The Black Athlete as Hero: American Barrier Breakers from Nine Sports

by Joseph Dorinson

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476645964
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/09/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	307
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Retired history professor from Long Island University, Joseph Dorinson lives in Floral Park, New York.
Retired history professor from Long Island University, Joseph Dorinson lives in Floral Park, New York.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Hero Defined
Section One—Boxing
 1. Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali
Section Two—Track and Field
 2. Jesse Owens, Harrison Dillard and Mal Whitfield, and Rafer Johnson
 3. Wilma Rudolph, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the Joyner Connection, and Carl Lewis
Section Three—Football
 4. Duke Slater, J. Mayo Williams, and Other Pathbreakers in the College and Pro Ranks
 5. Fritz Pollard and Paul Robeson
 6. Jim Brown and Black Quarterbacks
Section Four—Baseball
 7. Black Players in Baseball Before Integration
 8. Jackie Robinson
 9. Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella, Monte Irvin and Larry Doby
10. Willie Mays, Ed Charles, Henry Aaron, Frank Robinson, and Ernie Banks
11. Bill White and Curt Flood
12. Minnie Miñoso, Vic Power, and Roberto Clemente
Section Five—Tennis
13. Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, and Naomi Osaka
Part Six—Basketball
14. The Harlem Renaissance Five
15. Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson
16. Elgin Baylor, Connie Hawkins, and Dr. J
17. Kareem ­Abdul-Jabbar and Earvin “Magic” Johnson
18. Charlie Scott and Michael Jordan
19. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant
20. Ora Washington, Lynette Woodard, Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia ­Cooper-Dyke, and Maya Moore
Section 7—Golf, Hockey, Gymnastics
21. Tiger Woods, Willie O’Ree, and Simone Biles
Conclusion
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

An extremely impressive and encompassing work. Its purposeful intent, as the author states at different locations throughout the narrative, is to highlight the role of black athletes, their personalities and prowess, who in their idiosyncratic pathways ‘strove heroically to bend the arc of history.’”—Joseph Boskin, Boston University

From the Publisher