Key Black Sportsmen of the 20th Century - Coursework Example

Key Black Sportsmen of the 20th Century Key Black Sportsmen of the 20th Century Introduction Over the last century, it has been considerably difficult for black citizens to become recognized as leaders in their field. Due to a traditionally white/European cultural heritage throughout the western world, every minority group within the United States has suffered the effects of racism on their professional status in whatever job they have pursued. One field prevailed as the gateway for minorities and in particular black people to reach past their racial handicap as it was, and actually succeed to the same extent as a white person was capable: sport. Through sports, the American black community found an outlet through which to not only showcase special talents and skills but to express itself as a race and a culture within the country. Athletes broke into major sports leagues where once segregation had existed because they were found to be so valuable to a team or a club; because of this spotlight the media was able to focus on the issues that the sports men and women themselves portrayed in simply playing their respective games. People like Jackie Robinson, Tommy Smith, Muhammad Ali, Serena and Venus Williams and Tiger Woods have forever changed the face of not only American and international sports but the ‘melting pot’ culture of the United States as well since they were, uncharacteristically of their race, able to break into the world of the white man in an entertainment capacity when so many black people were unable to succeed in terms of business or finance. Blacks and the Great Migration of the 20th Century At the beginning of the 20th century, America was still a very racist state following the Emancipation Proclamation several decades earlier. Blacks had struggled to establish themselves as a culturally strong force in American society although they had certainly been a dynamic feature of the economy and would only be more crucial to the state as a whole during and after the two World Wars. The Great Migration refers to the general mass movement of blacks from southern estates and collectivized farms to the urban centres of the American north from the turn of the century up until the 1960’s; during this expanse of time poor blacks from the south who had been hired cheaply as farm labour or who scratched together a living from working government owned land realized the opportunities that could be found in the northern states. Labourers flooded into the cities to find factory wage work to support their families and once established in the cities, blacks looked forward to the chance to send their children to school for the first time, as well as the relaxed atmosphere when compared to the highly racist and lawfully segregated south. It was the social structures of northern cities that very often provided just the right set of circumstances for young blacks to get an education, conceive of their own professional dreams and truly succeed in the world where their parents had never had the chance (Miller and Wiggins, 2004). Jackie Robinson and Segregated Sports In the first half of the 20th century, American sports were strictly available to white men; these were the professional leagues that would be referred to in the newspapers, magazines and eventually on television. Jim Crow laws were prevalent in the southern American states, and since they promoted the equality of blacks and whites through segregation, it was in this manner that blacks and whites would live for decades. The two races were not to be educated together, not to eat together, drink from the same water fountains and subsequently they were not to play sports together either. The Jim Crow laws were only established in the southern states however the fundamental racism that spawned them was in existence up north as well; this is how the sports leagues gained notoriety separately in the eyes of the two different races and cultures (Ibid.). Perhaps one of the most famed members of the Great Migration and the segregated black baseball league is Jackie Robinson, who was born into the racism south of America in Georgia early in the 20th century. Following a smallpox epidemic in his youth, Robinson’s family moved to California to pursue a better life; in the urban part of the country where he would attend school and learn to play sports, families were largely black and highly impoverished. After Jackie Robinson and his family moved to California from Georgia, his father abandoned them and subsequently young Jackie had a hard time growing up. He was allowed to go to school unlike many of his predecessors, however he had trouble fitting into the academic structure and at one point was a member of a local gang. At the time it was still uncommon for blacks, especially those that were a part of the Great Migration, to pursue anything other than a factory job; Robinson instead was persuaded by a friend to leave the gang and he started to concentrate on the sports teams at his school. Robinson played tennis, baseball, basketball, football and participated in the track and field events, earning a reputation for his skill and winning many awards locally and in state. Jackie Robinson had the unprecedented luck to be scouted by the Major League Baseball club; he had become a star in the black leagues but so had many before him and this was no reason to believe that he would be the one who started the anti-segregation reality. The fact was that entertainment was and still is one of the major forces