Boston’s Black Athletes: Identity, Performance, and Activism

Sport in Boston has reflected and influenced the racial climate, with Black athletes challenging the city's liberal image and advocating for equality. The book explores the diverse experiences of African American sports figures who navigated Bostons racial boundaries, highlighting their stories and their impact on racial identity and cultural expression.

Format: Hardback
Length: 310 pages
Publication date: 15 July 2024
Publisher: Lexington Books

Sport often mirrored the racial climate of the time, but it also informed and encouraged equality on and off the field. In Boston, the Black athletic body historically represented a challenge to the city's liberal image. Boston's Black Athletes: Identity, Performance, and Activism interprets Boston's contested racial history through the diverse experiences of the city's African American sports figures who directed their talent toward the struggle for social justice. Editors Robert Cvornyek and Douglas Stark and the contributors explore a variety of representative athletes, such as Kittie Knox, Louise Stokes, and Medina Dixon, that negotiated Boston's racial boundaries at sequential moments during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to demonstrate Boston's long and troubled racial history. The contributors' biographical sketches are grounded in stories that have remained memorable within Boston's Black neighborhoods. In recounting the struggles and triumphs of these individuals, this book amplifies their stories and reminds readers that Boston's Black sports fans found a historic consistency in their athletes to shape racial identity and cultural expression.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666909043