Racial Tensiona and Low Expectation on Black Athletes in Football

Rhoden uses different writing techniques to get the reader to view black sports history from different perspectives. Throughout the reading, readers are learning that the history isn’t so much inspirational as much as a struggle and wants to focus on the victories as much as they focused on the defeats. This book seeks to tell the story of the rise and fall of the black athlete, but also to point the way toward redemption. The novel is driven by the purpose of finding light and bringing real power to the African American athletes. The history lessons imbedded in the 40 Million Dollar Slaves interlace the ropes of innovation and conflicts that today define sports today.

In the piece “Just Walk on By: Black Men in Public Spaces”, Brent Staples explores the social issues of racial prejudice and stereotypes. As an African American man, he claims to “alter public spaces in ugly ways,” as he is seen as a suspect and danger by individuals who merely make assumptions based on the color of his skin. He recounts his experience of walking down a desolate street in a poverty-stricken area of Chicago called Hyde Park. A white twenty-year old woman, who was walking on the same avenue, cast back a few worried glances, picked up her pace, and was “soon running in earnest”. Although Staples was simply an innocent bystander “stalking sleep, not defenseless wayfarers”, it is vital to remember the time period we are living in.

For 6th article review, I decided to discuss the article Race, punishment and the Michael Vick experience. This article discusses the relationship between race and crime has been contentious, focusing primarily on offending and incarnation patterns among minorities. Throughout the article it discusses how serval studies have shown that minorities (mainly African Americans) view aspects of the criminal justice system differently than do whites.

Physical discrimination also evokes emotions from the audience in the novel because they feel sympathy for the kids due to the manner in which they are being treated. The speaker in the novel notifies that the swimming pools would be immediately shut down “if any n***** tried so much as to stick his big toe in it” (59). The appeal is successful because the reader is able to visualize the segregation taking place at the school, making them feel bad for the innocent black students. In the podcast, a pathetic appeal is demonstrated when the students are forced to return back to Normandy high school. This is another example of physical discrimination, but black student athletes at Permian high school, like Boobie, are affected more negatively because they have more pressure to play well because the consequence of performing poorly could be never playing again. The podcast’s version of appealing to the audience is less effective than in the novel because the speaker’s tone in the novel is much harsher than in the podcast, and the physical discrimination portrayed in the book leaves more of an effect on the

When the new black players arrived in El Paso, Texas, they were confronted by many whites who had never seen a colored person before. The whites seemed confused and apprehensive, scared to befriend the blacks solely because they were of

Acknowledging the way famous essayists Norman Podhoretz and Edward Hoagland--among countless pedestrians -- perceive casual African Americans as “‘mugger[s] who [are] clearly screwing up [their] nerve to do more than just ask for money,’” the author implies the pain inflicted by passersby’ bigoted attitudes (Staples). By citing the animosity openly disclosed by professional writers, Staples is able to captivate his readers sympathy toward himself and African American men in general: the ones at the receiving end of a nation’s enmity. Once the audience perceives the situation from a misjudged black man’s perspective, they can more adequately comprehend the issue with society’s repugnant habit of associating African Americans with criminals. Expanding the feelings of tenderness he plants within his readers, Staples recounts his own personal confrontations with intolerant strollers. After being “mistaken for a burglar” in his own workplace, being threatening by “an enormous red Doberman pinscher straining at the end of a leash”, and innumerable accounts of pedestrians’ avoidance, the narrator grew accustomed to social mistreatment (Staples). Apprehending the way society’s inferences injure African Americans on a regular basis, the

Men and women alike are often afraid to venture out into the streets at the dark hours of the day. It could be argued that this is a byproduct of the ever-increasing US crime rate, yet it may also be due to the natural fear that accompanies walking alone in public spaces, familiar or not. Although any shifty figures lurking on the sidewalk can be the source of this fear, it is no doubt that the gross misrepresentation of black people as perpetrators of violent crimes has given them “the ability to alter public space in ugly ways,” as so proficiently stated in “Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples (205). Through this short essay, Staples uses a variety of rhetorical devices, namely anecdotes, in order to present the fact that these preconceived racial notions can make certain individuals increasingly susceptible to societal scrutiny. This forces many individuals to make concentrated efforts to present themselves as less threatening because “where fear and weapons meet -- [as] they often do in urban America -- there is always the possibility of death” (206).

