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This post is a book review inspired by Dr. Earl Smith's book, Race, Sport and the American Dream (2007).

Race, Sport and the American Dream argues two overarching points:
1.) that the American Dream of hard work leading to fame and fortune has been extremely detrimental to the African American community, especially young men, because it has put an unrealistic emphasis on sports over academics, and
2.) that both collegiate and professional sports are set up in a way that give the illusion of success and equality when in fact the entire system is entrenched in racism.

Dream Big: Michael Jordan and the Pursuit of Olympic Gold. 

The American Dream of becoming the next Michael Jordan or Lebron James has made young African American men believe that sport is the only viable escape from poverty.  When in fact statistics reveal that African Americans are 75% more likely to become a working professional than a professional athlete.  Smith uses US census data from 2000 highlighting that, at the time, there were 69,000 African American physicians/surgeons, lawyers and dentists compared to only 1,400 African American professional athletes.  He argues that the overrepresentation of African Americans in sports like basketball and football is a great disservice to the black community because it gives the illusion that no racism exists in sport and that it is relatively easy to become a professional athlete.

Smith explains the reason why sport is so important to the black community is because "it has been one of the only arenas in which Whites have come to tolerate African American's presence" (pg.213). Yet, African Americans continue to be held out of top managerial positions for teams and are still 'victim' to position stacking.  This is where certain athletes are assumed to excel at certain positions based on biological/physiological factors - e.g. whites are generally chosen to play quarterbacks in football and guards in basketball because the position requires a lot of mental acuity and decision-making. The assumption then follows that blacks are better at more physical positions where speed and agility are required.  Whites excel at thinking and blacks excel at the physical is how the overarching assumption goes.

Also, Smith does not hold back when he expresses his disgust and disappointment with the American collegiate sports system.  He is adamant that sport is sold as a means to a 'better life', and through this pursuit African American student-athletes become pawns in a white man's game where everyone is disposable.  Smith emphasizes that graduation rates of African American athletes has consistently hovered around 50%.  In his book, he exposes the fraudulent athlete recruiting process whereby high school grades are fudged or transcripts are created from non-existent schools just to ensure that the prospect in question will play for a particular school.  Once in university, black student-athletes are often forced to enroll in non-academic courses to ensure that their energies are focused solely on athletics.  Whether these individuals graduate with an applicable degree or life skills is irrelevant; their sole purpose is to win on the field or court and what happens post-NCAA is of little concern.  Smith provides numerous examples of how African American athletes are prohibited from gaining an education as extreme as some student-athletes graduating with degrees from Auburn University being illiterate. Thus, the notion that the athletic scholarship is the great equalizer is another hole in the myth of the American Dream.

As eye-opening as I found Smith's book, I was unimpressed with his lack of concrete recommendations for change.  For example, he notes that readers should encourage young African American men to: become better persons, become better students, respect their parents and be accountable for their actions. Thanks?  Odd that a book that just exposed the structural oppression of sports now turns to individual solutions for change.  He also suggests that more black coaches should mentor young African Americans in the art of coaching in order to infiltrate more levels of sport, but I think the more prudent question would be - how do we get more black men into coaching positions when you (Smith) has identified that blacks are commonly held out of these positions?

Overall, I think it's a great informational read.  It is further proof that the black body is commonly seen as an athlete and nothing else, and it also examines the extent to which the black body can be commodified.

Earl Smith, PhD., is a professor (and former Chair of the Department) of Sociology and Director of the Wake Forest University American Ethnic Studies Program.  He teaches courses in deviance, family, social stratification, and American Ethic studies.


*I have used the terms African American and black interchangeably to align with Smith's references and terminology.

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