The Strange Career of the Black Athlete

The Strange Career of the Black Athlete PDF Author: Russell T. Wigginton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313086222
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Few realize that some sports were integrated, or even dominated by blacks, before becoming dominated by whites, for example, horse racing, golf, hockey, and tennis. This book provides a lens through which to view the historical context and specific circumstances of African Americans' presence in various sports. The author asks why sport has at times challenged the status quo with regard to race and civil rights, and at other times reinforced it. To that end, he analyzes various sports and asks why and when has each sport responded differently. Wigginton asks how did blacks break the color barrier? Were they able to maintain representation in the particular sport? And did the entrance of blacks in these sports change the public's perception of the sport? The answers to these questions shed light on why America remains preoccupied with sports, race, and the seemingly integral relationship between the two.

The Strange Career of the Black Athlete

The Strange Career of the Black Athlete PDF Author: Russell T. Wigginton
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313086222
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Get Book Here

Book Description
Few realize that some sports were integrated, or even dominated by blacks, before becoming dominated by whites, for example, horse racing, golf, hockey, and tennis. This book provides a lens through which to view the historical context and specific circumstances of African Americans' presence in various sports. The author asks why sport has at times challenged the status quo with regard to race and civil rights, and at other times reinforced it. To that end, he analyzes various sports and asks why and when has each sport responded differently. Wigginton asks how did blacks break the color barrier? Were they able to maintain representation in the particular sport? And did the entrance of blacks in these sports change the public's perception of the sport? The answers to these questions shed light on why America remains preoccupied with sports, race, and the seemingly integral relationship between the two.

More Than a Game

More Than a Game PDF Author: David K. Wiggins
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538114984
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
More than a Game discusses how African American men and women sought to participate in sport and what that participation meant to them, the African American community, and the United States more generally. Recognizing the complicated history of race in America and how sport can both divide and bring people together, the book chronicles the ways in which African Americans overcame racial discrimination to achieve success in an institution often described as America's only true meritocracy. African Americans have often glorified sport, viewing it as one of the few ways they can achieve a better life. In reality, while some African Americans found fame and fortune in sport, most struggled just to participate – let alone succeed at the highest levels of sport. Thus, the book has two basic themes. It discusses the varied experiences of African Americans in sport and how their participation has both reflected and changed views of race.

African American Folklore

African American Folklore PDF Author: Anand Prahlad
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1610699300
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
African American folklore dates back 240 years and has had a significant impact on American culture from the slavery period to the modern day. This encyclopedia provides accessible entries on key elements of this long history, including folklore originally derived from African cultures that have survived here and those that originated in the United States. Inspired by the author's passion for African American culture and vernacular traditions, African American Folklore: An Encyclopedia for Students thoroughly addresses key elements and motifs in black American folklore-especially those that have influenced American culture. With its alphabetically organized entries that cover a wide range of subjects from the word "conjure" to the dance style of "twerking," this book provides readers with a deeper comprehension of American culture through a greater understanding of the contributions of African American culture and black folk traditions. This book will be useful to general readers as well as students or researchers whose interests include African American culture and folklore or American culture. It offers insight into the histories of African American folklore motifs, their importance within African American groups, and their relevance to the evolution of American culture. The work also provides original materials, such as excepts from folktales and folksongs, and a comprehensive compilation of sources for further research that includes bibliographical citations as well as lists of websites and cultural centers.

African American Almanac

African American Almanac PDF Author: Lean'tin Bracks
Publisher: Visible Ink Press
ISBN: 157859832X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1313

