I think all young athletes, especially young black athletes male and female should read this book Jun 10, Q rated it really liked it. At times I felt the book wasn't as in depth as I'd like it to be but overrall I throughly enjoyed a brief look into the difficulties faced by African-Americans in sports that many currently believe they have always dominated. Raised excellent questions about the roles of African-American superstars and was quite thought-provoking - further making me wonder if you can ever truly dismantle racism in any capitalist society.
Nov 14, Tippy rated it really liked it Shelves: sports , history , culture , race , economics. The story of Michael Jordan being shut out from ownership after coming out of retirement for the wizards was something I was completely unfamiliar with and I found it appalling.
Also, this book offered an interesting perspective on the famous Jackie Robinson story and his role in baseball history. Well written and interesting, even for very non-sports following people like me. Jan 03, Marques rated it it was amazing.
Easily the best sports book I've ever read. There is So much history that I did not know of or took for granted. This changed my whole perspective regarding how I view our athletes and how they undermine their true worth. Jul 30, Reka Beezy rated it it was amazing Shelves: my-people , pro-black.
Very eye-opening! I highly recommend this, especially for younger athletes or black folks who like sports not that I am either of those things. Sep 21, Orazie Slayton rated it really liked it. I didn't have grand designs when I found this book looking for a new audiobook to listen to while waiting on some other holds , but sometimes you can be really surprised when you aren't looking for anything.
This book dives into the role of the black athlete in American society, but whereas such figures are seen as positive forces and entities that demonstrate a way ahead in navigating the racial divides of this country, Rhoden is not so quick to affirm that position. To him, the black athlete I didn't have grand designs when I found this book looking for a new audiobook to listen to while waiting on some other holds , but sometimes you can be really surprised when you aren't looking for anything.
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. He gives a good historical analysis of black athletes in American society, going back to the earliest days of the Republic.
The emergence of slaves participating in athlete events continues through the 19th century, with even Fredrick Douglass discussing the role of sports in his life in slavery.
Rhoden then proceeds to discuss the black athlete in context of Reconstruction and Segregation, when some figures achieve fame and wealth, but they lacked power to truly control their own fates, much as African Americans writ large lacked that control over their lives.
Rhoden discusses key figures such as Jackie Robinson and Michael Jordan, but he does not take the normal positive view of their lives and situations. He tends to favor men like Foster, who managed to create the Negro Baseball Leagues, as they demonstrated far more power and potential to met the White Establishment.
Still, even with the integration of sports, it did not necessarily improve the freedom of the Black Athlete. According to Rhoden, integration only managed to keep the balance of power firmly in white control, and the athlete, no matter how well paid, was no different from the lower black laborer of old. This is driven home as he discusses how young black athletes are recruiting to play the games, but as they advance into a world of wealth and adoration, they lose their "true identity", especially when the games stop, and they don't know what they are or how to function effectively in the world.
He does briefly touch on the plight of the Black Female Athlete perhaps too briefly , noting how they faced double the challenges dealing with racism and sexism. However, it is always the theme of true control and power, especially in the sporting realm.
Figures like Michael Jordan might be seen as near deities for their abilities on the court, but even he couldn't escape the power imbalance, as his vision of being an owner of the last team he played for the Wizards fired him once he retired from playing. While the angst of Rhoden is real and understandable, it can be hard to figure out what he views as the ultimate solution to this problem.
That African Americans are not just seen as athletic commodities, but people who just happen to play sports. Perhaps that is the solution, but it does not appear we are anywhere near there. This is not an easy read confession, white sports fan and it is easy to see where there are assertions that can be controversial and easily disputed.
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. Bonus for reading his own material in an audiobook, and he does well with the material. Would be curious to see this work account for recent events Jordan ending up owning a NBA team, Colin Kaepernick and the controversy of kneeling for the National Anthem, Serena Williams, the issues of many athletes vs.
Donald Trump and the politicization of sports to a degree not seen since the s, the issues with Donald Sterling, the "I Can't Breathe" movement, in conjunction with Black Lives Matter, etc. This is a complex subject and one that a single volume can't resolve. Still, this is a good piece to read, if only to offer some different viewpoints on what most would or should think of when watching or playing sports.
Jul 28, Wingedbeaver rated it it was ok. Race is a touchy subject. The pretense of any argument about it is kind of a Catch If you're white you're not allowed to comment or your opinion is of no value, which means only the minority groups get to discuss it. How are we supposed to move forward when only one group gets any say? I'm pretty sure that's how we got here in the first place. Rhoden is a book about the black athlete and all the problems they still face today.
