Andrew Reese
November 8, 2015
Synthesis Essay
African American Introduction into Sport’s: Role in the Civil Right Movement The outbreak of African American’s into the world of sports throughout the 1900’s emerged to have an influential impact on the Civil Right’s movement because they started to move our nation forward as one nation and not a nation separated by race. “Whether it was a conscious stand or unintentional advocacy, athletes and coaches throughout the past century used their participation in sports to change the racial atmosphere in our country” (The Role of Sports Among the Civil Rights Movement). Athletes became more and more useful in the fight for Civil Rights with more recognition they received in the years to follow
…show more content…
Ever since there has been a use for sports, they have always captured the attention from millions of viewers. Even when televisions were not invented, the use of newspapers helped spread the greatness of the early African American athletes. The greatest use for desegregation in sports was used in one of the greatest sports of all time, America’s pastime: Baseball.
Baseball has been the most widely played sport since its entrance to North America over 175 years ago. It is also a sport that has almost been around for over 175 years. Baseball was desegregated in 1947, when a man named Jackie Robinson was announced as the starting first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers. “The best example of tactic is also the most well known: Branch Rickey’s “noble experiment” and the integration of the MLB by Jackie Robinson in 1947” (The Role of Sports Among the Civil Rights Movement). Before Robinson was introduced to the sport, baseball resembled America, a world full of desegregation wherever people went. Baseball was separated into two leagues, the more well- known white league and then the lesser known negro leagues. “Rickey recognized the power of sports and understood that integration in baseball could be the first step toward integration in society” (The Role of Sports Among the Civil Rights Movement). As more people saw Robinson play, the more people liked him and accepted the
Rhoden wrote, “Integration in sports—as opposed to integration at the ballot box or in public conveyances—was a winning proposition for the whites who controlled the sports industrial complex.” Arthur Foster
Another part of sports in the 1920s was discrimination and prejudice. Alchin said in paragraph 20 of American sports of the 1920s “Racial prejudice against African Americans were prevalent as was discrimination from
In recent history it has been evident that some of the most popularize sports in America have been dominated and overran by African American and other minority athletes. In turn when the coaching and management positions in sports are analyzed and broken down, the number of minority coaches and managers in sport are almost non-existent and have been since those sports organization became established.
We all know sports are games that embrace the spirit within everyone. They make us cry, work together, overcome obstacles, and most of all they help us believe in miracles. Sports definitely became a main impact on the racial equality movement. Not only did it show people that we are all one of the same but, it opened people's eyes to show them that people of all races can work together and be successful. The reason that sports were so powerful in the movement was because TV wasn't a big fad yet so people watched sporting events for entertainment. This was the way the equality message was shown to the world. During the games the way the athletes portrayed themselves influenced people's feelings toward them and their race. Although African American athletes were accepted into sports that was the easy part. They also fought day in and day out for their teammates respect and for their peers respect. Many of them were even ridiculed by their own race
The topic of race in sport, particularly African Americans in sport, has long been a controversial yet, widely discussed matter. Human and social issues are never easy subjects to discuss or debate, and racial differences tend to provoke very strong reactions. To begin, we will explore those whom claim that black athletes excel in sports as a result of their biological make up. Of all players in the NBA, more than 75% of them are black; of all players in the WNBA, more than 70% of them are black; of all players in the NFL, more than 65% of them are black (Hoenig, 2014). Evidently, black athletes make up a vast majority of these sports in the United States. Athletes must be of elite caliber to have the ability to play at this level, so this
"Over the decades, African American teams played 445-recorded games against white teams, winning sixty-one percent of them." (Conrads, pg.8) The Negro Leagues were an alternative baseball group for African American baseball player that were denied the right to play with the white baseball payers in the Major League Baseball Association. In 1920, the first African American League was formed, and that paved the way for numerous African American innovation and movements. Fences, and Jackie Robinson: The Biography, raises consciousness about the baseball players that have been overlooked, and the struggle they had to endure simply because of their color.
When the topic of baseball comes up in a conversation, what do you think of? The field, a bat, the ball, or amazing plays, crucial games, and game winning performances. What about American history? Does World War II come to mind; most likely not. According to an article called “Food for Thought: Baseball and American History,” John P. Rossi quotes Jacques Barzun saying, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Negro League Baseball can be used to shed light on the historical experience of African American’s in the United States.
