Game Changers

Complements Sports: Leveling the Playing Field, an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

Ninth volume in the Double Exposure series draws upon photographs in the NMAAHC’s collection to explore the dynamic ways sports influence the social, political, and cultural life of African Americans.This book, organized around key periods in the history of African American sports from the turn of the twentieth century to today, looks at the role of athletes and sports and their impact on American culture both on and off the field. While the major sports in which African Americans participate most frequently—football, basketball, baseball, and boxing—are prominently featured, the book also includes images of male and female athletes, amateur and professional, competing in gymnastics, track and field, skiing, golf, tennis, and other sports. Photographers include Ernest C. Withers, Roderick J. Lyons, Walter Iooss Jr., Maurice Sorrell, and Moneta Sleet Jr., among others. Images of iconic moments in sports history—Jack Johnson vs. Jim Jeffries during the 1910 “Fight of the Century,” Jackie Robinson stealing home in 1952, and Colin Kaepernick taking a knee in 2016—are featured alongside photographs of more personal moments, including Larry Doby teaching his son how to hold a bat, Wilt Chamberlain in class at the University of Kansas, Wilma Rudolph standing outside her foundation, Muhammad Ali in conversation with Fannie Lou Hammer, and a young Venus Williams smiling after a practice session.