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From Slaveships to Scholarships
The Plight of the African-American Athlete
Introduction
In an era when black athletes are commonly compared to the African slaves, Dr. Pinckney attempts to draw a connection to William Rhodens Forty Million Dollar Slaves and Harry Edwards earlier work about the black athletes' integration and segregation issues. Furthermore, this book is an attempt to chronicle the past and current history of blacks in sports. This book reads like a hybrid book—part history, part sociology, and part current issues.
Segregation in Sports
Dr. Pinckney captures the rise and slow decline of segregation in college and professional athletics. Dr. Pinckney examines how social and political forces imposed policies of racism, and explains the social forces that eventually forced blacks and historical black colleges and universities to accept second-class segregated competition.
Historical Context
By some accounts, five hundred years ago, our African ancestors were running from the slave catcher and slave ships to avoid slavery; however, today the descendants of slaves are still running. In fact, they are running, jumping, shooting baskets, and catching odd-shaped balls for their masters.
Modern Sports and Racial Dynamics
Sporting events such as track and field, football, and basketball are mainly dominated by blacks. On any given Saturday afternoon at majority-white institutions, the black athlete can be found entertaining not only their immediate white master, but their white masters in terms of the disproportionate number of white fans, including faculty, staff, and college administrators. This in itself has predated far too many black athletes to slavery and the conditions of modern-day slavery at the hand of athletics.
Impact on Black Athletes
Truly, sports in America today as we know it has psychologically damaged the black athlete.
