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Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

Name: Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
Brand: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
SKU: 9780307353146
Price: 13.99 USD
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Contributors:

William C. Rhoden

Publisher:

Crown Publishing Group (NY)

Binding:

Paperback

Book Category:

Sports & Recreation, Social Science, History

Book Subcategory:

Cultural & Social Aspects, Ethnic Studies, African American & Black

Book Topic:

American

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The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

Rating and Reviews +

Specifications +

Release Date:

2007-07-24

ISBN 13:

9780307353146

Weight:

0.51 lbs

Size:

7.92 x 5.28 x 0.67 inches

Pages:

304

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "An explosive and absorbing discussion of race, politics, and the history of American sports."--Ebony

From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, says New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.

Provocative and controversial, Rhoden's $40 Million Slaves weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletes' "evolution" has merely been a journey from literal plantations--where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirrings--to today's figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the "conveyor belt" that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where they're cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, today's shackles are invisible.

Praise for Forty Million Dollar Slaves

"A provocative, passionate, important, and disturbing book."--The New York Times Book Review

"Brilliant . . . a beautifully written, complex, and rich narrative."--Washington Post Book World

"A powerful call for more black athletes to give back to their communities."--Los Angeles Times

About the Author
WILLIAM C. RHODEN has been a sportswriter for the New York Times since 1983, and has written the "Sports of the Times" column for more than a decade. He also serves as a consultant for ESPN's SportsCentury series, and occasionally appears as a guest on their show The Sports Reporters. In 1996, Rhoden won a Peabody Award for Broadcasting as writer of the HBO documentary Journey of the African-American Athlete. A graduate of Morgan State University in Baltimore, he lives in New York City's Harlem with his wife and daughter.

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

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