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Sports and Civil Rights
A
Message from the Editor, Victoria L. Valentine...
The sports world is a rarified universe. According to Forbes, Tiger Woods is the highestpaid
athlete in the world, earning $90 million from June 2005 to June 2006. A number of other
African American athletes joined the golf great on Forbes’ annual list of the World’s Most
Powerful Celebrities, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Venus and Serena Williams, among them.
They’re certainly not struggling. Yet, sports seemed an appropriate topic to tackle in The Crisis:
It’s a field that has long provided an avenue of opportunity and a path to financial security for
African Americans; labor, education, economic and access issues permeate sports; historically, Black
athletes have been among the most outspoken on social justice and human rights issues; and
throughout the past century, Black athletic milestones have symbolized racial progress in America.
In 1968, Arthur Ashe (1943-1993) became the first Black man to win the U.S. Open, and in 1975
the first to win Wimbledon. Ashe was also known for his efforts beyond the tennis court. In 1968, he
helped create the United States Tennis Association’s National Junior Tennis League, a development
program designed for underprivileged youth. He was also an early outspoken critic of South African
apartheid, in 1970 calling for the nation to be expelled from the
International Lawn Tennis Association. After suffering a heart attack,
Ashe later served as national chairman of the American Heart Association
in 1981. In 1992, he was arrested for demonstrating in front of the White
House in protest of the U.S. crackdown on Haitian refugees. That same
year, Ashe, who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, addressed the
United Nations on World AIDS Day
Ashe is probably the best example of an athlete who used his celebrity
to shed light on society’s ills. In this special issue, William C. Rhoden,
author of Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of
the Black Athlete and a New York Times sports columnist, calls on contemporary
athletes to harness their power to influence sport and society.
We also pay tribute to Buck O’Neil (1911-2006), the Negro Leagues
legend and first Black coach in Major League Baseball. In an appreciation of O’Neil, James A.
Riley, research director at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, notes, “Sports have been instrumental
in addressing discrimination in America, and baseball led the way.”
Now Black athletes are excelling in sports as far afield as NASCAR, freestyle BMX and sport
fishing. We highlight a few of these “Phenoms,” including our cover subject Cullen Jones, the
fastest swimmer in the world, on page 36.
In addition, we examine the state of Black women in sports and profile community programs
exposing youth to the exclusive sports of fencing and polo.
Finally, perhaps the most important piece in this issue highlights the findings of a recent
report on sports journalism. Black athletes dominate major sports, but when fans read about their
favorite player, it’s unlikely that a Black reporter penned the story.
According to the 300 newspapers surveyed in the Associated Press Sports Editors first-ever
Racial and Gender Report Card, White males account for 90 percent of sports editors, Blacks
only 1.6 percent. More than 87 percent of sports reporters are White. Black men represent just
6.6 percent of sports reporters and Black women less than 1 percent.
Newsrooms are no different than corporate boardrooms or college campuses. As the report
notes, having racial and gender diversity in the newsroom leads to better journalism.
Letters
to the editor may be sent to
The Crisis
7600 Georgia Avenue, NW
Suite 405
Washington, DC 20012 or
thecrisiseditorial@naacpnet.org
* Letters may be edited for length or clarity.
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