in the American culture, and as such the teams wanted to play with the best and audiences wanted to see some real talent; this drive for better and better games is quite simply what led to the introduction of Jackie Robinson into the white baseball league. Despite huge racial protests and calls for non-segregated lifestyles, sport is what ultimately drew the two races together in such a basic and mundane level that the larger American public was able to accept it, slowly at first but ultimately to the point that segregated leagues were broken down altogether. Robinson hadn’t chosen to become a poster boy for the black rights movement; he simply wanted to grasp the opportunities he had available to him and in doing so his racial community seized its own opportunity to showcase their potential as a group. Blacks had been left out of the entrepreneurial scheme of their country and although they were legally equal and freely independent they were facing racial roadblocks in virtually every direction except when pursuing the low-wage industrial jobs that were largely employing the lower classes, black, white and otherwise. Ironically it was likely his insistence that his race not be an issue that both gained Robinson his stature in baseball and subsequently his idolization by the black community who insisted that his race did in fact have significant importance. First the American baseball audience was forced to accept that a black man had sporting talent that surpassed many of his white contemporaries, and then Robinson himself was forced to deal with the fact that even though he had broken through the white sporting barrier his own race was determined to hold him up as an example. Jackie Robison was one of the first black sportsmen in American history to achieve what he did despite his race; because of this first step segregational leagues were eventually discontinued, Jim Crow laws were discontinued and more and more black athletes would be able to reach their full potential with the support of the American state. Black athletes throughout the rest of the 20th century invariably have Robinson to look back on and thank for the expanded opportunities in both sport and the rest of the economy (Simon, 2002). Cassius Clay After converting to the Muslim faith and changing his name to Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay is now known as one of the greatest boxers of all time. His fighting style was rather unorthodox: instead of keeping his hands up to protect his face like most boxers, Ali fought with his hands down and ready to strike, trusting in his own ability to duck and avoid his opponent’s strikes. Ali started to focus on his career during high school and directly after he scratched by his graduation; his principal at the time suggested to the school board (who was seriously considering failing him for consistently poor grades) that Ali be allowed to graduate based on the fact that one day he would be making more money than any of the people currently sitting in judgment over him. True to this prediction, Muhammad Ali was to become not only of the most successful sportsmen of his time in the 1960’s and 1970’s, but certainly one of the most successful black men in this century (Redigar, 1995). In the 1960’s when the United States went to war in Vietnam, Ali was at first not eligible for the military forces due to his poor reading and writing skills; after the government changed the entry standards, however, he was due to join the army but refused on the basis of his Islamic religion. Ali said that he could not take part in a Christian war, and famously stated that “no Vietcong ever called me nigger”. Ali was unique in that he was a poster-boy not only for blacks but also for Muslims; as an Islamic black American Ali was already bound to stick out of a crowd; as the most touted boxer at the time he couldn’t help but be asked for his opinion on politics, racism and religion. Building on the groundwork by previous black sports heroes, Ali was able to move past the essential issue (in black people playing professional, well-paid sports in the first place), and to take a standpoint that was more political as well as personal in terms of morals and religion. Islam was second to none to the fighter, and he wanted to point out the difference in his protest to the Vietnam War and the other Americans who were decidedly dodging the draft. Positing not that it was essentially wrong to fight in something that had religious reverberations, but merely that it was wrong to fight another man’s or another religion’s fight, Ali found himself at the heart of heated controversy during the latter half of the 1960’s. In Islam, Ali had found an entire population of Americans who were unhappy with their position in what was essentially a land of white men. Ali could sympathize with his Islamic counterparts, and seeing how his own life paralleled the struggle of this minority culture in the United States, he began to speak out at Muslim rallies and to often support a segregation of the two cultures within the one state. Ali ironically was drawn to the nationalistic properties of the Islamic religion and because of this he felt that his people (Muslims) should not be forced to integrate with the white culture of America; instead he believed that they should be allowed to freely experience their own culture independently of American legislation and government regulation (Bingham, 2004). What Ali brought to the black American sports field is his sympathy with other minorities within the United States. Up until this