I. Controversy at the 1968 Olympics! At the 1968 Olympic games a track runner by the
Name of Tommy Harper took a stand against racism and inequality by winning the 400
M. dash. As he was awarded his gold medal, he clenched his fist and raised it high in the
Air while wearing a black glove. A raised fist was the symbol of equality for the black
Power movement of the 1960‘s. African Americans have made a huge impact on the civil
Rights movement, especially in sports. The 1940’s and the 1950’s were a rough time in
Sports because African Americans were just now being able to play in professional sports.
They had to deal with racism, prejudice, and hate. People might have well ruined the
Meaning of playing a sport. The only reason to play a sport is to contest yourself against
Others to see if you’re better than them. If you don’t allow a certain group of people to play
Then what’s the point? Even now in modern sports, Blacks have made one of the biggest
Impacts on the game, raising the standard of play and the quality of the game.
II. African Americans have made the biggest impact on football since they have been
Allowed to play in 1922.
A. It is a fact that there are more African American football players than Asian, Latino, and
White players in football.
i. There are currently no active white cornerbacks in the NFL. ii. Every defense in the NFL is dominated by black players. iii. 89% of all defenses M.V.P’s are black.
B. Black players have made an impact but not as big as white players.
i. The NFL is mostly made up of white QB’s (the most important position). ii. There is no position that is only available to black players. iii. As long as a player works hard enough, it doesn't matter what race you are, you can play any
Po...
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... of all of the “X” factors that is put together to make a great player.
D. Tommy Harper proved to the world that no matter what race you are, if you try hard in what you love, you can achieve greatness. Success is given, not earned.
Works Cited
"Black Athletes in 20th Century United States." Black Athletes in 20th Century United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
"Black History in America: Athletes." Black History in America: Athletes. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Black Contributions to American Professional Football Are Many." Welcome To The Black Box, Personal Narratives in High Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
" Doris R. Corbett WaynePatterson." THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORT. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
"Feature African-American Athletes." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Williams, Peter. The sports immortals: deifying the American athlete. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994.. 30-31
Smith , Earl. Race, Sport and the American Dream. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2007.
“We are more visible, but not more valuable”. This famous quote was said by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the most famous black basketball players, symbolized what many black athletes were pursuing when they first got into sports. In today’s world not only are black athletes a part of our sports venue, they are dominating the landscape of some sports such as the NBA which consists of a whopping 80% black athletes. Black athletes continue to revitalize sports in America as some athletes became the face of their sports such as Muhammad Ali in boxing, Jackie Robinson in baseball and Michael Jordan in basketball. Sports came as a form of entertainment for many Americans, but for black athletes it came as a pathway to express who they were and what they believed in. The more they became involved in sports, the more media they were able to attract which enabled them to talk about topics other than sports such as racism, their religions and equality through the civil rights movement. These views and statements made in their interviews and press conferences were the ones that became publicized and more popular amongst the typical white men in America and it played a huge role in changing the way blacks were viewed in American society.
Even when there were people that did not like the African Americans reaching success, that never stopped them from doing so. In the Olympic games African Americans did not get any respect from some people. African Americans had to step up and prove that they can things just like everyone else or even better. The Summer Olympics in Berlin were controversial because of their location, the presence of African American athletes, and Germany’s superior mentality.
Negro baseball leagues have a deep historical significance. Racism and “Jim Crow” laws encouraged segregation of African-Americans and whites. Arguably, the players on the negro baseball leagues were some of the best ever. Even today they are still being recognized and honored for their wonderful contribution to baseball as a whole. It started when major league owners had made a “gentleman’s agreement” to keep blacks from playing in the game. The barrier that went up was finally broken with a few black players being signed into white teams in the 1940s. It was once said by Martin Luther King Jr., “[Segregation] gives the segregator a false sense of superiority, it gives the segregated a false sense of inferiority.” While that is true of the times and conditions, I tend to believe that the negro baseball players had a different type of pride that kept them strong and helped blacks eventually gain equality. This still affects us as a society because we will always continue to look for equal opportunity.
Throughout sports history in America, minorities have had a sever disadvantage to succeeding. While the country has come a long way in integrating capable athletes in professional sports, there are several sports that have a white dominance. One rarely sees a minority on the swimming team. Caucasians dominate the golf and hockey leagues as well. One of the most prominent sports that is working on overcoming their racial barrier is gymnastics. Gymnastics is a white dominant sport, not only in America but around Europe as well. Ever since Dianne Durham was first African American to start competing on an elite level in the 1980s, there have only been a handful of black gymnasts recognised on the national level. It took until 1996 for a black gymnast to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Dominique Dawes competed in Atlanta and made history for being the first black person of any nationality to win a gold medal in gymnastics. While gymnastics has made progress including African Americans, they still have prejudices to overcome.
