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Dr. Pellom McDaniels III, current professor of history and former NFL football player, will deliver the Black History Convocation lecture in Belk Auditorium on February 2. The event, co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Program in Southern Studies, will begin at 11 a. m.

McDaniels, Professor of History and American Studies at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, graduated from Oregon State University, where he played defensive end for the Beavers. After graduating with degrees in communications and political science, he went on to play professional football in the World Football League and the NFL. He played most of his career as defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1993-1998.

Following his NFL career, McDaniels earned a Ph.D. from Emory University. He has become actively involved in the community while teaching at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. McDaniels has been involved in several programs designed to help children and young adults recognize and realize the possibilities for their futures.

The San Jose, California native has been published in several different forms, including: “My Own Harlem,” a book of poetry;  “So, You Want to be Pro?,” a children’s book;  "We're American Too: The Negro Leagues and the Philosophy of Resistance," an essay published in Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box; and art reviews in Hampton University's International Review of African American Art.