Damion L. Thomas
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252037177
- eISBN:
- 9780252094293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252037177.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, African-American History
This chapter focuses on the Harlem Globetrotters as Cold Warriors between 1947 and 1954. This is an important moment because prior to the passage of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the ...
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This chapter focuses on the Harlem Globetrotters as Cold Warriors between 1947 and 1954. This is an important moment because prior to the passage of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the State Department was in the unenviable position of trying to defend segregation while stressing racial progress. Moreover, the politics of symbolism associated with the Globetrotters' tours was designed to give legitimacy to existing racial inequalities in American society by stressing “progress” during the early Cold War era, despite the social, political, and legal barriers that hindered African American advancement. The symbol of the successful yet segregated athlete allowed the government to argue that segregation was not an impediment to the advancement of individual African Americans.Less
This chapter focuses on the Harlem Globetrotters as Cold Warriors between 1947 and 1954. This is an important moment because prior to the passage of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the State Department was in the unenviable position of trying to defend segregation while stressing racial progress. Moreover, the politics of symbolism associated with the Globetrotters' tours was designed to give legitimacy to existing racial inequalities in American society by stressing “progress” during the early Cold War era, despite the social, political, and legal barriers that hindered African American advancement. The symbol of the successful yet segregated athlete allowed the government to argue that segregation was not an impediment to the advancement of individual African Americans.
Gregory J. Kaliss
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781604737516
- eISBN:
- 9781604737523
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781604737516.003.0009
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter discusses Wilt Chamberlain’s racial politics, which hounded his image as a college basketball player. Chamberlain’s enlistment in the University of Kansas at Lawrence sparked hope for ...
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This chapter discusses Wilt Chamberlain’s racial politics, which hounded his image as a college basketball player. Chamberlain’s enlistment in the University of Kansas at Lawrence sparked hope for the black community across the U.S., which expected him to show the university that segregation of blacks and whites is morally and ethically wrong as well as showing that blacks are not inferior to whites through basketball excellence. It notes that his decision to leave the university for the Harlem Globetrotters cast him in a different light in his own school, where he was viewed as a money-grabbing opportunist. Additionally, Chamberlain’s neutrality stance over the issue of the civil rights movement also alienated him from his fellow black Americans, angry and frustrated at his inaction in the civil rights cause.Less
This chapter discusses Wilt Chamberlain’s racial politics, which hounded his image as a college basketball player. Chamberlain’s enlistment in the University of Kansas at Lawrence sparked hope for the black community across the U.S., which expected him to show the university that segregation of blacks and whites is morally and ethically wrong as well as showing that blacks are not inferior to whites through basketball excellence. It notes that his decision to leave the university for the Harlem Globetrotters cast him in a different light in his own school, where he was viewed as a money-grabbing opportunist. Additionally, Chamberlain’s neutrality stance over the issue of the civil rights movement also alienated him from his fellow black Americans, angry and frustrated at his inaction in the civil rights cause.
