Almost 50 years have passed, but Jackson still remembers his excitement when he was drafted out of Alabama A&M in 1969 by the Boston Patriots — the franchise's first black quarterback. Jackson was drafted by Rommie Loudd, the AFL's first black assistant coach before he joined the Patriots in 1966. He moved to the team's front office and became its personnel director in 1969, one of the first black personnel directors in the NFL. "As I've grown older, I can see little signs that said, 'You aren't going to make it because you're a black quarterback.' Bobby Grier, who is black, was an assistant coach with the Patriots who rose to be vice president of player personnel from 1997-2000.

Source: Fox News September 21, 2016 22:18 UTC