Looking back at how sports were used as a medium for MLK’s dream
When people hear the word “sports” the image that goes through their head is likely one of sweaty athletes running around trying to steal a ball from one another. While this image is part of it, it is far from all they are. Sports are symbolic because they represent people coming together in support of their favorite teams, and even though there is competition on the field, when the final whistle blows, they shake hands and show respect toward one another.
Sports have been a part of many great stories of heroism and human decency, including times when athletes have helped injured opponents off of the field, when a school wants to give a player who would not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in a game a time in the spotlight and so much more. On a larger scale, sports were a crucial part of the Civil Rights Movements throughout the 20th century.
Martin Luther King Jr. worked with black athletes to use athletics as a medium for bringing about change. Though King’s work was most prominent throughout the 1960s, barriers were broken even before his time.
Perhaps the most well-known case of sports affecting civil rights is that of Jackie Robinson, a Major League Baseball player for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson entered the MLB as the first black player in 1947. This was followed by the integration of the National Basketball Association in 1950. During the 1950-51 season, Chuck Cooper was the first black player to be drafted to an NBA team, the Boston Celtics.
After King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963, the NCAA was racially integrated in college basketball, to the dismay of many. Mississippi State University decided to boycott the tournament, but ended up playing Loyola University, a racially-integrated team. This game marked the first integrated college basketball game, and Loyola went on to win the national title that year.
Basketball became a foreground for racial integration in sports, as Bill Russell became the first black NBA coach in 1966. History was made again that same year when Texas Western University claimed the NCAA title over the University of Kentucky. Texas Western had all-black starters while Kentucky kept an all-white team.
The Mexico City Olympics in 1968 were a famous instance of the Civil Rights Movement in sports. Black athletes planned to protest the Olympics but in the end decided to participate for their country. They still claimed the opportunity to make a statement with the black power salute. This was started by Tommie Smith and John Carlos, black athletes who won medals in a track and field event. During the national anthem, they raised their fists, which became known as the black power salute.
In 1975, the first black MLB manager, Frank Robinson, was hired. Arthur Ashe, who now has an award honoring courageous people presented in his name at the ESPYs annually, won at Wimbledon.
The award honors him and recipients who show courage through adversity and have contributions to society that “transcend sports.”
The last significant move toward integration in sports came in 1989 when Art Shell became the head coach of the Oakland Raiders and in turn, the first black head coach in the modern days of the NFL.
Society and sports have come a long way throughout the 20th and 21st centuries in terms of racial equality. While the nation has managed to become more accepting since the era of MLK, there is still more work to be done, both on the field and off.