point, black politics and social justice had not been tied directly to the plight of any other group within the country; although Ali made little mention of other minority groups his primary connection between the black and Muslim communities made it clear to his fans and his critics that America was indeed made up of many different religious and cultural groups and that these could not forever be ignored in favour of the majority whites. As such an authoritative figure in boxing at the time and still now despite retirement, Muhammad Ali was destined to be cast into the spotlight when it came to racism, religion and government policy. Tommy Smith’s Olympic Protest Tommy Smith is one of these athletes, but his attitude differed greatly from that of Jackie Robinson years before him. Smith was an athletics champion who was sent by the American Olympic Team to the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games. His best category was the 200 meter sprint, and he was a favoured athlete at the time, fully expected to win. Smith not only won his event but he matched the Olympic record at 19.8 seconds, a fact which was not celebrated fully by the American public because of what was deemed inappropriate conduct on the podium shortly after: Smith threw his fist in the air flaunting the sign of black power. The Olympic officials felt that this was not an appropriate action for their athletes and so Smith and his colleague John Carlos, who had made a fist on the podium as well, were kicked out of the Games and sent home in shame. Carlos admitted after the incident that while the two of them had received great praise from America’s impoverished black community, they had simultaneously received scorn from the small number of successful black Americans who were working in business or active in politics (Hartmann, 2004). The dichotomy between black Americans had not developed until the 1960’s and 70’s at the time of Smith’s incident. Blacks had spent the years following the Second World War establishing themselves first in urban industry and then as viable business leaders and local community politicians. As a direct effect of Jackie Robinson’ success in sport and American public opinion black people found that they were able more and more to become a dynamic part of American society in any way they chose to present themselves. Smith recognized the achievements of his predecessors however he also recognized the fact that there had been relatively few outspoken successful black people, let alone athletes, despite the thousands of disenfranchised blacks living all across the country. Smith and Carlos were criticized by their fellow countrymen for being unpatriotic and simply rude for their conduct at the Olympics, however in their eyes it was a call to action and a symbol of pride for an entire race of American blacks who otherwise got so little international recognition. The moment has been captured in alleyway graffiti art in countries across the world now; minority groups everywhere understand what the two American athletes were trying to achieve and actually use the incident as a proud example of what their own groups are capable of achieving. Before being sent to the Olympics by the American Team, Smith had actually tried to help organize an Olympic boycott by black team members but this proved an unpopular idea. His underlying motivation as an Olympic team member and valuable athlete for the country was not just for his own success but to establish himself as a black icon. He knew that he could use his position in the country to help his fellow impoverished and discriminated black community, and so did not shy away from the spotlight. His podium salute marked the fact that his win was not only for himself but for his race; it was also meant to draw attention to the struggle of his people on the world stage. For ten years, Tommy Smith was denied the glory of his athletic achievement as his political agenda was pushed to the forefront. Instead of focusing completely on his career as any other athlete would do, Smith knew that he was in a unique position as a socially powerful black man and he took full advantage of that fact to bring racial tensions and issues to an international perspective. America was by no means the only western country that suffered racism, however given its prior history as a split nation during the Civil War, there was a significant percentage of black people who claimed U.S. citizenship in the first half of the 20th century who had little to their name except poverty and family ties. Smith could see that America’s athletes were some of the most widely respected people in the country; Americans tuned in daily to watch sports (indeed they still do) and the sports arena and playing field became one of the few places that race was no big issue. Black players and white players joined together to form teams and clubs and simply did their jobs in entertaining the masses. The Olympics have been one of the defining sports events in recent history and in 1968 the Mexico Games were the perfect place to stage a political and racial protest to the way that black Americans were being treated in their own country. The juxtaposition was blunt and poignant: a successful black man who instead of acting humble and sincerely grateful for his chance to make it big in sports rallies against the racism and poverty that his black counterparts were still enduring every day. Tiger Woods Currently ranked #1 in the professional golf tables and in 2005 calculated to have been the most highly paid athlete of