Tackling Jim Crow: Racial Segregation in Professional Football FROM THE PUBLISHER
Many are familiar with Jackie Robinson and the integration of Major League Baseball after all the years of separate black and white leagues, but fewer people know of the segregation and then integration of the National Football League. The timing and sequence of events were different, but football followed a pattern similar to that of baseball in regard to the beginning and end of racial segregation. This work traces professional football's movement from segregation to integration, beginning with a discussion of the various reasons why the game was first segregated. It describes the schemes that NFL owners came up with to ban African Americans from the league in the 1930s and 1940s, and tells how these barriers broke down after World War II. The author considers how professional football overcame the legacies of Jim Crow and how Jim Crow laws may still haunt the game.
SYNOPSIS
Levy (American history, Slippery Rock University) traces professional football's movement from segregation to desegregation, beginning with a discussion of why the game was first segregated. He describes the methods NFL owners used to keep African Americans out of the league in the 1930s-40s, and tells how these barriers were finally overcome. B&w historical photos are included. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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