The story of Jackie Robinson has become one of America's most iconic and inspiring stories. Since 1947, American history has portrayed Jackie Robinson as a hero, and he has been idolized as a role model to the African American baseball community. It is an unarguable fact that he was the first to tear down the color barriers within professional baseball. The topic of Robinson’s role in integration has long been a point of discussion amongst baseball historians. Researchers have accumulated thousands of accredited documents and interviews with friends and team mates such as short stop, Pee Wee Reese, and team owner, Branch Rickey. However, few journalists have asked why Robinson was selected and what was Branch
Since the abolition of slavery in the USA in 1883 and through the first half of the 20th Century, African Americans had been in a constant struggle to try and gain an equal footing in society. Like many aspects of American life, black sportsmen were segregated, and no African American had played professional baseball since 1884. For this reason, the integration of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first African American to play Major League baseball in the modern era had a grand impact on the entire country. From the moment that Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey decided that Robinson would break the colour lone, the history of sport and the history of African Americans would not be the same again. The importance of his integration and the effect it had on civil rights can be looked at in many different ways. It had great effect on the African American community, instilling pride and belief once again in the American Dream for many who had once thought it impossible. It also had significant importance for civil rights groups, and brought about a figure who would fight his peoples quest for equal rights until the day he died. It was a significant risk taken by both Rickey and Robinson, professionally and personally. But it was a risk that both in the short term for African American sport, and in the long run for African American civil rights, was ultimately well worth taking.
Sports played and continue to play a pivotal role in American history and culture. Baseball provided an escape from the stress and frustration of WWII, a beacon of light during hard times and later helped influence integration. Athletes became symbols of what being a true American meant and many sports enhanced American culture. One of the most prolific changes sports brought to our society was the beginning of racial equality on the field. It encouraged and aided the fledgling equal rights movement that evolved in the 1960s. African American athletes were considered second-class citizen until sports provided the first taste of equality. Teams life the Indians, Dodgers and Giants led the way for all teams to accept black players on
The Negro Leagues, baseball leagues for merely black players, allowed urban communities to “pass down the tradition of ‘their’ game 25.” As the Negro leagues ended, baseball’s popularity diminished because it no longer acted as a unique and individualized aspect of African-American culture. The Negro Leagues and the black baseball movement inspired hope as a part of the larger civil rights movement of the 20th century and the black community utilized baseball “as a means of collective identity and civic pride 26.” African- American’s racial advances in baseball signaled the long term success of the larger civil rights movement of the 20th century. As a result, baseball became essential in identifying the progress and identity of African-American culture. Baseball lost its social prevalence after the African-American civil rights movement due to the emergence of other
Professional sports were segregated in the United States, just like the rest of the country was during the 1940s, but between the cooperation of two men the color barrier was broken in professional sports. The unwritten rule of not allowing blacks to play professional baseball had been standing since the 1880s. No professional sport in America at the time had any participating African Americans, yet many African Americans were participating in the Olympics. Famous African American olympians, such as Jesse Owens and John Taylor, were highly celebrated for their accomplishments, yet no change was made within the professional sports world. Robinson was not the first attempt at breaking the color barrier in professional sports but Branch Rickey, the President and GM of the Dodgers, felt he was the one to complete the transformation.
Civil rights changed and shaped Cumberland Maryland. Black men dominated and benefited their sports team. They expressed how special they were to their team by the way they played. This is proving in numerous newspapers. In my opinion these athletes worked hard for their sport careers. Most of the player I named such as Al Fox and Lawrence Males careers were ruined by culture. Players such as Garland Darr, Danny Darr and Steve Trimble had successful lives in Cumberland. They were all athletes. As a result most of them became coaches after their successful years as being athletes. Al Fox and Lawrence Males dedicated their life to a sport but didn’t get recognized because of a racial issue.
Living in 2014, we would like to believe that we have made great strides to eliminate racism within the United States. Through history we are able to see how ugly our nation was as it judged people by the color of their skin and in extreme cases killed them for it. Through law, we have been able to advance from such an ugly time, but yet we still see racism show its ugly head quite often. A great way to see such a transition is through sport. Sports have been around through segregation and very dark moments of racism in the United States. Sports have played an important role in the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement and have been our nation’s largest source of pastime and entertainment. Because of the exposure of sports through media and events for its viewers, sports have a large influence on our children and us. Today we see racism with sport as it seems that it has come to full circle with our history.
The acceptance of black athletes in professional sports has increased significantly in the last 100 years however racial challenge continue to exist. Black people have been discriminated against for decades, specifically black athletes. Black athletes had to face racial discrimination because of their colour and have fought their way to be accepted and even idolized in the sports world. Even though they are becoming more accepted they are still being discriminated against by teammates, fans and even owners of the team. This report will examine the history of discrimination, segregation and racism in sport.