Many books have talked about the history of the African American athletes, but in In Forty Million Dollar Slaves, William C. Rhoden takes a different approach, filled with poetic brio and passionate argument. Rhoden’s book has received endorsements from such well-known academics as Cornel West and Arnold Rampersad, and the book alludes to music, literature, and religion as well as history and politics. Its intent is as much prophetic as analytical. Rhoden argues that African American athletes are among the most famous and highest remunerated salaried individuals working today, but that doesn’t mean they have control over their own destinies. However, Rhoden is aware that his title, which suggests that even an athlete earning forty million dollars …show more content…
Rhoden used real life athletes that suffer from higher authority, due to the fact that black people were more physically fit than what whites were offering at the time. That made lots of white very mad. Although it ties to nutrition in a way because I feel like all six component of health was use to explain how black athletes were so superior to whites during that time, and how they’re still being looked at today. Each component was given a scenario about how their life was extraordinary circumstances in the 1930s in the Southern United States. For instance, Michael Jordan had all the physical talents basketball has ever witness, which also label his abilities and social life to own brand later on in life. But before all that, Michael Jordan, by contrast, declined to be identified with black causes, but even his fame got taken down when he finally retired from his last on-court hurrah with the Washington Wizards, which made about $30 million for the team was expecting to return to the front office; and found himself fired by the owner Abe Pollin. This discussion was busted with significance, illustrating, in turn: white people’s denial of black business ability while they continue to profit from black athletic skill; black athletes’ training in high school, college, and the pros. Rhoden would call it “(slaves) earn millions, as long as they don’t notice …show more content…
I can remember one of my old varsity football games playing mostly an all-white team, and my team was dominantly black with 2-3 whites was the worse feeling ever. Although, we beat the team like 52-0 that and took an easy win. That made their fans very mad at us. After the game was over we usually pick where we want to go eat at, but in this case, we had to take our food home on the bus. I had always asked myself why were we treated like that, but I was only a freshmen in high school so I didn’t understand the feeling of hatred by another color. It was later said we weren 't allow to play them anymore because we didn’t respect the house rules of beating a team very bad. It’s just sad that we couldn’t even eat in their town because how bad we beat their football team, but now that I’m older I realized that most team we played never really didn’t like us; because of the black athletes we had on our
African-American players are often negatively affected due to the prevalence of racism in the town. Ivory Christian, for instance, is a born-again Christian with aspirations to be a famous evangelist, but he is unable to pursue his dream due to his commitment to the football team. Because of this, the townspeople have unrealistic expectations of him and assume that he will put all his time and energy into football. Furthermore, there is a greater pressure on him to succeed...
... the future of black business in America. Just from reading this book and seeing the future of business and the commodification of black culture since its first publishing, most of the areas that the book touches upon have given accurate insight to how others have cashed in on black culture and how black business has evolved. An example that is evident is of George Foreman and his promotion of the Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. Here is a black heavyweight boxer that is using not only his name and his former athletic prowess to endorse a product, but, one can say, also stereotypical blackness, with his affinity to unhealthy foods such as hamburgers and hot dogs, to promote a promote a product for Salton, Inc., a Jewish-founded company. Foreman, like Jordan, amassed a large fortune from his promotion of the grills but at the price of selling black culture.
Platt, Larry. New jack jocks: rebels, race, and the American athlete. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.. 56-60
1. The insight that each of these sources offers into slave life in the antebellum South is how slaves lived, worked, and were treated by their masters. The narratives talk about their nature of work, culture, and family in their passages. For example, in Solomon Northup 's passage he describes how he worked in the cotton field. Northup said that "An ordinary day 's work is considered two hundred pounds. A slave who is accustomed to picking, is punished, if he or she brings less quantity than that," (214). Northup explains how much cotton slaves had to bring from the cotton field and if a slave brought less or more weight than their previous weight ins then the slave is whipped because they were either slacking or have no been working to their
In “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid,” a response to the previous argument that also appeared in the Baltimore Sun, former Penn State football player Warren Hartenstine argues that “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” Like Marx, Hartenstine is writing to a similar audience, but argues why student-athletes shouldn’t be paid above scholarships like professional athletes are.