In his collection of essays in Nobody Knows My Name, James Baldwin uses “Fifth Avenue, Uptown” to establish the focus that African Americans no matter where they are positioned would be judged just by the color of their skin. Through his effective use of descriptive word choice, writing style and tone, Baldwin helps the reader visualize his position on the subject. He argues that “Negroes want to be treated like men” (Baldwin, 67).

Author Peter S. Morris once said, “If baseball is America’s favorite pastime, then football must be its passion” (Morris, 2004). Throughout the years, the sport of football has risen through the ranks to become the spectator sport in North America. Football has been interwoven into the “American psyche” and culture. Millions of dedicated and loyal fans keenly await the chance to pack out stadiums at the beginning of each National Football League (NFL) season. They stare into the dazzling field lights, clothe themselves in paraphernalia, and wildly cheer on the players of their chosen team. Football has become a part of the American life. The NFL embodies the “fun” in American society. It is seventeen weeks filled with excitement, high spirits, and a competitive atmosphere. A piece of American society that isn’t so jubilant has been making serious headlines as of lately. These series of incidents have been a Public Relations nightmare for the beloved league. The use of racial slurs both on the field and off the field by NFL players is an issue that, until recently, was not openly discussed in the sport. The number of "incidents" has gradually increased throughout the years. As a solution to this growing problem, NFL committees have recently decided to impose a 15 yard penalty on any and all players that use the racial slur “Nigga(er)” while playing the game. The racial tension in the NFL, the pros of the new penalty, and the cons of the new penalty are certainly worth

In Chapter 4 of his book, which is aptly titled “Postwar Passions”, Daniels chooses to focus on the experiences of African-Americans in the post-WWI era, specifically focusing on race riots that occurred during the “Red Summer” of 1919. (104) There is a long-standing history of racial discord between whites and African-Americans, but the post-WWI years are a unique time. It has been more than fifty years since slavery has been abolished, but it will still take another forty plus years before discrimination on the basis of race is made illegal in America. Industrialization after the turn of the century and blatant racism in the South led to the migration of millions of African-Americans to northern

In every individual, a host of socio-historical forces converge and influence the subject’s ideas. Consciously and unconsciously, the individual reflects the confluence of his or her history and culture. In “Sonny’s Blues”, a short story by James Baldwin, the dominant culture constricts the black individual. Subject to the explicit and latent biases of a racist society, the black population of “Sonny’s Blues” attempt to endure oppression and suffering and survive in an unforgiving land. However, they can thrive here with the hope and salvation provided by the communal center of African American culture: religion.

The physical separation wasn’t the only racial issue that Odessa had. Blacks and Hispanics were both quite underrepresented in Permian High, only making up about 31% of the student body (Bissinger, 2015; pg. 175). The black population of Odessa seemed to get the blunt end of the racial stigma though, which is especially seen at the beginning of chapter 5 with the use and explanation of why some Odessans used the word

My experience facing racial difficulties is when I was fifteen years old and i wanted to play football, because it seemed like fun and i enjoyed playing it with my friends when we went to the park.But my grandmother wouldn’t let me play because she thought that i wouldn’t excel in football because i wasn’t black, and that football is a black people's sport and that it wouldn’t matter how hard I worked I would never be as good as the black players. I don’t understand why the color of you're skin matters when wanting to play sports or do anything if you're good at it you should be given an equal opportunity to try-out and prove your talents. My situation was similar to cory’s because he wanted to play football and was getting recruited by scouts

Racism has repeatedly played a controversial role throughout the course of history. This is a topic fueled by the heated arguments of the parties on both ends of the matter, may it be the cry of the victim or defense of the offender. As described in the works of two members of ethnic minorities coping with the alienation they both faced in what is supposed to be the land of diversity, Firoozeh Dumas’ “The F Word,” and Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space, racism is portrayed as a dark shadow cast upon those who may not seem to conform to the “norms” of western culture to the typical American. Such stereotypes and predispositions should not hold the power to classify and simplify human beings to one

Fueled by fear and ignorance, racism has corrupted the hearts of mankind throughout history. In the mid-1970’s, Brent Staples discovered such prejudice toward black men for merely being present in public. Staples wrote an essay describing how he could not even walk down the street normally, people, especially women, would stray away from him out of terror. Staples demonstrates his understanding of this fearful discrimination through his narrative structure, selection of detail, and manipulation of language.