“The 1910 Jeffries-Johnson Fight and Its Impact” was by far my favorite reading from the text this semester, which is the main reason for my choosing of this topic. Throughout this article, I found it to be incredibly intriguing how detailed it was on the struggles that Johnson went through. Discussing the difficult experiences he had as a rising black athlete and then to end up with a white woman who, to many, could or could not have been considered a prostitute. All of the events during Johnson’s life make him such an amazing person and a very interesting athlete to learn more about. Even though the article that I am basing this paper off of is mainly in regards to the Jeffries-Johnson match of 1910, I believe that some background on the …show more content…
Johnson was rapidly growing in both fame and success within the boxing industry and taking over something that Jim Jeffries had secured in almost all areas in the years prior. As a great majority of the white population was growing agitated at Johnson’s success, it became clear that they wanted to have some sort of match or occurrence that could once again put them on top in the world of boxing and sports entirely. Jim Jeffries was already retired from the sport but that certainly did not stop the white population from pressing just one more matchup to try and regain what they had once held to be so important to their race and superiority complex in sports on a regular basis. With this being said, it was also equally as likely that many within the black population wanted this match to occur just as badly as the whites when it came down to it because if anyone was going to put them on top it was sure to be that of Jack Johnson (A Question of Racial Supremacy, …show more content…
In the public eye, the Jeffries-Johnson fight would be a determinant of how the racial path would be paved from there on out. The feud between white and black was beginning to be formed by something that was out of the hands of the majority of both of these races (A Question of Racial Supremacy, 2012). Both sides were beginning to pin their future existence on a boxing match. It is in understanding this that one is able to see just how tense the battle of the races was at this time in history. To lay something so large and make such a massive deal over a boxing match simply because it was between a white man versus a black man speaks volumes in regards to just the type of mindset that both men and women held during this point in time; it is truly incredible. Many began to refer to Jefferies as the “Great White Hope” prior to this fight as he truly was, in their eyes, the only hope that many whites had left when it came to keeping the lead in something that they clung to for so many years. Whites could not stand to be under the pressure of the fact that losing this fight for them would mean defeat. It would mean that the blacks would gain hope and pride of getting a foot in the door of society and little did they know, that is exactly what would
Flashing forward a few years later past the days of Jim Crow and the fight for civil rights, several, but not all in the younger generation see the members of the black and white race as equal and find it hard to fathom that only a few years ago the atmosphere surrounding racial relations was anything but pleasant. Whites and blacks have co-existed for many hundreds of years, but as Tyson points ...
The book, the Strange Career of Jim Crow is a wonderful piece of history. C. Vann Woodard crafts a book that explains the history of Jim Crow and segregation in simple terms. It is a book that presents more than just the facts and figures, it presents a clear and a very accurate portrayal of the rise and fall of Jim Crow and segregation. The book has become one of the most influential of its time earning the praise of great figures in Twentieth Century American History. It is a book that holds up to its weighty praise of being “the historical Bible of the civil rights movement.” The book is present in a light that is free from petty bias and that is shaped by a clear point of view that considers all facts equally. It is a book that will remain one of the best explanations of this time period.
What is truly intriguing about this book, however, is Remnick's ability to look beyond the boxing ring to what is really going on. He knows there's more to this game than meets the eye and it is this knowledge and his ability to record it that make this book important. Rem-nick lets us in on what it's like to be a boxer (read: man), and more importantly, a black boxer in the United States in the mid '60s. He tells us how the media aided and abetted the perpetuation of the stereotype as to what was a 'good' black man (i.e., why Patterson was preferred over Liston in their bout). This preference for Patterson was a good barometer of the political climate at that time in the US.
One of the major stands that were made during a black athlete’s tenure during his or her sport were their statements on racism. Racism in America was an ongoing situation in the 1900’s that seemed to have no resolve before black athletes took a stand. One prime example can be Jackie Robinson who became the first African-American athlete to play baseball in the modern era. Jackie grew up in one of the most racist towns in Pasadena, California and came from a poor family as his parents were sharecroppers and...
For much of the 20th century, African-American citizens had been disenfranchised throughout the South and the entire United States, they were regarded as inferior second-class citizens. Despite efforts to integrate society, the political and economic systems were meant to continue the cycle of oppression against African-Americans, throughout the south and indirectly yet ever present in the north. These laws of segregation, otherwise known as Jim Crow laws, applied to almost every aspect of southern American society, including sports. During this time period, African-American athletes had to resort to second class organizational leagues to play in, this included the famous baseball player Jackie Robinson. Much of this institutionalized racism is described in John R. M. Wilson’s Jackie Robinson and the American Dilemma.