To properly discuss the bo Race is a touchy subject. To properly discuss the book I guess I should start by saying I'm white and that, I feel, the only way we are going to improve race relations in this country is to find a way to allow all sides to have a valid opinion. Maybe that is something that can only come with time, the more removed me become from slavery and Jim Crow laws, the more we will be able to except the view of the other color.
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. Those of you who know me probably know validity has never stopped me before. I've always thought that professional sports has done a great disservice to the black community in this country.
Our society tells young black kids the only chance they have to make something of themselves, the only way to get out of the ghetto, is to either become a rapper or play professional sports. The message has become, accomplish one of those two things and you will make tons of money and be a success. I can't help but think of the old saying, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he eats for life. Shouldn't the message be, to be a success you need to get an education. If sports gets you into college, use it, if you want to go on and have a pro career, do it, but get the education first. You may make millions by being a professional athlete, but by getting an education and having skills for when your sports days are over you become a bigger help to your community.
I picked up 40 Million Dollar Slaves hoping that this topic would be discussed. I hoped someone from the black community might express some of the same fears and disservices that I saw and felt. And to some degree Rhoden did. He talks through most of the book of the importance of community and how athletics seems to pull black children from that community. He talks about the "Conveyor Belt" system that pushes kids from a very early age towards professional sports and molds them into a product.
Even with all that addressed, I couldn't help but feel Rhoden missed the point, that his own thoughts on race relations caused him to focus on issues of his own design and not the greater issues at hand. As the title suggests, the central theme of the book is that even though we are centuries removed from slavery in this country the black athlete is essentially a 40 million dollar slave.
Rhoden feels that since there is only one black owner in all of sports at the time of the books writing it was Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert Johnson who has since sold majority interest to Michael Jordan black athletes must still bend to the whim of their white owners much like slaves. I hate to point this out to Mr. Rhoden, but most of this country whether black, white, yellow or red, is in the same predicament and none of them make 40 million dollars doing so.
I am much more a slave to a white master then anyone in professional sports. At least 40 million dollars gives you the chance to accomplish financial freedom. I don't have that option. I will be working for "The Man" for the rest of my life and the color of my skin has nothing to do with it. Professional athletes are nothing like slaves other then in some thin analogy that insults the hard working majority of the country. Rhoden might argue that athletes just have favored slave status, much like how house slaves were looked at in the past, but once again I say in this day and age, color has nothing to do with it.
If the black athlete is a slave, so is the white one. To make it a racial issue is an unfair analysis of what is going on in the country. Another problem I have with Rhoden's book is his discussion of swagger. He holds up "style" as a desirable black trait, a sign of ones blackness, that the white man to this day tries to snuff out. His example is Willie Mays, whose undeniable style on a baseball field has made him one of the greatest ballplayers of all time.
The white institutions that run sports tend to see displays of black style, like those displayed by Mays, as threatening and try to put in rules to keep the black athlete and his style down. I can't deny that black athletes have added style and entertainment to the world of sports. Athletes like Mays and Ali and Doctor J have made sports that much more exciting and interesting to watch.
But if Rhoden's major point is that black athlete's are pulled from their community and are forced to turn their back of the people and places that make them black, why would you hold up this idea of style, an idea that at it's very nature separates one from everyone else? I don't see how you mention players like Mays but ignore the Hank Aarons or Bill Russelss or Magic Johnsons who may have showed less "style" on the playing field but took great pains to help and stay connected to the very community you don't want future athletes to turn their backs on.
Players that are far to concerned with their own celebrity to worry about others. I wish Rhoden focused more on players who have tried to make a difference in their community instead of holding up athletes as a paradigm of blackness who aren't doing the community any good. This book was first published in I find it interesting that one of the subjects he talks about is the Fab 5, five high school basketball players who decided to take control of the college recruitment process and all go to the same school.
Rhoden applauds the idea of the players taking control of the system and the potential such a action has of black athletes gaining some control of their own destinies. It makes me wonder Did Lebron James and Dwyane Wade read this book?
If so, they got it all wrong. Rhoden says although the Fab 5 had a great idea they messed up their choice in colleges. If they truly wanted to gain some power for the black community they would have gone to a black college, like Grambling or Alcorn, instead of white Michigan. Lebron and Wade made the same mistake. Don't confuse their intentions.
Whether they read the book or not, their choice had nothing to do with black power and everything to do with having fun with the Miami night life. I'm sure Rhoden himself would say the two superstars had a chance to make a statement, they could have pushed for the black owned Charlotte team to sign them. Potentially setting up the first championship held by a black owner even if the owner already has 6 trophies. But seriously, have you been to a bar in Charlotte? There were many theories brought up by Rhoden that I found dead on.
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