The heritage : black athletes, a divided America, and the politics of patriotism / Howard Bryant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bryant, Howard, 1968- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American athletes--History.

African American athletes.

African American athletes--Social conditions.

Sports--Political aspects--United States.

Sports.

Sports--Social aspects--United States.

Sports--Social aspects.

Sports--Political aspects.

History.

United States.

Discrimination in sports--United States.

Discrimination in sports.

Genre:

Nonfiction.

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 272 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boston : Beacon Press, [2018]

Summary:

"It used to be that politics and sports were as separate from one another as church and state. The ballfield was an escape from the world's worst problems, top athletes were treated like heroes, and cheering for the home team was as easy and innocent as hot dogs and beer. "No news on the sports page" was a governing principle in newsrooms. That was then. Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and the hero worship of law enforcement. Teams wear camouflage jerseys to honor those who serve; police officers throw out first pitches; soldiers surprise their families with homecomings at halftime. Sports and politics are decidedly entwined. But as journalist Howard Bryant reveals, this has always been more complicated for black athletes, who from the start, were committing a political act simply by being on the field. In fact, among all black employees in twentieth-century America, perhaps no other group had more outsized influence and power than ballplayers. The immense social responsibilities that came with the role is part of the black athletic heritage. It is a heritage built by the influence of the superstardom and radical politics of Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith, and John Carlos through the 1960s; undermined by apolitical, corporate-friendly 'transcenders of race, ' O.J. Simpson, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods in the following decades; and reclaimed today by the likes of LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Carmelo Anthony"--Book jacket flap.

"The Heritage is the story of sports post-9/11, once neutral but now embedded with deference toward the military and police, colliding with the political reawakening of the black athlete in post-Ferguson America"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Prologue: Here I stand

Part one: Rise and fall

Stick to sports

The good Americans

Juice

Jump, man

Part two: War games

"Our way of life"

The sanitation department

Props

Part three: the awakening

Ferguson

A seat at the table

"Who is the patriot?"

Epilogue: The peacemakers.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 253-256) and index.

Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary Awards - Nonfiction , Honor, 2019

Other Format:

Online version: Bryant, Howard, 1968- Heritage.

ISBN:

9780807026991

0807026999

9780807038086

0807038083

OCLC:

1025412279

Publisher Number:

40028178182