Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers’ quarterback in the National Football League has had a season to remember. His MVP calibre and record-setting season — not to mention his now famous celebrations, and a recently misconstrued comment – has turned him into a surprisingly polarizing figure. Newton quoted as saying he’s “an African-American quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing that they can compare me to.” Naturally, it has sparked an international conversation about race, racism and sports. Some would argue this is only the latest episode as these books demonstrate. By the time the 2016 NFL Super Bowl game rolls around he could well be the MVP for the regular season and Super Bowl champion. Enjoy the game and enjoy these books reviewed by writer, Kwame Younge.
Black folks don’t read enough, so the saying goes. I disagree. Black folks read just fine. It’s what we read that’s the problem. February is African History Month, so in the never-ending quest to inform, educate and entertain, WORD On Sports has a few suggested reads for ya’. We present four books that will excite, inspire, anger, surprise, perplex and inform you. Although not in any particular order. Enjoy:
Out of Bounds: Jim Brown by Steve Delsohn
Perhaps the best football player to ever put on a pair of cleats. Brown played nine years for the Cleveland Browns and retired owning most if not all the career rushing records.
This is the story of Jim Brown. Man of substance. Activist; Actor and Athlete. The book delves honestly and openly in the many faces of his world. From the fairly recent allegations of Brown’s domestic abuse, to the frontline work with the Bloods and Crips in South Central, L.A. The book reveals much about coaches and players he battled with during his playing days as well. Jim Brown’s intelligence and experience is all out there for you to appreciate. An especially important book because JB was one of the first figures to re-invent what it meant (and still means) to be a black athlete in America.
He’s used his fame and notoriety for revolutionary change within his community. Out of Bounds not only informs us of how far we’ve come, but it underscores how much more work needs to be done. It serves as a living example to the “know-nothing, do-nothing generation” of professional athletes that are currently Jim Brown’s heirs. For the record, he never ran out of bounds.
Days of Grace by Arthur Ashe and Arnold Rampersad
Simply one of the best books you will ever read. A biography of tennis champion, pioneer, father and activist Arthur Ashe.
It’s a brilliantly written set of observations on Sports, Race, Family and coping with HIV/AIDS. As Arthur Ashe rocketed to the top of the tennis world, he appeared to alienate himself from the Black struggle. Days dissects Ashe’s 1973 visit to South Africa (ostensibly as a learning experience), a time when the world’s consciousness was being raised to isolate Apartheid. He was accused by many as a pawn. His take on the visit is expectedly different. His final letter to his young daughter at the close of the book, and the final stages of his illness, is the most moving thing I’ve ever read. A book that will inspire you.
Facing Ali by Stephen Brunt
This 300 page book gives us yet another look into the realm of “The Greatest” but this time, with a twist. 
Facing Ali is the account of 15 fighters who faced Ali at one point or another in his long career. With this particular perspective you get the cruel and the complimentary in their own voices. Though many of Brunt’s interviews run with the same theme, “I almost beat him,” there’s a lot of insights into how just one fight can carry so much of emotional weight. The detail of some of Ali’s most brutal whuppins are so vividly retold, one wonders how, or if these fighters ever recovered. While most of the fighters in the book could never be described as great (Tunney Hunsaker anyone?), the greats are indeed represented. The chapters with George Foreman and Larry Holmes are the best reads for their historically obvious connection. A word of warning though, after reading his bitter words for The Champ, you’ll never look at Joe Frazier quite the same way again. A “no punches pulled” set of 15 interesting and compelling interviews make this book so recommendable.
A Hard Road To Glory: The History of the African-American Athlete
By Arthur Ashe Jr.
If Baseball’s Negro Leagues, Boxer Jack Johnson and Track star Jesse Owens are about as far back as your mind can go, then you need to read up some more. This is a three volume set committed primarily to Baseball, Basketball, Track & Field and Boxing. It’s a grand sweeping history of the black athlete and an excellent resource for anyone with a thirst for sports history. Among the many gems this volume contains, Road to Glory, how the black athlete has changed the style of play and the coaching in every sport that they have entered in great numbers. It is a comprehensive work that spans 1619 – 1945 and despite it’s seemingly academic approach to the subject, is quite an accessible read.
The book educates by exploding myth after myth as to the real contribution of the African-American influence in the realm of sports, on and off the field. The 1920s have been presented in American history as sporting world’s golden age. The author asks, golden for whom? A Hard Road To Glory is the late great Arthur Ashe’s lasting legacy and a milestone for sports historical writing. No library is complete without it.
The book educates by exploding myth after myth as to the real contribution of the African-American influence in the realm of sports, on and off the field. The 1920s have been presented in American history as sporting world’s golden age. The author asks, golden for whom? A Hard Road To Glory is the late great Arthur Ashe’s lasting legacy and a milestone for sports historical writing. No library is complete without it.
