Last September he hosted a “Race and Sports in America” series that brought in the likes of Bill Rhoden, author of $40 Million Slaves and Bob Lanier.
There, the letters beamed white privilege as those racist whites bemoaned the fact that a black player, Henry Aaron [ who was called the N-word] would have the audacity to get out of his place in society and dare surpass the most cherished record in sports — the home run record established by Babe Ruth — that was set aside for, and to benefit, white people to uphold and cherish.
“The Negro Leagues is established in the 1920s, blacks had moved to urban industrial areas — Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, etc. …
“These people had honed their skills and, in an integrated setting, they dominated. But to deny them to play [Major League] baseball is to protect that space [sense of white supremacy, white privilege]. Just like Jack Johnson, being denied the opportunity to fight for the heavyweight championship. He had to wait for a white Canadian, to fight him, and they couldn’t fight him in the U.S. or Canada; he fought him in Australia.
“So in that what we call a ‘limited space’ — whether it be on the boxing ring or the baseball field or the basketball court or football field — it’s a space that could redefine not only who you are but also the opportunities and paths in life. And if you let [black] people into that space that you have been trying to keep out traditionally, and there are people watching, the spectators, and they prove something that all along you said was true, it unravels everything.
“So what do you do? You keep them out of that space. And you work as hard as you can to make sure they don’t have an opportunity to compete. Because as soon as you open it up and they unravel that lie, all the lies that are associated with it also unravel … Obama in the White House, Jesse Owens at the ‘Hitler’ Olympics, Joe Louis fighting. So all of that is tied together.”