The 1936 Olympics was one of the most culturally influential events in the decade, and during this gathering of natural talent one race dominated the rest, african Americans. Lead by Jesse Owens along with a plethora of others the 1936 games will go down as the biggest showcase of black talent of all time and it could not have happened at a better time. The Articles in this research paper not only give us insight on how not only America was racially divided, but the world. My first article called Black Heroes by Warren Nagueyalti, shows the relationship of African Americans and white people in America. My second article, Negotiating the “folk highway” of the nation: sports, public culture and American Identity, is written by Steven W. Pope, explains what Jesse Owens means to America. The third article, The Negro in Track Athletics, is about the dominance of African Americans in the Olympics. The last is Bombshell written by Claudia Pierpont, and gives more information about Hitler and gives a look at what the world was looking like.All these items will accumulate into an argument that informs you about not only Jesse Owens, but his world, and the world of many other African Americans athletes in the 1930s.
On a larger scale their should be fair and equal treatment on all levels and in all sports, we still continue to fight to break down these invisible walls whether its being banned from the sport entirely or being forced to transition into another position African Americans who are persistent in the sport and do not let outside forces influence their well being are the ones prospering today on the highest level playing the most polarizing position in all of
The concept of a perfect world where race, color, religion, political stance, and gender are all equal is a good goal to strive for. Singling out individuals or groups based on any of those characteristics is wrong. We all have room to grow, and can make a better effort to be open-minded. Sports would be a perfect place to let down the barriers. There is bias in sport today. There is racism and discrimination. Only by a conscious effort can anything be done to help move past our present state. Racism and discrimination should not be in sports, because all humans are of the same species regardless of color or origin. We all bleed and we can all die, therefore, we should all be equal.
Baseball was on its way to becoming the nations number on sport.The setting is in 1860 African American got to see clubs and do those clubs for those 60 years.My interesting facts I liked to the Shut Out is the clubs African American got to see and do. Also, there were sports to fight that was dangerous.The problem is African American didn’t get to play baseball.The
From what I found, two players called John Carlos and Tommie Smith raised their fists while in medal ceremony of 200 meter running event, Carlos got bronze medal and Smith got gold medal, both of them are African-Americans. Also, along with Australian silver medalist Peter Norman, they all wore human rights badges on their jackets. The two US players received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride, Carlos had his tracksuit top unzipped to show solidarity with all blue-collar workers in the US and wore a necklace of beads which he described “were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the Middle Passage.” (Dean, Black Power) This political protest was quite bold and unexpected, surprised lots of people obviously, especially it showed up in a global sports event like Olympic Games. Even though their behaviors did help in a way, for helping more and more people paying more attention for the human rights for African-Americans and other minorities, nonetheless, Norman received lots of criticize from Australian media after that, said that he didn’t have to do that just for empathy. I always think that all races should be treated
In a society filled with people that strongly believe that sports is an industry that is removed and immune from the ills of the world—racism. Many fans and spectators of sports, such as baseball, basketball, football, and many other sports that include players of different races and ethnicities considers that racism is a thing of the past because of the inclusion and acceptance of all races in different sports. However, the misconception of living in a post-racial (colorblind) world is prevalent. Even though racial discrimination in sports and society in general, are not overt as in the past, racism continues to plague the industry. Regardless of fans and spectators wanting to ignore the racial biases and discrimination in the sports industry,
Sports may be a way out of poverty, but for very little. For the majority of minorities, sports is not an effective way out of poverty. Only about 1 in every 3,500 African American males make it into major league sports and mainly these sports consist of basketball, football, and baseball(very few). Minorities are largely missing from other sports and from positions such as team owners, managers, coaches, talent scouts, referees, and other major positions.
Whitaker, Matthew C.. African American icons of sport: triumph, courage, and excellence. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008.
How did sports "both reflect and influence" North Carolinian society from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s? During this era, athletics in college, basketball in particular, proved that many native-born citizens became Americans through participation in sports in which their accomplishments merited praise. Sports effectuated life lessons learned as well as cultural values, including teamwork and sportsmanship. Race and gender played an enormous role in the history of sports.