Via Bleacher Report, a look at how Black hockey players are taking action to help future generations:

Willie O’Ree might be the most tireless man in hockey.

At 86 years old, he’s still crisscrossing the country to fight racism in hockey, just as he has done since since he broke the NHL’s color barrier on Jan. 18, 1958. The affable O’Ree has become an impactful figure in the game. He’s captured hearts of fans of all ages and has worked for years to help eliminate racism in hockey by making sure he and other Black players are visible and that his story and others are heard.

But that determination is a quality shared among those fighting for equality. They’ll all tell you the same thing: They’re tired. They’re tired of the racist incidents, like the ones that occurred most recently in the AHL with Boko Imama and in the ECHL with Jordan Subban, the brother of New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban.

They’re tired of the taunting. The gestures. They’re tired of looking around and feeling like they don’t belong.

They’re tired, yet still emboldened to push forward because, ultimately, they believe that everyone belongs in hockey. Including them.

“There is no quit in me, but I get exhausted,” said Stefanie Tomlin, the vice president of Wollman Rink Partners and the general manager of Central Park’s Wollman Rink.

Tomlin was part of a panel that gathered at the rink Thursday afternoon to launch the “Celebrating Black Excellence and Joy in Hockey” campaign. It was created by the Wollman Park Partners, the Premier Hockey Federation and the Carnegie Initiative to respond to racial hate in hockey with positive and meaningful action.

O’Ree took part in that panel virtually along with Bryant McBride, the co-chairman of the Carnegie Initiative, while Imama, former NHL player Anson Carter, Metropolitan Riveters player Kelly Babstock and Tomlin took questions from young hockey players in person. It served to highlight several aspects of the campaign, most notably the educational resources.

LessonsFromWillie.com is one of those. The site has materials that correspond to the documentary about his life, Willie, that was released in 2019.

There are specific guides for kids in fifth to eighth grade and ninth to 12th grade. There are prominent figures in hockey, like J.T. Brown and Blake Bolden, who give talks on different themes like representation, barriers, allyship, coping and resilience. Teachers can also connect their classrooms directly with speakers from throughout hockey with the use of Zoom.

The hope is that these will be utilized in classrooms and youth programs all over North America in an attempt to preach equality at hockey’s formative levels.

Carter himself is using these lessons with the kids he coaches at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club.

“It’s going to touch kids on the ice but off the ice too,” Carter told B/R. “We always talk about diversifying the game on the ice and we can teach that diversity and inclusion though Willie’s story. We can use that documentary as a vessel to show kids that sports is one thing to get people together, but also to show them that diversity is possible by looking at what he went through.”

The hope is that teaching these programs at the youth level will eliminate racism at hockey’s highest levels. A blind eye cannot be turned to the recent events that involved Imama and Subban. Imama, a 25-year-old winger from Montreal who was born to parents who immigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, heard racist slurs in the AHL twice in the span of a year alone.

Education could be the answer at the pro level, but he feels very strongly that by that point, players should know better.

“It should be fixed by the pro level,” Imama said. “You’re a pro hockey player. If you have that privilege then you shouldn’t be making those types of comments. If you want to call them mistakes, OK, at a younger age it’s maybe more understandable. But at the pro level it’s not a good look.”

Carter dealt with the slurs and the insults himself coming up through hockey as well. It’s not unique to any Black player; they’ve all faced the hatred. But it can feel alienating, which is why Carter has made an effort to form relationships with Black players of past and present, Imama included.

“What I went through, it was tough,” Carter said. “But it would be all for naught if I wasn’t able to create an environment or help create an environment so that these kids coming up after me have a better one than I did.”

Carter also worked with the NHL and its executive vice president of social impact, Kim Davis. He’s adamant that the league is doing what it can to combat racism in hockey, though many will dispute that notion since the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which was created in the summer of 2020, cut ties with the NHL a few months after the group’s inception, citing a lack of support.

However, there are other personal efforts that Carter, Imama and others have made in partnership with other groups or on their own to continue the dialogue and continue making positive change.

Carter has also supported the Black Girl Hockey Club and its “Get Uncomfortable” pledge. It’s not just the pledge itself that he views as important, but the feeling of being uncomfortable. Conversations about race and inequality are inherently distressing. Recognizing one’s own personal biases and learning about systemic injustices are difficult exercises that can feel harsh and awkward.

Leaning into those feelings is when change is created.

“It’s OK to be uncomfortable,” Carter said. “I think being uncomfortable comes from being unfamiliar, not used to being in this position and not used to having these conversations. Being uncomfortable is a good thing. It means that you’re going to a place that you haven’t been before.”

O’Ree recently had his No. 22 retired by the Boston Bruins and was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal. He went on The Daily Show to talk to Trevor Noah about the story of going blind in his right eye before even making it to the NHL.

The recognition is important because it acknowledges the work that never seems to end.