More Black Athletes in the Media

By Michael A. Banks

Originally published as a dissertation in 1993, this revised edition of Black Athletes in the Media is a sociohistorical documentation of trends in the characterization of black athletes in the news media. This study seeks to demonstrate and explain the ambiguity and dilemma of black acceptance in the American ideal with respect to black sporting achievements over the Twentieth Century. The evolution of black stereotypes, depictions and generalizations are traced and exposed in contemporary media. With respect to the media as the foremost propagator of the racial stereotype, it has the ability to shape, influence and arouse public opinion through the manipulation of controversial events. As a result, social imagination is thus enhanced by this authority and keeper of social values. The major attention given to black and ethnic athletes by the media represents and reflects a consistent pattern of racial assessments and stereotypical journalistic attitudes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493169368

Michael A. Banks

Michael A. Banks was born and raised in Harlem, NYC. He attended Long Island University Brooklyn Campus where he received a BA (1980) and an MA (1983) in the field of sociology. He acquired a Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center in 1993 in sociology also with a focus on black studies and urban sociology. His dissertation entitled “Black Athletes in the Media” is his first published work. He is involved in his community, sports and is hoping that he can make a contribution to the overall improvement of society.

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Table of Contents

Part I Basic Literature

Chapter 1

American Racial Attitudes As Conveyed By Media Journalists

Sports And The American Ideal

Chapter 2

The American Racial System And Sport—Caste In The United States

The American Ideal

The Notion Of Blacks As A Caste

Blacks In The Media/The Transition Of Sambo

Race-Linked Genetic Studies

Genetic Studies And Black Physical Superiority In Sport

Part II Boxing

Chapter 3

The Jack Johnson Era (1908-1915)

Boxing At The Turn Of The Century

The First Black Heavyweight Champion Of The World

Jack Johnson Vs. James Jeffries

The Aftermath Of The Johnson-Jeffries Fight

The Decline Of Jack Johnson

Chapter 4

The Joe Louis Era (1937-1949)

The Championship From Johnson To Louis

Joe Louis Vs. James J. Braddock

Joe Louis Vs. Max Schmeling Ii

Joe Louis Vs. Billy Conn

Chapter 5

The Muhammad Ali Era I (1964-1967)

The Sensitive Era (1952-1964)

Floyd Patterson Vs. Sonny Liston

Sonny Liston Vs. Cassius Clay

Muhammad Ali Vs. Floyd Patterson

Chapter 6

The Muhammad Ali Era Ii (1967-1980)

Muhammad Ali Vs. Ernie Terrell

Muhammad Ali Vs. The United States (Round One)

Muhammad Ali Vs. Jerry Quarry (Or Ali Vs. The United States—Round Two)

Muhammad Ali Vs. Joe Frazier

Muhammad Ali Vs. The United States (Round Three)

Muhammad Ali Vs. George Foreman

Larry Holmes Vs. Gerry Cooney

Part III Sports, Etc

Chapter 7

Major League Sports (1920-2013)