To start off my interpretation analysis of the first two chapters in their book, I will begin by stating a classification I have personally received. In the beginning pages of chapter number one, the authors go on in explaining the misclassification of how the skin color, physical attributes, or origin of a person decide how good they are in physical activity; being Latino, most specifically coming from a Dominican background, people always assumed I was or had to be good in Baseball. This classification always bothered me; one, simply because I hate baseball, to me personally is one of the most boring sports in the planet, and second because my strong physical ability still to this point in life is running. Throughout my High School years, people always seemed shocked when they found out I belonged to the track team instead of the baseball team. There was one occasion, where someone said I was a disgrace to the Dominican Republic, simply because I was not good at striking a ball with a baseball bat. As I reflect on this idea and personal experience, I have found this to be one of the strongest points in chapter one of “Racial Domination, Racial Progress: The Sociology of Race in America”. This is due to in part, because perhaps I can relate to it personally, and because in the world of sports is one of the most frequent things commentators will rely on to explain a team’s or individual success. Apart from the point of sports and physical attributes, the authors also go on in elaborating how this belief of how a person looks, has resulted in dangerous practices in the medical field. This is particularly shocking to
Van Rheenen, Derek. "Exploitation in College Sports: Race, Revenue, and Educational Reward." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48.5 (2013): 550-71. Print.
When looking into the history of our culture, there are many subtopics that fall under the word, “history.” Topics such as arts and literature, food, and media fall into place. Among these topics reside sports. Since the beginning of time, sports have persisted as an activity intertwined with the daily life of people. Whether it is a pick-up game of football in the backyard, or catching an evening game at the local stadium, sports have become the national pastime. According to Marcus Jansen of the Sign Post, more specifically, baseball is America’s national pastime, competing with other sports (Jansen 1). Providing the entertainment that Americans pay top dollar for, live the role models, superstars, and celebrities that put on a jersey as their job. As said in an article by Lucas Reilly, Americans spend close to $25.4 billion dollars on professional sports (Reilly 4). The people that many children want to be when they grow up are not the firefighters or astronauts told about in bed time stories. These dream jobs or fantasies have become swinging a bat or tossing a football in front of millions of screaming fans. When asked why so many dream of having such job, the majority will respond with a salary related answer. In today’s day and age, the average athlete is paid more than our own president. The cold hard facts show that in professional sports, the circulation of money is endless. Certain teams in professional baseball and football are worth over millions of dollars. Consequently, the teams who are worth more are able to spend more. The issue that arises with this philosophy is virtually how much more? League managers, team owners and other sports officials have sought out a solution to the surfacing problem. Is it fair to let...
Malcolm Gladwell is a journalist writing for The New Yorker; he often deals with popular modern life theories and ethical issues. The essay was published in The New Yorker magazine, September 2013, so the issue of the essay is an ongoing and controversial incongruity ethical dilemma among sports industry. The magazine is nationwide read especially in the U.S. metropolitans. The contents are mostly about American literary and cultural landscape, reportage, and including short stories. The target audience of the magazine is originally educated to elite readers, also the essay intended audience would not be much different from the magazine’s, specifically, the sports circles and sports spectators among middle to upper-class people.
Woods, Al. “College Athletes Should Be Paid.” Sports and Athletes: An Anthology. Ed. Christine Watkins. Greenhaven Press, 2009. 87-94. Print.
6) Clark, Liz. “Athletes Say They Deserve to Be Paid.” Charlotte Observer. (Charlotte, N.C.). April 3, 1994: pg. 4G. Sports. Eleanor Goldstein. Vol. 4. Boca Raton: SIRS, 1994. Art. 65.
The history of sports goes back since ancient times. It has been a useful way for people to explore nature and their environment. Sports include different activities and games such as football, soccer, basketball, and etc. to express their skills and talents. Also, sports are a way to relax and have fun; but are sports all our African Americans rely on? The dream to become future sports stars. The reason why Gates begins his essay with an anecdote is to show and compare how many african-american athletes were at work today and how little the chances of African-Americans becoming athletes are compared to being a lawyer, dentist, or even a doctor. African-Americans assume that they are born athletes and it’s because the school system doesn’t teach them reality and educate them to undertake more realistic goals for careers.
Slavery never generated superprofits, because people always had the option of putting their money elsewhere. Nevertheless, investment in slaves offered a rate of return -- about 10 percent -- that was comparable to returns on other assets. Slave-owners were not the only ones to reap rewards, however. So too did cotton consumers who enjoyed low prices and Northern entrepreneurs who helped finance plantation operations.
The scholars expounds that Black athletes were commodities on the playing field to help win games and bring in revenue to their respected schools. However, the schools were just as eager and willing to leave their Black players behind and dishonoring the player as a part of the team. Therefore, not compromising the team’s winning and bring in profits for the school. Sadly, Black athletes at predominately White institutions (PWIs) who believed that they were bettering the live of themselves and their families members by going to college and playing collegiate sports to increase their post secondary careers. However, these athletes were only “show ponies” for their schools. Unfortunately, Black athletes had allegiance to their school; however, the school turned their backs on the athletes to protect the profit and notoriety of the school and the programs. Money and respect from White fans and spectators were more important to the PWIs than standing up for the respect of their Black players. Racial bigotry in sports was rampant and it was only going to get worse.
Whitaker, Matthew C.. African American icons of sport: triumph, courage, and excellence. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008.