Film to Share Story of Civil Rights Trailblazer C.R. Roberts, Who Fought Racism While Setting Records as USC Running Back

Posted: Feb 28, 2019 / 06:53 PM PST / Updated: Feb 28, 2019 / 06:53 PM PST

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A new documentary, “Breaking Down Barriers: The C.R. Roberts Story,” profiles the former USC running back, now 83, who withstood deep institutional racism — including being told he couldn’t travel with the time — to notch a record-setting career.

“We broke the law and got away with it,” Roberts said of playing in the Jim Crow South in a Los Angeles Times profile last year. “They had sharpshooters in the stands.”

Chip Yost reports for the KTLA 5 News at 6 on Feb. 28, 2019.

C.R. Roberts is seen, left, in an image released by USC taken during his time on the football team in the late 50s, and at right in a portrait taken by Los Angeles Times photographer Gabriel S. Scarlett on July 26, 2018.