Early Incidents Of Racial Sport Media

Jesse Owens And The 1936 Olympics

Jackie Robinson And Major League Baseball

The 1968 Olympics

Hank Aaron

Larry Bird Vs. Magic Johnson

Georgetown Basketball

Jimmy The Greek Snyder, Al Campanis And The 1988 Super Bowl

Etcetera

Chapter 8

Etcetera, Etcetera

Oj Simpson

Mark Mcguire And Sammy Sosa

Barry Bonds

Alex Rodriguez

Michael Vick

Plaxico Burress

Tiger Woods

Lawrence Taylor

Lebron James

Jeremy Lin

Author’s Note

Conclusion

The Application Of The Media Upon Society

Media Influence

Media Speech

Media Identification

Conclusion

Bibliography

This book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Pappy

PART I

BASIC LITERATURE

CHAPTER 1

American Racial Attitudes as Conveyed by Media Journalists

The evolution of American racial prejudice and policy can be followed by observing the historical changes in the perception of black racial stereotypes of black athletes, as depicted in the sports media over the course of the twentieth century and into the 21st Century. As the twentieth century began, there was a period of civil demarcation and a legal separation of racial cultures in America. This was the era of Jim Crow, an era when overt discrimination against racial and ethnic groups was commonplace. The blatant expression of racism carried over into the media, with the newspaper being the most powerful force. This time period coincides with the rise of Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world. Johnson won the heavyweight boxing title from Tommy Burns in 1908, and newspaper articles reflect the overt racism and ethnicism that was prevalent at the time. The articles of this time period are particularly demeaning against the mental and physical characteristics of blacks; are also often exaggerated, and this tendency can be traced through the champion black athlete of this episode, Jack Johnson.

The next era will begin with the acquisition of the heavyweight title by Joe Louis (over James J. Braddock in 1937), spanning the World War II years. This time period will demonstrate a favorable transition in the depiction of black athletes by the media. There are also favorable depictions of blacks in other areas such as the arts, sciences and entertainment. Joe Louis would gain fame among the American media with his conquest over the former German champion Max Schmeling. This event, so well mediated, would be symbolically transformed into America’s conquest over Germany and Japan. To add to the Americanization of Joe Louis was the fact that he participated in the military, and in acting as a visible symbol of the often-neglected participation of blacks in WWII. In doing so, he created overwhelming support for the government of the United States.

Toward the end of the reign of Joe Louis, blacks were gradually beginning to integrate the major sports (and other areas) and the media responded with greater leniency in their depictions. This era will mark the transition of Jim Crow media into a less overt, filtered Jim Crow type media (as the Government began to respond to many black grievances), and more blacks were able to participate in new areas where they previously had been disallowed. Athletes such as Jesse Owens (Olympic Gold Medalist), Jackie Robinson (first black man to enter major league baseball), and others were heralded for their achievements in the media. The Sambo media image of blacks was obscured, but not fully eliminated. The civil chaos that erupted in the 50’s and 60’s which was spurred on by the lynching of Emmett Till and the Rosa Parks stand in 1955 would symbolize a new period in American history; and the reign of Muhammad Ali would epitomize the next period.

Entering the limelight as Cassius Clay, the 1960 boxing Gold Medalist, Muhammad Ali’s career would coincide with great mounting political and civil strife in America over both the issues of civil rights and the Vietnam War. Beginning with the refusal of Rosa Parks to give up her seat on a local Alabama bus in 1955, leading to the boycott of several Alabama businesses for discrimination, this period is also marked by many other great movements for equality, such as the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965, and significant political events such as the Cuban Missile crisis, the assassination of JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, RFK and others. It was a period of social and political turmoil that was slowly reaching a fever pitch. Ali himself would represent the transition of the passive American Negro into the assertive black nationalist of the era.

Black athletes like Ali, having taken on new meaning and identity, were denounced by the media, while others (in the safe Americanized Joe Louis mold) were exemplified as models for acceptable Negro behavior. Ali himself would become deplored by the media because of his change of identity from an American into a black nationalist and the denunciation would continue with his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. Armed Forces. It became common knowledge that Ali was stripped of his boxing title in 1967 due to attitudes of racism by the Selective Service, the governing forces of professional boxing and the media (which had been calling for his head"). Ali was actually being discriminated against according to the written words of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution (freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of expression). More intelligent minds would prevail (minds sympathetic to anti-Vietnam War and civil rights demonstrators) amidst protest and license Ali to box again in 1970. With discrimination so evident, the public would call for major adjustments to be made in the media and public policy toward minorities. Ali’s professional martyrdom was due less to his questioned status as a conscientious objector than it was the Government’s attempt to make an example of him. Ali instead became to many a symbol of individual courage and principle, standing in defiance of a threatening government and a culture undergoing a painful self-assessment.

