Keith Dunnavant had Wilbur Jackson’s story on his mind the whole plane ride back to New York in 1999.

More than a decade later, Dunnavant will present the story of Jackson – the first black scholarship football player – taking his daughter to The University of Alabama for the first time through his documentary “Three Days at Foster” Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Ferguson Center Theater.

“I don’t want to give away what it was because it’s kind of an ‘a-ha moment’ in the film, but it was a moment that really just hit me like a thunderbolt that was so powerful in terms of demonstrating how far we have come as a culture,” Dunnavant said.

At the time of the plane ride, Dunnavant was working as a magazine editor and did not have time to create the documentary. Later when he began making documentaries, this story was at the top of his list, he said.

‘Three Days at Foster’ is about the athletic pioneers who shattered the color barrier at The University of Alabama, including Wilbur Jackson, Dock Rone, Wendell Hudson and several others,” Dunnavant said. “It’s a film about what happened in the shadow of George Wallace’s infamous Stand in the Schoolhouse Door.”

Dunnavant will introduce the film and answer questions following the showing.

“Our history certainly shapes who we are today,” Calvin Brown, director of Alumni Affairs, said. “The documentary shows how athletics played a key role in integration and helped the University evolve over time.”

Sports are often the nation’s first introduction to the University, and the film will explore the role of sports in UA history, Brown said.

“Sports are passion – it reflects our sense of self. At the heart of sports is competition,” Dunnavant said. “It’s measuring yourself against another person on the field of play.”