knowles said in a press announcement. 

Credit: Howard Bankhead

Howard attended Alabama State University on a track scholarship earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing with a minor in Management with additional studies at Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama. The natural leader uses his Marketing degree in unique ways, and he creates and shares things that he enjoys in life, including creating the Huntsville Apartment Tennis Circuit, the Tennessee Valley Jazz Society-Huntsville, and the youth golf development programs. Howard created "Jazz Education is Cool in the Schools" through the Tennessee Valley Jazz Society," to counteract the negative music of the pop culture. The art form of jazz music includes history, math, and democracy. Since 1998, more than 38,500 people, including students, faculty, and staff in Huntsville and Madison County schools, have taken advantage of the program.

A zealous tennis player for years, fortunately, Howard's tennis days ended due to knee problems. That lead him to discover golf. However, Howard wasn't enthusiastic about the sport because he thought it was a game for rich white people. But that all changed when Howard became enlightened on the rules of golf and the sport's history. His life completely changed at the age of 44. From the experience of volunteering in the schools and realizing the negative images and influences of other sports, 

Howard was inspired to give youth alternative sports options to choose from. In addition, in the late '60s and early '70s, when Howard was growing up in Florence, Alabama, he, like many other Black youths, was denied access to the golf world simply because of social structure and historical norms. 

In 2001, Howard convinced the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Jazz Society to broaden their mission from art to encompass health and sports. As a result, he founded the Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development program.

Under Howard's guidance, the Tennessee Valley Jazz Society, a nonprofit organization, utilized Jazz as an art form to introduce the music style to school children in 1998. This initiative provided young individuals with an upbeat musical alternative.

In 2002, Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development partnered with Huntsville City School's Camp Success programs. "From 2002 to 2007, we introduced over 2,100 students in 2nd-6th grades to golf and life skills," Howard said. "Camp Success was an after-school program, where we visited several schools including Colonial (now Martin Luther King), Rolling Hills, Lakewood, Terry Heights (now Sonny Hereford), and Lincoln Elementary Schools." Along with learning golf skills, the program supplemented students' academic curriculum with reading, writing, math, life skill, and character behavior. 

Howard, a recipient of the Arts Fellowship and Vista Volunteer, received the Key To The City from Mayor Tommy Battle of Huntsville, Alabama, in 2018. He is an active journalist and writes for the African American Golfer's Digest as a blog writer and contributes to Junior Golf USA. Howard is also a respected member of his community.