Ali was licensed to fight for a living again in 1970, after three years of inactivity. His career would lead him back to the heavyweight championship, defeating George Foreman (the Indomitable Flag Waver of the 1968 Olympics) in Zaire, Africa in 1974. This bout symbolized a showdown of the American imperialist dream versus black freedom. In that fight, America’s previous racial policies and values were put to trial. In an uncanny display of showmanship, craftsmanship and creativity, Ali would stop Foreman halfway through the proposed 15-round bout, and the outcome would be a victory for black pride, although the American media did not play it up as such.

In what could only be described as public relations damage control, Ali was ultimately invited to the White House and proclaimed by president Gerald Ford to be as American as apple pie. If Ali was figuratively lynched for his religious stand during his early career, this trend would change with is his new celebrity charisma and growing international popularity. With his victory over Foreman, Ali forced the media to express more favorable attitudes toward himself and other black celebrities.

The total civil revolution of the 60’s brought about more favorable attitudes and depictions of blacks in the sport (and general) media, however the issue of race and the attitudes of sport journalists becomes increasingly covert. The 1970’s and 80’s also noticed the media beginning to resurface and re-incorporate the idea of race-linked genetic studies regarding blacks in sport (physical and mental attributes, etc.). The resurgence of these ideas and inanimate nicknames helped to reinforce general stereotypes, and gave evidence to partially concealed racism. The repeated stereotype is reflected in this quote by Walter Lippmann: A stereotype may be so consistently and authoritatively transmitted in each generation… that it seems almost a biological fact.¹

Sports and the American Ideal

The American Ideal must always be, or appear to be maintained and supported in the media. The theme of American superiority/victory must be incorporated into the American conscience and social imagination as a standard media social perception (as witnessed in western, outer space, sports, armed forces and law enforcement movies, shows ad in general American literature). Deviant to this tradition is the notion of increasing black dominance in the major American sports, as defined in terms of economics and media exposure. Sport serves as a major sphere, or venue, for the expression of American values (similar to the armed forces), incorporating basic American ideologies and social structure. Black athletes have, as a result, come to represent, as well as misrepresent, the plight of Caucasian-America in the quest of athletics over the major portion of the Twentieth Century.

There are many examples that support this assumption. While a few black athletes, such as Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, David Robinson, Grant Hill or Michael Jordan are incorporated into the American Ideal, many others are rejected by the same standard or punished systematically and politically by the media. Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Isiah Thomas, Sonny Liston, Lawrence Taylor, Darryl Strawberry, Latrell Spreewell, Sammy Sosa and Mike Tyson are all examples of athletes who have failed to properly represent the same. Sosa’s only controversy was his assault and competition toward a statistical baseball record of Caucasian excellence at that period of time. The record was held by Roger Maris of the New York Yankees for most home runs in a season; an immortal record previously held by Babe Ruth. The fact became evident that he became in competition with Mark McGuire over the record, who suddenly was thrust as the white hope to champion that cause. They have all, at one time or another, philosophically represented a defiant black attitude towards the American society, or have been involved in radical issues (contrary to the norm). The black Hispanic Sosa’s defiant attitude had only to do with his ability and achievements.

Many other great black athletes have neither been incorporated into the American Ideal nor rejected by it, but instead appear to be systematically ignored by the media due to their lack of controversiality, or significant political or social impact. Many of these great American black athletes are now largely unknown to the general American society, and this is due to their reputations being downplayed by the American media.

Modern America is familiar with the legendary sports names of John L Sullivan, Babe Ruth, Vince Lombardi, Joe DiMaggio, Jerry West, These names (among others) represent the Caucasian quest for athletic supremacy in the 20th Century. The repetition and over-enhanced accolades given to certain historical athletic events where these players were focal are done so in constant media fashion. This serves to downplay legendary and symbolic black athletic feats of equal (or greater) magnitude in the general American media.