The Strange Career of Jim Crow, by C. Van Woodward, traces the history of race relations in the United States from the mid and late nineteenth century through the twentieth century. In doing so Woodward brings to light significant aspects of Reconstruction that remain unknown to many today. He argues that the races were not as separate many people believe until the Jim Crow laws. To set up such an argument, Woodward first outlines the relationship between Southern and Northern whites, and African Americans during the nineteenth century. He then breaks down the details of the injustice brought about by the Jim Crow laws, and outlines the transformation in American society from discrimination to Civil Rights. Woodward’s argument is very persuasive because he uses specific evidence to support his opinions and to connect his ideas. Considering the time period in which the book and its editions were written, it should be praised for its insight into and analysis of the most important social issue in American history.
Back to Willie Lynch, every versus tandem he has put together is that of a problem in the Black society: Old Male vs. Young Male, Male vs. Female and the age old battle of Light Skinned vs. Dark Skinned. The Old Male vs. Young Male is not so much of a problem because there will always be some type of generation clash, but the other two are somewhat of a problem. In the case of Male vs. Female due to Willie Lynch I will say that it is bitter sweet.
As a son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, Jesse Owens created History in 1936 when he achieved what no athlete had done before: four Olympic Gold Medals. (jesseowens.com). During this era, the United States had limited civil rights and was approaching a World War with Hitler rising into power in Germany. Although Owens was victorious on the track, because of the color of his skin, He was looked down upon and unrecognized by even his own country. Through the excessive racism, one may ask how Owens moved forward and dealt with such negativity in a situation that should have been celebrated.
Gwendolyn Brooks' "First fight. Then Fiddle." initially seems to argue for the necessity of brutal war in order to create a space for the pursuit of beautiful art. The poem is more complex, however, because it also implies both that war cannot protect art and that art should not justify war. Yet if Brooks seems, paradoxically, to argue against art within a work of art, she does so in order create an artwork that by its very recognition of art's costs would justify itself.
Smith , Earl. Race, Sport and the American Dream. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2007.
Miller, Patrick B. Wiggins, David K. Sport and the color line: Black athletes and Race relations in Twentieth-century America. 2004. The Journal of Southern History 70 (4) (Nov 2004): 990.
Her race wants him to win and overcome the pain and sufferance they had till then. The description of the men staying away from the walls, and the women clenching onto their babies, showed fear. No one could breathe, or blink as it was the moment of suspense which could go in either way was a turning point where black people felt it was all over.
The scholars expounds that Black athletes were commodities on the playing field to help win games and bring in revenue to their respected schools. However, the schools were just as eager and willing to leave their Black players behind and dishonoring the player as a part of the team. Therefore, not compromising the team’s winning and bring in profits for the school. Sadly, Black athletes at predominately White institutions (PWIs) who believed that they were bettering the live of themselves and their families members by going to college and playing collegiate sports to increase their post secondary careers. However, these athletes were only “show ponies” for their schools. Unfortunately, Black athletes had allegiance to their school; however, the school turned their backs on the athletes to protect the profit and notoriety of the school and the programs. Money and respect from White fans and spectators were more important to the PWIs than standing up for the respect of their Black players. Racial bigotry in sports was rampant and it was only going to get worse.
Whitaker, Matthew C.. African American icons of sport: triumph, courage, and excellence. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008.
In one historical moment from Pamela Grundy's book Learning to Win: Sports, Education, and Social Change in Twentieth-Century North Carolina, she writes about men's college athletics between 1880 and 1901. Grundy states that "metaphors of competition gained new prominence, particularly among the members of the state's expanding middle class, which was coming to dominate public affairs" (Grundy, 12). Male college students living in North Carolina began to excel in organized athletics during this time period. "The contests on the field seemed to mirror the competitive conditions prevailing in the society at large, and the discipline, self-assertion and reasoned strategy that sports were credited with teaching meshed neatly with the qualifies required for business and political success" (Grungy, 13). People who supported athletics wholeheartedly believed it taught good values such as discipline and good character, while there were some who opposed this saying that sports were a distraction for students and thus a hindrance to their educational goals. White college men perceived athletics as a way to show their superiority and justify their presence in business as well as politics. They believed athletic sports were essential in their "vision o...