When Vice President Kamala Harris greeted Dick Barnett on Friday, he was concise in his response.

“Finally.”

At long last, six surviving members of the all-Black Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State University in Nashville visited the White House, the culmination of a decades-long effort, led by Mr. Barnett, for recognition.

The Tennessee A&I Tigers were the first team from a historically Black college or university to win any national championship, and the first college team to win…