Race-linked genetic studies also help to support the American Ideal by rationalizing black athletic superiority in primitive contexts. These studies indirectly maintain the notion of black subordination through the reinforcement of negative stereotypes and suggestion. Black physical superiority, as rationalized through these studies, facilitates the notion of Caucasian mental superiority. Historically, these stereotypes lead to the psychological pre-positioning (or stacking) of players into traditional sports roles. By 1993, there are few black catchers, but a majority of black outfielders in Major League Baseball. In football, blacks tend to be wide receivers and running backs as opposed to quarterbacks and kickers. However, the lack of black managers in either of these leagues is noticeable, given the heavy black attendance on the player rosters. Cincinnati Reds owner, Marge Schott, recently exclaimed that she’d rather hire a trained monkey before hiring a black into an executive or managerial position.

The denunciation, stereotypifications and generalizations of black athletes in the American media is a continuing trend with deep historical and cultural roots.

CHAPTER 2

The American Racial System and Sport—Caste in the United States

The American system consists of a hierarchy of racial groups (ethnic/racial stratification). Diverse ethnic and racial groups arrived in the New World at various points in American history, with each group claiming seniority over those that were newly-arrived. The first groups were basically Caucasian-European (Anglo-Saxon Protestant) and were to become the dominant ruling groups in North America. With the entrance of blacks to the Western Hemisphere, the stratification system of Americans of Caucasian-European ancestry was well-formed and structured into the American society. Blacks and Indians were deemed subject groups and relegated to the bottom rung of the American racial system with little or no opportunity of upward social mobility. Indians as a group have been basically decimated by colonialism; the expansion of whites in the New World. Blacks, as a group were first recruited to the United States as chattel (slaves), and have taken on a connotative animal-status with respect to other ethnic and racial groups, most noted through racial theories, descriptions and slurs geared toward them.

Oliver Wendell Cox develops a theory of race with respect to blacks as a caste, or lack of class:

Slaves are not the lowest class in a society; they are out-classed; that is they are completely without class status… Negroes—to consider the United States specifically—must not be allowed to think of themselves as human beings having certain basic rights protected in the formal law. On the whole they came to America as forced labor, and our slavocracy could not persist without a consistent set of social attitudes which justified the system naturally. Negroes had to be thought of as subsocial and sub-human.²

Justification of the system usually meant hat the discrimination of blacks in all phases of American social life. Much of the discrimination and resentment toward blacks is located in American psychology. The typecasting of blacks as inferior is as much a part of the American experience as advertisements of McDonald’s hamburgers and Coca-Cola, only more historical and imbedded in the American psyche. Slavery is the key stigma in the persecution of blacks by the American Majority, resulting in the assignment of inferior depictions of a whole racial group.

With the ending of the Civil War blacks for the most part have systematically taken one step up the social ladder from slavery to poverty. Dependency on welfare is a harsh reminder of the dependency to the slave master. It would be difficult for the former slave masters to recognize their former chattel as a class of people. It is in this way that blacks are discriminated against and given strong stereotypes. The fact that blacks lived within a daily routine of social inequality meant that whites intended to perpetuate a negative image of the black character.

During the Twentieth Century, most negative characterizations of blacks take place in the media. The early part of the century exposes blacks as presented in a buffoonery, clown-like image as a rule, in theater and on screen, even though there were many outstanding black scholars and activists at the time. The character Sambo became the dominant representative image of blacks in the white media psyche and this imposed role was an effect of, and a direct relation to, the bigoted United States society. The racism experienced by blacks in society was exemplified by the media and its effect was twofold: (1) its impact on blacks as an inhibitor and (2) its impact as a reinforcement upon whites as the supreme race; because the purpose of the Sambo image in American history was to perpetuate the image of the subordination of the black race to Caucasian supremacy. An article by Sterling Brown (as quoted by Thomas R. Cripps) states that:

. . . it is as though white America is torn between two conclusions: Negroes are America’s anti-democratic nightmare and Puritan conscience and must be suppressed, or they must be depicted publicly as the stereotype because it sustains the myth of Anglo-Saxon purity.³

The relegation of blacks to the lowest social and economic strata has been a perpetual conscious effort by the institutions of white American society. Demeaning images of the black race would persist despite growing and outstanding black individual and group achievements; efforts which did little to increase the group image and/or the stereotypical image of blacks.