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Book Description
Courage, resilience and triumph! Celebrating the African American experience, the extraordinary people, and their profound influence on American history! African Americans helped build the United States. Their contributions, deeds, and influence are interwoven into the fabric of the country. Celebrating centuries of achievements, the African American Almanac: 400 Years of Black Excellence provides insights on the impact and inspiration of African Americans on U.S. society and culture spanning centuries and presented in a fascinating mix of biographies, historical facts, and enlightening essays on significant legislation and movements. Covering events surrounding African American literature, art and music; the civil rights movement; religion within the black community; advances in science and medicine; and politics, education, business, the military, sports, theater, film, and television, this important reference connects history to the issues currently facing the African American community. The African American Almanac also honors the lives and contributions of 800 influential figures, including ... Stacey Abrams, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, Amiri Baraka, Daisy Bates, Reginald Wayne Betts, Simone Biles, Cory Bush, Bisa Butler, George Washington Carver, Ray Charles, Bessie Coleman, Claudette Colvin, Gary Davis, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Michael Eric Dyson, Duke Ellington, Margie Eugene-Richard, Medgar Evers, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Roxane Gay, Amanda Gorman, Nicole Hanna-Jones, Eric H. Holder, Jr., Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Ketanji Brown Jackson, LeBron James, Mae C. Jemison, Gayle King, Martin Luther King, Jr., Queen Latifah, Jacob Lawrence, Kevin Liles, Thurgood Marshall, Walter Mosley, Elijah Muhammad, Barack Obama, Gordon Parks, Rosa Parks, Richard Pryor, Condoleezza Rice, Smokey Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Betty Shabazz, Tavis Smiley, Dasia Taylor, Clarence Thomas, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Ross Tubman, C. Delores Tucker, Usher, Denmark Vesey, Alice Walker, Raphael Warnock, Booker T. Washington, Denzel Washington, Cornell West, Colson Whitehead, Justus Williams, Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, Malcolm X, and many more. Completely updated and revised for the first time in over a decade, the African American Almanac looks at the recent challenges—from the Black Lives Movement to Covid-19—and ongoing resilience of our nation, and it shines a light on our momentous and complicated history, the individual accomplishments and contributions of the celebrated and unsung—but no less worthy—people who built our country and who continue to influence American society. Comprehensive and richly illustrated, it thoroughly explores the past, progress, and current conditions of America. This seminal work is the most complete and affordable single-volume reference of African American culture and history available today, and it illustrates and demystifies the emotionally moving, complex, and often lost history of black life in America!

The Black Athlete as Hero

The Black Athlete as Hero PDF Author: Joseph Dorinson
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476645965
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Part history, part biography, this study examines the Black athlete's search to unify what W.E.B. DuBois called the "two unreconciled strivings" of African Americans--the struggle to survive in black society while adapting to white society. Black athletes have served as vanguards of change, challenging the dominant culture, crossing social boundaries and raising political awareness. Champions like Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Wilma Rudolph, Roberto Clemente, Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Serena Williams, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James make a difference, even as many in the Black community question the idea of athletes as role models. The author argues the importance of sports heroes in a panic-plagued era beset with class division and racial privilege.

Sport in the African World

Sport in the African World PDF Author: John Nauright
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351212737
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Sport has been a component of African cultural life for several hundred years. In today’s globalized world, Africans and Africa have become a vital part of the international sporting landscape. This is the first book to attempt to survey the historical, contemporary and geographical breadth of that landscape, drawing on multidisciplinary scholarship from around the world. To gain an understanding of sport in Africa and its contributions to the global sports world, one must first consider the ways in which sport itself is a terrain of conflict and represents another symbolic territory to conquer. Addressing key themes such as colonialism, globalization, migration, apartheid, politics and international relations, sports media and broadcasting, ethnobranding, sports tourism and the African diaspora in Europe and the United States, this collection of original scholarship offers a significant contribution to this burgeoning field of research. Sport in the African World is fascinating reading for all students and scholars with an interest in sport studies, sport history, African history or African culture.

Don't Stick to Sports

Don't Stick to Sports PDF Author: Derek Charles Catsam
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538144727
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
A significant examination of how athletes have fought for inclusion and equality on and off the playing field, despite calls for them to “stick to sports.” The claim that sports are—or ought to be—apolitical has itself never been an apolitical position. Rather, it is a veiled attempt to control which politics are acceptable in the athletic realm, a designation intricately linked to issues of race, gender, ethnicity, and more. In Don't Stick to Sports: The American Athlete’s Fight against Injustice, Derek Charles Catsam carefully explores this disparity. He looks at how, throughout recent sports history in the United States, minority athletes have had to fight every step of the way for their right to compete, and how they continue to fight for equity today. From African Americans and women to LGBTQ+ and religious minorities, Catsam shows how these athletes have taken a stand to address the underlying injustices in sports and society despite being told it’s not their place to do so. While it’s impossible for a single book to tell the entire history of exclusion in the sporting world, Don’t Stick to Sports looks at key moments from the World War I era to the present to shatter the myth of sports as a meritocracy, of sports-as-equalizer, highlighting the reality as something far more complicated—of sports as a malleable world where exclusion and inclusion are rarely straight-forward.

