But he also argues that these financial rewards ought to translate into an even more effective advocacy bloc for African-American advancement. Forty Million Dollar Slaves is an important read if we want to understand the black athlete. Jackie Robinson actually integrated baseball in Canada, signing with Montreal in 1945, the Dodgers bought his contract in 1947. We should be on our way to our Promised Land yet we are still bound in slavery. Note to Rhoden: they are not singling out blacks to screw over, they are screwing everyone over.
Who benefits from the use of Black muscle? One blogger wrote a scathing post on the cowardice of the black athlete in light of Sterling's disdain for the very African American players who make him even more money, even as Northwestern University athletes are fighting to form a player's union. The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. I'm pretty sure that's how we got here in the first place. Though the first two chapters lagged a bit, it immediately became interesting when the book delved into the Jockey Syndrome, and how the decimation of the Negro baseball leagues became a symbol of the negative effects of integration. This information helps us design a better experience for all users. But judging by todays socially-unenlightened crop of sports icons, one might suspect that rich history of activism and advocating for the underclass to be more fairy tale than fact.
I hoped someone from the black community might express some of the same fears and disservices that I saw and felt. These questions are not considered in this book. Maybe, because I'm white and because we aren't more then a generation removed from the Civil Rights Movement, my opinions on this book aren't valid. Overall, Forty Million Dollar Slaves still offers an optimistic message since thousands of black athletes are now blessed with the means to make major statements about the way their industry is run, provided they remember their roots and somehow develop the wherewithal and inclination to get involved. I'm pretty sure that's how we got here in the first place.
I recommend this book to those who would like an answer to some of the things they believed they understood from integrating sports to franchise ownership. The pretense of any argument about it is kind of a Catch-22. Still, coming at this issue from the lens of an African American athlete who has given some analysis to this issue, it is a viewpoint that deserves deep thought and consideration. The book being on a topic I was actually interested in and liked I think had a great impact on my acceptance of it. Bill Rhoden, a sports writer whom I greatly respect, takes you on a educational tour of the black athlete's history in America in several genres, from boxing, to baseball, to football, and even cycling I learned something new there.
On top of that the novel also tell the stories of well known athletes that are still known and what they went through to get where they are After reading this novel I would have to give it a rating of 4 stars out of 5. It described the history of Black athletes in American sports and explained in clear detail how the system is designed to exploit their talents. Whatever critiques he offers are nuanced by historical precedent and an understanding of the circumstances many young Black athletes are born into. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier and integrated major league baseball. It presents new perspectives to such large moments in history such as Jackie Robinson's integration into Major League Baseball, the college football's recruitment process, and why some rules in sports are amended. Some of them probably more controversial then the ones I didn't agree with, like the idea that Jackie Robinson's integration in Major League Baseball set back black athletes by destroying the Negro leagues.
It increased my knowledge about black sports history and changed my outlook on sports. He won his third Kentucky Derby in 1891 but died at the age of 35 five years after his last victory. I was curious to understand why and then I read this. Though the first two chapters lagged a bit, it immediately became interesting when the book delved into the Jockey Syndrome, and how the decimation of the Negro baseball leagues became a symbol of the negative effects of integration. Disillusioning the 'inspirational' tales of Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali, and delving into the complexities of existing in a white world in a country founded on white supremacy.
Bonus for reading his own material in an audiobook, and he does well with the material. I am much more a slave to a white master then anyone in professional sports. He talks through most of the book of the importance of community and how athletics seems to pull black children from that community. For while Brooklyn Dodger owner Branch Rickey has invariably been hailed for having signed Jackie Robinson, here, he is blamed for helping keep black competitors out of the big leagues, rationalizing preserving a white monopoly with There is no Negro League as far as Im concerned. Rhoden discusses his topic from the perspective of power and influence: who has the power in each situation? However, organizational and editing issues made it a frustrating read. Who benefits from the use of Black muscle? They could move to exploit black muscle and talent, thus sucking the life out of black institutions, while at the same time giving themselves credit for being humanitarians. Rhoden courageously lays bare painful truths about a fundamental reality in American life: the centrality of the excellence and exploitation of black athletes.
Teach a man to fish and he eats for life. When he joined the newspaper in October 1891 he was a copy editor in the Sunday Week in Review Section. I can't deny that black athletes have added style and entertainment to the world of sports. I would've given it five stars if more time had been spent on Black female athletes. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C.
I also see no controversy over his title, Forty Million Dollar Slave, since he gives its origin and his thought process about his earlier book title ideas very clearly in his Prologue. Still it was a good read and extremely informative. Moses Fleetwood Walker In 1884 Moses Fleetwood Walker became the first African American to play major league baseball. To learn more about cookies, please see our. Perhaps that is the solution, but it does not appear we are anywhere near there.
To him, the black athlete is not any different from any other black person in America, still struggling to fit in, and still under the thumb of the white race. Rhoden does a great job of explaining how sporting events became as an outlet for slaves, how black athletes were systematically blocked out of sports as they rose to acclaim Jockey syndrome , how black athletes are separated from the communities, the conveyor belt, etc. This is a complex subject and one that a single volume can't resolve. Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's Forty Million Dollar Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings and at the first Kentucky Derby to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. He was an outstanding catcher and great all around ballplayer. I hate to point this out to Mr.