Another form of black denunciation by the media would come in the form of race-linked genetic studies and the development of these conclusive results over a period of time. These particular studies are geared to the ambitious pronouncement of Caucasian supremacy, much to the demise of the Negro Homo Sapiens who are typically and usually used as the major parallel. These values are supported by the media in the Twentieth Century and have evolved into the American social, political and cultural ideology of the day. Most 18th and 19th Century American presidents were the chief propagandists of Caucasian superiority, and endorsed the conclusions of the empirically investigated and scientific race-linked genetic studies. For instance, Thomas Jefferson endorsed the view:

I advance it, therefore, as a suspicion only, that the blacks, whether originally a distinct race, or made distinct by time and circumstance, are inferior to the whites in the endowment both of body and of mind.⁴

Later, Abraham Lincoln supported the social, political and cultural view of blacks as inferior in his debate with Stephen Douglas in 1858:

There is physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.⁵

With Lincoln’s words, the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and finally the ratifying of the Thirteenth Amendment, the course of the laws of Jim Crow would begin. For the latter third of the 19th Century and the better 2/3 of the 20th Century, social and political inequality and discrimination against blacks would flourish. These social attitudes against blacks, by Jefferson and Lincoln, reflect the attitudes of the general white American public. The media also supported and enhanced these ideals to the point that the casting of blacks as inferior was widely accepted. An analysis of the foundation and role of media discrimination toward blacks in the 20th Century is illustrated by Gordon W. Allport:

In the analysis of 100 motion pictures involving Negro characters, it was found in 75 cases the portrayal was disparaging and stereotyped. In only 12 cases was the Negro presented in a favorable light as an individual human being… Several surveys have disclosed a common trend in the handling of the American Negro in the daily newspapers—a heavy concentration upon crime news and slight attention to achievement… And there are, no doubt, certain newspapers that have a deliberate policy, for example, never to capitalize the word Negro. Spelled with a small n it seems, through some verbal magic, to help hold the race where it belongs.⁶

Many of the early articles that will be presented in the Jack Johnson and Joe Louis eras will reflect the continued practice of journalists’ use of the lower case n in their spelling of the proper noun, Negro.

Just as racial groups in the United States become uplifted by major contributions to the larger society by representative individuals, sport became a major vehicle with respect to increased favorable media characterizations. Dominant black sportsmen were instrumental in uplifting the image of their race, with regard to public perception. Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson was a first pioneer in this regard, having been one of the first visible blacks to help eliminate the preposterous color line of Jim Crow:

As for black Americans, clearly his effect on black Americans was enormous. Johnson more than anyone else, shattered the myth of white physical superiority.⁷

And although Johnson was perceived as a social menace in early 20th Century media, his breakthrough in sport helped to establish the Americanization of blacks as free and equal citizens; and disproving the myth of Caucasian physical supremacy. Many future black sports superstars would be set up in the American Ideal by the media, in an effort to support and sustain American values. Black champions had the ability, through visibility and public acceptance, to hoist the entire black race into a more accepted media light, although stereotyping would persist. Clearly, the myth of white physical supremacy had become eliminated in the 20th Century, yet the strength of the American Ideal, coupled with the powerful influence of the media and its support of this ideal, would continue to dominate the social imagination.

The American Ideal

Black slavery is incorporated into the American Ideal and ideology. Slaves were as much a status symbol as they were capital to the owners of the means of production. As a status symbol, blacks were subservient and relegated to the lower class, or caste, from which there was little escape. They suffered from a systematic Caucasian superiority complex, which always reminded them of their place in society. That whites felt superior to blacks is an understatement to the larger picture of black poverty, discrimination, vertical social immobility, inequality of opportunity and political/social suffrage, mainly due to the negative social effects arising from the pigmentation of African skin (and shades thereof). Oliver Cox theorizes that slavery is itself a direct product of the capitalist form of government, but notes:

