The Black Athlete as Hero

American Barrier Breakers from Nine Sports

Joseph Dorinson author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:McFarland & Co Inc

Published:11th Nov '22

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Black Athlete as Hero cover

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.

“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
The Black Athlete as Hero makes a significant contribution with its coverage of athletes not included in other collections and by bringing together so many in one place. The author’s personal ties to many of the athletes is also unique.”—Leslie Heaphy, author, The Negro Leagues, 1869-1960
“Informative…fascinating, ground-breaking…unreservedly recommended”—Midwest Book Review

ISBN: 9781476678863

Dimensions: 254mm x 178mm x 16mm

Weight: 544g

307 pages