By: Rece Allen, Sports Producer 

Cedric Taylor III and Amir Banks, two childhood friends who carried on their family legacies at Morehouse, are now roommates and teammates on the Morehouse Maroon Tigers basketball team. The relationship between their fathers, who are Morehouse Men, sparked their friendship and has continued as they start their college journey. 

Cedric Taylor, father of Cedric Taylor III and class of ‘92, had never heard of Morehouse until a friend of his family took him to see the Morehouse Glee Club perform at a church in Philadelphia when he was in high school. 

“At the end, they said, ‘Any Morehouse graduates come on up and sing the hymn.’ Me not paying attention to my surroundings, I realized there were a lot of dudes up here”, Taylor said. “They all came up and sang the hymn, and it blew me away. I was like, ‘That’s some brotherhood right there.’ Like they were all putting their heart and soul into it, and that led me to do more research on it.”

After researching Morehouse and connecting with a close friend who was already attending Morehouse, it convinced Taylor to apply and accept his admission without visiting the campus. Taylor claimed that since his friend “loved every bit” of Morehouse and had learned about the “distinguished alumni,” he knew it was something he wanted to be a part of.  

Brandon Banks, father of Amir Banks and class of ‘06, had prior knowledge of HBCUs through his immediate family. Banks had the opportunity to go to Norfolk State and play basketball, but he did not like the city of Norfolk, Virginia. 

“I went out to Norfolk, Virginia, and I didn’t like it,” Banks said. “I thought it was too small of a city for me growing up in Saint Louis. So I stayed home, went to school for a year, and started reapplying to all the other HBCUs I applied to before.”

Banks would meet a girl from Spelman who helped him apply to Morehouse and Clark Atlanta. He never got into Clark Atlanta without a response, but Banks got into Morehouse and decided to play basketball. Banks would not finish his basketball career at Morehouse because of a lack of desire to play and a growing desire to be a regular student for the first time. 

After both Banks and Taylor’s Morehouse journey, they first met through Banks’ agency visit to his job at State Farm. His coworkers referred Banks to schedule his visit with Taylor because it would be “the best view to see what it looks like to work in the business for people of color.” After meeting, Banks and Taylor learned they had sons around the same age and built their relationship immediately.  

Their friendship began and continued through the years with basketball. Taylor said, 

“That orange ball can do some special things in this life.” They were best friends on the team, and now they have become “lifelong friends” through playing and, later, both deciding to go to Morehouse. 

Both Amir and Cedric learned about HBUCs from an early age because their families had connections to HBCUs. They were introduced to the lifestyle and attended events to understand whether they liked it. 

“Knowing our parents both went to Morehouse and HBCUs and even both staying home and coming together created more of a bond knowing each other and expressing our interest in going to our father’s alumni,” Amir said.   

Amir and Cedric’s friendship before coming to Morehouse made their transition much easier. Having someone to have each other’s back and being able to confide in one another about their experiences as student-athletes is something they both cherish about their relationship. 

“For sure. If I’m going through something, I can definitely talk to Amir and count on him, and he’ll keep it real with me”, Cedric said. 

Banks and Taylor are proud of their sons carrying on the Morehouse legacy, and Amir and Cedric are pleased to do so. They hope to pass down the same tradition to their children and look to achieve greatness athletically and in life. 

“For them to start together and now start their collegiate careers together and to be roommates is pretty profound and monumental,” Banks said. “By them choosing to go to Morehouse, that wasn’t a four-year decision. It was a 40 year decision and that is why I try to impress upon people to let them know it’s so much bigger than when that ball bounces…The decision they made has set them up to win in life, not just basketball.” 

Their understanding and knowledge of what Morehouse can do for Cedric and Amir beyond basketball makes both fathers proud. Realizing that everything in their life has come full circle makes this moment very special to the Banks and Taylor families. 

Edited By: Kobe Scales, Sports Editor