The interest behind racial antagonism is an exploitative interest—the peculiar type of economic exploitation characteristic of a capitalist society. To be sure, one might say this cannot be, for one feels almost irrepressible revulsion in the presence of colored people, especially Negroes, although one never had any need to exploit them. It is evidently the way they look, their physical difference which is responsible for one’s attitude.⁸

Black slavery is painted into the American picture as submission, powerlessness and inferiority, in an effort to compare and display Caucasian supremacy. The duality of the interpretation of slavery (slavery: right vs. wrong) by American whites would reinforce the Black Cause, and help to expose much of the hypocrisy and dilemmas of the American Ideal. Some of the elements of the American Ideal also include:

1. Equality

The term, All men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, taken from the Declaration of Independence, represents the hypocrisy and ambiguity of what the American Ideal presupposes. Doubtful that Negroes were considered human beings, much less men for that matter, the original document legally and idealistically did not exclude Negroes, but in reality and practice it did.

2. Caucasian Supremacy

Abraham Lincoln’s statement: I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race exemplifies the past and present attitudes of the majority of white willing to exist on the same social level with blacks. The depiction of whites as the master race is deeply ingrained into the American social imagination and this attitude flourishes in the modern white American conscience. This attitude among whites denied the black race full equality, while limiting them access to upward social mobility, and this attitude is backed up by military might.

3. Denouncement of the black race in support of the American Ideal—The Negro is characterized by his skin color and other physical features. He is considered less intelligent biologically than the Caucasian by geneticists. It is the society that sets the standards of the presiding culture, and of the rationality of the inferior depiction of Negroes. It is the lack of Caucasian traits that assigns second-class citizenship to minority and other oppressed racial groups. Biological inferiority of the Negro is perpetuated among black Americans (and others of African ancestry) through the myths of themselves that are experienced through the white majority. Blacks are isolated from the rest of society, through the machinations that these myths helped to perpetuate, into a caste system of heredity.

4. Americanization/Nationalism Patriotism is the key element in the support of the American Ideal and American values. Devotion to the position of the United States, despite her obvious flaws and hypocrisy of meaning, is a requirement in support of the American Ideal. The perpetuation of the American way of life, under the concept and cultural symbol of the American flag, backed up by military might, is a pledge that every citizens, regardless of color, is forced to accept. Racial groups must pledge allegiance to God and country, despite it not being in their best interests. Racial tensions and stereotypes are eased somewhat through the assimilation and amalgamation of the minority individual to Caucasian standards (historically and categorically).

Considering all of these elements of the American Ideal, the greatest theme would be that of the image of Caucasian supremacy over her minority groups and imperialistic domination over nations. The media has historically represented the American Ideal on a daily basis. The American Ideal is racist in theory, and confused with the vague notion of equality, in its representation of a so-called democracy. Josef W Hall (as quoted by Cox) relates the fact that:

The white man’s conception of himself as the aristocrat of the earth came gradually through the discovery, as surprising to himself as to anyone else, that he had weapons and organization which made opposition to his ambition futile.⁹

America is a country founded upon and based on violence, beginning with the annihilation of the American Indians, and war victories over aggressive confederate European armed forces. In that she is proud of these achievements, she incorporates them into her Ideal and concept of life. Also the fact that she was built on black slavery is a significant symbol of Caucasian-American power, and this fact is forced into the concept as well.

The Notion of Blacks as a Caste

Caste takes a special meaning in its application to black Americans. A perfect example of blacks is demonstrated by the separate but equal doctrine which alienated blacks from the cultural mainstream, a doctrine which further illustrates the hypocrisy and ambiguity of the American Ideal. Caste is a separate phenomenon. To belong to a caste, one is thrust into a permanent situation due to some distinguishable characteristic, genetic or otherwise. I n the instance of blacks as a separate caste, physical features (skin, hair, lips, etc.) predominate as the main criteria for discrimination. The fact that blacks are still prevented from moving into certain neighborhoods despite social class and ranking, shunned, unable to join certain clubs, etc., on the basis of skin color, proves that unethical practices of racial inequality still persist. White attitudes toward blacks, which seemingly had eased after the Civil Rights Era, have struck a new resurgence in the discrimination of blacks. The political and systematic oppression of blacks is, once again, the desire of white ambition and delusion, characteristic of the American Ideal. Lucille Duberman analyzes the caste system theory, as put forth by Oliver Cox:

