Following in the footsteps of Robeson, Ali, Robinson and others,
today’s Black athletes re-engage with social issues and the meaning
of American patriotism
Named a best book of 2018 by Library Journal
It used to be that politics and sports were as separate from one
another as church and state. The ballfield was an escape from the
world’s worst problems, top athletes were treated like heroes, and
cheering for the home team was as easy and innocent as hot dogs and
beer. “No news on the sports page” was a governing principle in
newsrooms.
That was then.
Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for
American patriotism and the hero worship of law enforcement. Teams
wear camouflage jerseys to honor those who serve; police officers
throw out first pitches; soldiers surprise their families with
homecomings at halftime. Sports and politics are decidedly entwined.
But as journalist Howard Bryant reveals, this has always been more
complicated for black athletes, who from the start, were committing a
political act simply by being on the field. In fact, among all black
employees in twentieth-century America, perhaps no other group had
more outsized influence and power than ballplayers. The immense
social responsibilities that came with the role is part of the black
athletic heritage. It is a heritage built by the influence of the
superstardom and radical politics of Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson,
Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos through the 1960s;
undermined by apolitical, corporate-friendly “transcenders of
race,” O. J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods in the
following decades; and reclaimed today by the likes of LeBron James,
Colin Kaepernick, and Carmelo Anthony.
The Heritage is the story of the rise, fall, and fervent
return of the athlete-activist. Through deep research and interviews
with some of sports’ best-known stars—including Kaepernick, David
Ortiz, Charles Barkley, and Chris Webber—as well as members of law
enforcement and the military, Bryant details the collision of
post-9/11 sports in America and the politically engaged post-Ferguson
black athlete.