Growing up, Eddie Jenkins ’72 wanted to be two things: a professional football player and a lawyer. He became both. Jenkins played for the undefeated Miami Dolphins and won back-to-back Super Bowls. Only days after ending his football career, he entered law school. After earning his degree, he went on to work at the U.S. Department of Labor, served as a prosecutor, among other public sector roles, and ultimately founded his own private practice.
In February, Jenkins returned to campus to share his expansive collection of African artwork in a showing at the Prior Performing Arts Center. He sat down with HCM to reflect on achieving his career dreams, alma mater and the philosophy that drives his service in the community.
FIRST, A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU, EDDIE
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in New York City and went to high school in Brooklyn.
What is your favorite place that you have ever visited?
Thailand.
Favorite art museum?
The National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
Pray and do yoga.
What famous person, dead or alive, would you like to have dinner with?
Malcom X.
ON YOUR PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL AND LEGAL CAREERS
Where were you when you learned that you’d been drafted by the Dolphins? How did it feel?
I was in my dorm, Healy 3, when the resident assistant, who had a phone in his room, said Don Shula was on the phone and wanted to speak with me. I had not been drafted yet, and my teammate Billy Adams had been drafted high on the first day by the Dolphins. I thought it was a prank, so when I got on the phone, I said, ‘OK, what kind of B.S. is this?’ The person on the other line said, ‘Excuse me, can I speak to Ed Jenkins? This is Coach Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins.’ I almost fainted, but stayed on my feet while holding onto a chair. He told me he had drafted me as a wide receiver, and I asked him (thinking they got Paul Warfield) if I could play as a running back. He kind of chuckled and said, ‘We got plenty of those, too.’ Many of my classmates asked me to get some autographs and take plenty of photos, probably assuming that it was going to be a short visit to Miami.
In your first NFL season, you played for the undefeated Dolphins and won the 1973 Super Bowl. What moment do you wish you could relive from that season?
The final day of cuts. The Dolphins had brought in over 50 people for tryouts prior to the veterans arriving, and we had been practicing for a week. On the final day, as the veterans were sitting on their helmets, I took a pitch and, with a great block, ran for a 40-yard touchdown. Afterward, we all went to our rooms to pack, knowing that the coaches would meet and the cuts would begin. Out of 50 players, only three were selected. I was truly blessed to be one of those. After only playing 20 games at Holy Cross because of a hepatitis outbreak, I was to become part of the only undefeated team in NFL history.
As a player, I was so glad to be back in New York playing against the team I grew up loving, the New York Jets. On one of the kickoffs, I ended up making a tackle and earned the reputation as a ‘gunner.’ As an athlete and part of two Super Bowls, I got to see stardom up close early in my life and believed there was nothing within reason I couldn’t achieve.
You entered Suffolk University Law School only days after wrapping up your NFL career. What drew you to the study of law?
I had seen the TV show ‘Perry Mason’ (a white lawyer who was an excellent attorney), and I, along with my race, was subject to the ridicule of and by Algonquin J. Calhoun, a fictional Black lawyer [on the TV series ‘Amos ‘n’ Andy’] who was a buffoon. I wanted to show the world that we, as Black lawyers, could be not only competent, but excellent at our trade.
You have also served as an adjunct professor at Suffolk Law. What is the best part of teaching up-and-coming lawyers?
I am fortunate to have taught as an adjunct for over 25 years, using my skills and experience to hopefully train future leaders who now may fully understand and have more compassion for the people they defend and even prosecute.
ON YOUR PHILANTHROPIC AND COMMUNITY WORK
In addition to your professional life, you have served the community, whether it’s founding the 1000 Black Men mentoring program or running a youth basketball program at the Roxbury (Massachusetts) YMCA. When it comes to giving back, what is your philosophy and driving force?
Luke 12:48 states, ‘To whom much is given, much will be required.’ I find community service therapeutic. I currently serve on the boards of Urban Edge, Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound (trustee emeritus) and Greater Grove Hall Main Streets (chair). I am also chair of the board of Children’s Services of Roxbury. We provide adoption, foster care and mental health services to children from Roxbury to Worcester and as far as Northampton.
ON YOUR AFRICAN ARTWORK COLLECTION
Earlier this year, Holy Cross hosted a showing of your African artwork collection. Tell us about the meaning of the showing’s title, ‘From Benin, Nigeria to Roxbury, MA | How Art Imitates Life – A Painful But Inspired Journey.’
Since the beginning of time, society has always practiced arts to express its history, beauty and value. Benin, Nigeria, was one of the wealthier areas of West Africa, especially in culture and art. They were especially talented in the art of bronze statues. With slavery and imperialism from Europe, not only were the lives of Africans stolen, but their art, as well. As part of the diaspora, many Africans and African Americans are in the process of restoring Africa’s treasures, which are in the hands of art galleries and museums, and putting them in the hands of people who will return the art or place the art in a public place where it can be accessed for free.
ON ALMA MATER
What was your favorite spot on campus?
The top of the hill where we practiced. I would wander up there and just walk around at night and look at the stars.
What makes you most proud to be part of the Holy Cross community today?
The relationships I’ve built since the age of 18. These folks are still my colleagues and friends.
What is your best piece of advice for current students?
College is not only about acquiring skills for readiness for your career, but challenging yourself to look beyond what you have learned and understand that you may have been nurtured in the silos of your early education, culture, geopolitical and economic upbringing. Try to understand the difference and reasons for other people’s ideas.
AND FINALLY …
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I have written two books — ‘Bloodstreams’ and ‘Horseshoes and Hand Grenades’ — and I am working on another book, which includes the story of my life at Holy Cross.
What is your life mantra?
God is great. Life is good. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
What would you like your legacy to be?
Where others saw impossibility, I saw an opportunity, and with it, made life better for someone else.
