Black Athletes In The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights was an era of colored people being treated unfairly and unjustly. The Jim Crow laws at the local and state level barred African Americans from classrooms, bathrooms, theaters, juries, and legislature. Despite all these barriers there were people who decided to change the way white folks treated African Americans. People such as a Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Jim Brown made history through the game. The Civil Rights is taught to K-12 grade students through all sorts of literature, however most books were based on male athletes in the civil rights other than female athletes that stand out such as Serena Williams. The children’s book about civil rights had complicated language that children wouldn’t be able to understand. The other books for higher grades had little or no information at all about how these phenomenal players change the way the game was played.

Nearly a century after the civil war ended, African Americans continued to encounter discrimination, racism, inequality, and segregation. Because of their skin color, they were labeled as second-class citizens. They decided to take actions into their own hands and fight against segregation and attain equal civil liberties. They have faced countless battles, setbacks and enormous resistance. Activists from all around the country, with all types of backgrounds joined in on the fight against racial injustice. Their main strategy emphasized passive resistance and nonviolence.

Though the conclusion of the American Civil War in 1965 marked the end of slavery in the United States, African-Americans would not see anything resembling true freedom from the segregation and isolation imposed by slavery until very recently, and only after decades of difficult struggle. Some of the most important achievements occurred during the 1960s, when a generation of African-American leaders and activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and the Freedom Riders, fought against some of the last vestiges of explicit, institutionalized segregation, discrimination, and isolation in order to attain equality and civil rights. Only by examining the treatment of African-Americans throughout America's history can one begin to understand how the the ending of slavery, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and the contemporary issues facing the African-American community are inextricably linked. In turn this allows one to see how rather than existing as a single, identifiable turning point in the history of civil rights, African American's struggle for equality and an end to isolation must be considered as an ongoing project.

Following the Civil War in the United States, African-Americans still faced extreme forms of racism and troubles all the way up until the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. African-Americans were excluded from nearly all forms of participating in society including the ability to participate in professional sports and be paid at the same level as white athletes. The segregation of sports in this country was never declared by law, however it is something that our culture refused to accept (Reese). The eventual integration of sports in the United States, beginning with baseball and boxing, played a major role in the Civil Rights Movement and had a lasting impact on

Civil rights was an important American issue through the late 40s through the 60s. During this time period Baseball was “America’s Pastime, “and a major social get together for white Americans. However in 1947 both of these event were combined when the Brooklyn Dodgers gave Jackie Robinson a chance to play professional baseball. Jackie Robinson is the target of my biography. Robinson not only was the first African American baseball player, but he also had a hall of fame career, and eventually had his number retired by all of Major League Baseball. It is important to know about him because he helped accelerate the civil rights movement in America. Although his entrance was brutal with the abuse he received and the obscenities that were yelled at him. He helped the transition to not only make African Americans accepted in professional sports, but also to help the acceptance of African Americans in the civil rights movement.

During 1947, many African Americans were struggling to be successful due to segregation and discrimination. At a time of desperation, African Americans needed a spark for them to push harder, there are many black individuals that were key factors at these times. These athletes for example, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X and Bill Russell. All these individuals have impacted the U.S to success for modern African American’s Athletes. They also have paved and destined many other blacks to be successful in their desired sports.

Prior to the civil rights movement, was hard for social injustice that mainly occurred during the 1950s and the 1960s for blacks to achieve equal rights under the law of the U.S. Civil War had regularly repealed slavery, but it didn’t end the discrimination, harassing, and the threatening. Jim Crow laws were settled in the South beginning in the late 19th century. Blacks couldn’t use the same public efficiency as whites, live in frequent of the same towns or unable to go to the same schools. Activists used, during the civil rights movement, multiple strategies that resulted in both successes and failures.

The 1950’s was an era of jazz music, the Korean War just around the corner, and the greatest invention ever; bubble wrap. If one were to look into America from the outside during this time, the U.S. would seem like an utopia, but when you dig deeper, a bigger issue comes to life. African Americans had been fighting against racial discrimination for centuries; during the 1950s, however, the struggle against racism and segregation entered the mainstream of American life. In the midst of all the struggle, one man made his mark on history, on the biggest stage possible; Major League Baseball. His name? Jackie Robinson. Despite being an astound baseball player, Robinson influenced more than just the game of baseball, he was also strong advocate of the Civil Rights Movement.

During the time period and in the 21st century, several crucial figures partook in the growth and development of black freedom. One important person I would like to examine in depth is MLB icon Jackie Robinson. Jackie was the first African-American man to sign and play in Major League Baseball (MLB). His most prestigious accomplishments include Rookie of the Year award in 1947, National League Most Valuable Player in 1949, and winning a World Series in 1955. Yes, he was very successful, yet he did suffer a lot of public discrimination.

Throughout American history, sports has always been a big topic. Many Americans view sports as a part of their culture and an influence in their lives. There are many opportunities to play sports such as basketball, football, golf, baseball, ect. However, not everybody had equal opportunities to play sports before there were major changes in sports history. One of these major changes included other ethnicity groups and skin colored people to be allowed to play sports. African American athletes were one of the main groups of people that changed this view. They were not allowed or qualified to play sports because of their skin color and background. Since the 1800’s, African Americans the views of the people in the United States of blacks in sports

In the early 20th Century, women lacked much needed opportunities to participate in college athletics; however, with the coming of a new law called “Title IX”, these opportunities would soon become a reality. Title IX is a law that granted women equal rights to those of men, specifically within college athletics. Prior to Title IX, women were denied entry into specific universities for no other reason than the fact that they were women. When more and more women began to speak out and bring attention to the situation, it became a huge topic that needed a solution quick. Around the nation, Civil Rights Movements and Women’s Rights Movements began to dominate streets everywhere.

During the progressive era in the late 1800’s, white people were in control of society. The blacks had been freed under the Emancipation Proclamation, but were not being treated equal. Mainly because they were black. But that was not the only reason. Blacks were also not treated equally because they did not possess the intelligence and skills of whites. A great man decided to fight for equality between blacks and whites. His name was Booker Taliaferro Washington.

In the 1950’s, many outspoken African Americans booed the issues that were occurring at the time. Earl Lloyd was one of the many. Nat Clifton, Charles Henry Cooper and Earl Lloyd were all important factor to the desegregation of whites and African Americans in basketball. Even though these three men were not the only ones who changed history for African Americans, they surely made a dent in the history books. Throughout the 1950’s a great amount of African Americans were facing segregation issues. Not only was there segregation in sport, but also in the communities, schools, etc. Ruth Batson once said, “ The word that I’m objecting to is segregation. As long as you talk about segregation I won't discuss this.” (Fayer, Flynn, Hampton

The history of the struggle for the advancement and progression of African Americans is a larger-than-life story. It reveals their endeavors for the initiation of change in political, financial, educational, and societal conditions. They did everything to shape their future and that of their country i.e. the United States of America. This struggle for the attainment of equal rights has helped them to determine the path and the pace of their improvement and development (Taylor & Mungazi, 2001, p. 1).

In 1968, two black American male athletes made history at the Mexico Olympics by making a silent protest against racial discrimination during the American National Anthem in the victory ceremony.