Pay for Play

Pay for Play PDF Author: Ronald A. Smith
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252035879
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
In an era when college football coaches frequently command higher salaries than university presidents, many call for reform to restore the balance between amateur athletics and the educational mission of schools. This book traces attempts at college athletics reform from 1855 through the early twenty-first century while analyzing the different roles played by students, faculty, conferences, university presidents, the NCAA, legislatures, and the Supreme Court. Pay for Play: A History of Big-Time College Athletic Reform also tackles critically important questions about eligibility, compensation, recruiting, sponsorship, and rules enforcement. Discussing reasons for reform--to combat corruption, to level the playing field, and to make sports more accessible to minorities and women--Ronald A. Smith candidly explains why attempts at change have often failed. Of interest to historians, athletic reformers, college administrators, NCAA officials, and sports journalists, this thoughtful book considers the difficulty in balancing the principles of amateurism with the need to draw income from sporting events.

King of the Court

King of the Court PDF Author: Aram Goudsouzian
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520258878
Category : Basketball
Languages : en
Pages : 848

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Book Description
"King of the Court provides a highly nuanced and sophisticated analysis of the great African American basketball player from his earliest days up to the present time. With great skill and much insight, Goudsouzian makes clear that Russell was a very complicated man who was full of contradictions in his own private life and in relationship to his business associates, teammates, opponents, the media, and the larger sporting public."--David K.Wiggins, George Mason University "Not only is King of the Court one of the most impressive and important sports biographies to come along in many a season, easily in the same class as David Maraniss's When Pride Still Mattered (on Vince Lombardi) and Wil Haygood's Sweet Thunder (on Sugar Ray Robinson), it is also one of the truly incisive books on the intersection of race, civil rights, and popular culture that have appeared in some time. Having grown up in Philadelphia, I was always a Wilt Chamberlain man and always will be, but King of the Court convinced me that Bill Russell defined his age in ways that Chamberlain never did. Russell was a man for all seasons. This is a biography befitting Russell's stature."--Gerald Early, author of One Nation Under a Groove: Motown and American Culture "Before there were crossover dribbles or slam dunk competitions, before they even kept statistics for blocked shots, Bill Russell dominated the game we call basketball. The respect he demanded as a black man during America's turbulent Civil Rights era made him the personification of a winner in life. King of the Court, like Russell's defense, locks it down, and puts it all in its proper context. Long live the King!"--Dr. Todd Boyd, author of Young, Black, Rich, and Famous: The Rise of the NBA, the Hip Hop Invasion, and the Transformation of American Culture "Bill Russell's life story is only incidentally about basketball. For him the sport was not a life; it was his vehicle for social change, a platform that showcased his vision for America as much as his athletic talent. In his magnificent biography, Aram Goudsouzian captures the nuance and meaning of Russell's career. After reading the book, one will never look at Russell or sports in quite the same way."--Randy Roberts, Purdue University "Brings back the excitement of the great days of the NBA and its legendary players, led by the king of them all, Bill Russell. Best book I've read on basketball in 40 years."--Bill McSweeny, co-author, with Bill Russell, of Go Up for Glory

From Jack Johnson to LeBron James

From Jack Johnson to LeBron James PDF Author: Chris Lamb
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 0803285264
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 645

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Book Description
The campaign for racial equality in sports has both reflected and affected the campaign for racial equality in the United States. Some of the most significant and publicized stories in this campaign in the twentieth century have happened in sports, including, of course, Jackie Robinson in baseball; Jesse Owens, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos in track; Arthur Ashe in tennis; and Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, and Muhammad Ali in boxing. Long after the full integration of college and professional athletics, race continues to play a major role in sports. Not long ago, sportswriters and sportscasters ignored racial issues. They now contribute to the public’s evolving racial attitudes on issues both on and off the field, ranging from integration to self-determination to masculinity. From Jack Johnson to LeBron James examines the intersection of sports, race, and the media in the twentieth century and beyond. The essays are linked by a number of questions, including: How did the black and white media differ in content and context in their reporting of these stories? How did the media acknowledge race in their stories? Did the media recognize these stories as historically significant? Considering how media coverage has evolved over the years, the essays begin with the racially charged reporting of Jack Johnson’s reign as heavyweight champion and carry up to the present, covering the media narratives surrounding the Michael Vick dogfighting case in a supposedly post-racial era and the media’s handling of LeBron James’s announcement to leave Cleveland for Miami.