A bold and impassioned meditation on injustice in our country that
punctures the illusion of a postracial America and reveals it as a
place where authoritarianism looms large.
Whether the issues are protest, labor, patriotism, or class division,
it is clear that professional sports are no longer simply fun and
games. Rather, the industry is a hotbed of fractures and inequities
that reflect and even drive some of the most divisive issues in our
country. The nine provocative and deeply personal essays in Full
Dissidence confront the dangerous narratives that are shaping the
current dialogue in sports and mainstream culture. The book is a
reflection on a culture where African Americans continue to navigate
the sharp edges of whiteness—as citizens who are always at risk of
being told, often directly from the White House, to go back to where
they came from. The topics Howard Bryant takes on include the
player-owner relationship, the militarization of sports, the myth of
integration, the erasure of black identity as a condition of success,
and the kleptocracy that has forced America to ask itself if its
beliefs of freedom and democracy are more than just words.
In a time when
authoritarianism is creeping into our lives and is being embraced in
our politics, Full Dissidence will make us question the
strength of the bonds we think we have with our fellow citizens, and
it shows us why we must break from the malignant behaviors that have
become normalized in everyday life.