Racial rivalry divides a society vertically, while a caste creates stratification by status hierarchy. Both systems prevent social mobility, but the caste system prevents occupational mobility, while the racial system prevents mobility across the color line… Cox has made two major points: First, inequality exists in both societies but it is illegal in the United States and legal in India; Second, castes do not exploit each other economically, while whites have exploited blacks in America.¹⁰

Cox is ambitious in his determination of castes, as he fails to show how the black caste system of the United States evolved out of the American racial system. His preoccupation is with the caste systems of the Far East and comparing them in strict analogy with the United States. Duberman puts caste and race relations into another perspective:

In the United States, with rare exceptions, blacks and whites are readily identifiable by skin color and sometimes by other features as well. A Brahmin is not easily distinguishable from a Shudra for example. Crossing the color line is an issue only in the United States, not in India.¹¹

As far as class is concerned, many individual blacks have gained access to higher economic social ranking and status, although the majority of blacks as a group have remained in poverty. Blacks have attained a foothold on every step of the social ladder but are overrepresented on the bottom rungs. The caste membership and white perception of blacks Americans inhibits their group access to upper socioeconomic class ranking and as a result the disbursement of American opportunities are limited. Many American occupations are coded for race on all levels and blacks are systematically rejected (also through quotas). CBS’ 60 Minutes did a feature on the very same topic in 1990. It showed how blacks and whites are screened and coded for career placement in corporate employment. Farley and Allen note that:

Common perceptions to the contrary, black Americans have also made tremendous strides in this country. The fact that their current position is one of considerable disadvantage relative to whites is sometimes viewed as reason for dismissing the progress that black Americans have made… The counterpoints to this remarkably accelerated development of the black population are provided by the disproportionate numbers of blacks who continue to be mired in poverty and by the examples of immigrant groups who arrived in this country generations after blacks had arrived, only to catch up and pass blacks on the ladder to success.¹²

As such, blacks are relegated to the lower class by racism and systematic exclusion (or quotas) and this principle is based in American tradition.

Institutional racism has become the preferred practice against blacks in the modern, post Jim Crow era. Michael Reich reacts to racial inequality in the labor market:

. . . the shift from excluding blacks from industry to incorporating them into the working place has not by itself resulted in racial equality. Racial inequality is now reproduced by bureaucratic structures in large modern corporations that organize jobs and workers hierarchically . . .¹³

Race relations in the United States have improved since slavery and the Jim Crow era, although the element of racism has remained constant. In the latter 1980’s, however, violent racism has resurfaced on a major scale in various areas of the United States. In the New York area alone, there have been more separate racial incidents than anywhere in the United States. The names of Michael Stewart, Yusef Hawkins, Tawana Brawley, among others, have incensed the American black communities against the persistence of white racism. The New York Times have conducted a poll concerning race relations in New York in 1988. Richard J. Meislin reported:

New Yorkers Say Race Relations Have Worsened in the Last Year

New Yorkers say they believe relations between blacks and whites are generally bad in the city and have worsened in the last year, according to a New York Times/WCBS-TV News poll… In the survey, people were categorized as white or black based on their own descriptions. The categories, therefore, included some Hispanic people who also described themselves as black or white.¹⁴

The phenomenon of racism has incredibly become a highly-valued and profitable commodity in American sports via the general media, as the media is the greatest reflector and promoter of American racial issues and sentiment of all major institutions; the individual ideas of which are biased, subjective and based on the prejudices of the journalist. In turn, the society must debate the issues and the individual opinion and expression may be a key motivator in these arguments.

Blacks in the Media/The Transition of Sambo

The nature of blacks as having an inferior racial status is characterized and imposed by the media. The stigmatization that took place as a result of the evolution of the character, Sambo, has had a