all, Tiger Woods has undoubtedly been the grateful recipient of all the racial and political campaigning (planned or otherwise) of his sporting forebears. Woods is of mixed race origins and as such he has been hailed not only as a black athlete but an American-Asian one as well; his success at the game has been claimed as the reason for a renewed interest in the sport from minority audience groups. Golf is a sport that has long been associated with wealthy white men, and as such black and other minority groups have had difficulty not only in succeeding in the sport but in taking it seriously to begin with. The cultural restrictions surrounding a game like golf often mean that blacks will ignore it in favour of other sports that have been ‘claimed’ somewhat by other players of their colour. For Tiger Woods to persevere at golf as a man of black and mixed racial origins, to get on top of the tables and stay there consistently and also become the highest paid athlete in history marks the pinnacle of a long journey towards racial equality in sport, and also in the other levels of society (Wiggins, 2006). The Williams Sisters For much of the 20th century, black rights were brought into the spotlight almost entirely because of successful male athletes. Black females had not only racism to combat on the path to success but also an anti-feminist agenda in terms of American business and certainly athletics. Because the odds and attitudes of an entire country were doubly against them, black women struggled even more than their male counterparts when it came to establishing themselves as a viable part of the American economy and the sporting industry. Sports still have a stigma against women to this day, and because of this prevailing atmosphere it is easy to see how black women have only come strongly onto the scene in recent decades, particularly the 1990’s (Ibid.). Venus and her sister Serena Williams are two former women’s #1 tennis players (both black Americans); they have both overcome obstacles to get where they are but their most insistent roadblock was in fact not their race but their gender. The girls honed their tennis skills with the help and insistent coaching of their father Richard Williams, who took it upon himself to train them up to the professional level. Richard is cited time and time again by the Williams sisters as the reason for their success, and certainly it is easy to see the dedication from a person who knows how the sporting world can help overcome racial bias. What the girls have achieved for their cultural community is doubled by the fact that they have also achieved it in the name of black women nationwide. Like black sports heroes before them, Serena and Venus have been held up as an example of what can be accomplished by minority groups who often theoretically paint themselves into a stereotypical corner in terms of career choices and long-term goals. At the 2007 French Open this March, Venus Williams was cited as the reason for the French Grand Slam tournament finally appointing the same amount of prize money to women players as to the men. Venus had commented openly about the quality of the women’s playing and had also volunteered as a spokeswoman for gender equality throughout the games. Her and her sister have managed to break down a final barrier in terms of black equality because they too decided to focus on their own issues; gender equality in sport has lagged behind in comparison to racial equality and this seems to be the final move away from a non-segregational sporting culture, not to mention a unified nation. Conclusions The face of American sport has been a dynamic feature of the drive towards racial equality in the past century. Great sportsmen like Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommy Smith and Tiger Woods have moved the racial inequities past the point of segregated leagues; they’ve helped to align America’s disenfranchised black citizens with other minority groups within the United States; opened international eyes towards the racial tensions and inequities in America and opened up elitist games to minority groups. Serena and Venus Williams have struck a blow not only in favour of their racial comrades but for their gender as well; sport may have been helping black men move forward towards equality for the past century but only lately has it incorporated black women to the degree it is with these two tennis stars. The American public has and always has had a weakness for sporting events; it is because of this integral feature of audiences nationwide that actual skill became the fundamental feature of a sporting match, ranked more highly than skin colour and class or creed. It is essentially because of America’s love affair with sports of all kinds that black men and women were given the chance to showcase their true talents and no longer were forced to accept their fate as a group of second-rate citizens. Reference List Bingham, H. (2004). Muhammah Ali’s Greatest Fight. Robson Books Ltd. Hartmann, D. (2004). Race, Culture, and the Revolt of the Black Athlete: The 1968 Olympic Protests and Their Aftermath. University of Chicago Press. Miller, P. (2004). Sport and the Color Line: Black Athletes and Race Relations in Twentieth-Century America. New York: Routledge. Redigar, P. (1995). Great African Americans in Sport. Crabtree Pub Co. Simon, S. (2002). Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball. NJ: Wiley. Wiggins, D. (2006). Out of the Shadows: A Biographical History of African American Athletes. University of Arkansas Press. Read More