“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people that little else has...It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers” (Nelson Mandela). Everyone remembers at some point in their life playing a sport, whether it be in school or to pass the time or on an actual sports team. Even in the case of people who have never played a sport, have at least seen a sport being played. Sports are a way for people from all different backgrounds to connect due to a common interest. Claudia Rankine tells professional sports stories to illustrate that minorities face racism, no matter their status, and in order to survive they must become invisible. Citizen is a way people of all races can …show more content…
While it may happen frequently, there are still a large majority of people who cannot understand this racial prejudice. Sports are a way for people to bond, but they also are the path to change since they span such a wide audience. Take for instance Serena Williams, an African American woman ranked as one of the best tennis players in this generation. While Serena Williams may be a tennis celebrity, she also experiences racial stereotyping and overall hate because of the color of her skin. After winning two medals in the 2012 Olympics, Williams decided to celebrate by dancing, only to see later that the media portrayed her as “immature” and “classes” for her “Crip-Walking all over the most lily-white place in the world”(Rankine 33). This is preciously why Rankine included Serena Williams into Citizen because it illustrates the idea that no matter how successful an African American becomes they will still always be grouped as a “minority.” Serena Williams was only seen the way others wanted to see her, even though time and time again she proved them wrong with her achievements. Later that same year Williams was named the WTA player of the year, yet even as she accomplished more, people still mocked her for her appearance. Dane Caroline Wozniacki imitated William’s “black figure” by stuffing towels into her top and shorts. In the book “Wozniacki’s image of smiling blond goodness posing as the best female tennis player of all time” is the last thing the reader sees in the Serena Williams section (37). While some may say that Williams has accomplished a triad of medals and fans, it doesn’t take away the hurtful words from her mind. In the span of a lifetime there will be many people who are mocked for their appearance, however a majority of these people will never be judged by their skin tone. Williams may be known for her amazing tennis skills now, however she has faced a lot of racial prejudice just to become “visible”.
Charles does his best to reveal to his audience about the flaws in collegiate sports, and how the barriers were broken and created a environment were talent was based on skill not color. However, I still believe that racism in sports exists in rural and not industrial areas of the United States. In addition to my liking to this book, I feel that it is well written and can be beneficial society. The book, Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sport, is impactful to changing the view of race and practicing equality. All in all, this book is set out to inform his readers about the history of race in intercollegiate
Hunter College author, Pamela Wonsek in her journal, “College basketball on television: a study of racism in the media”, believes that the media plays a role in racial stereotypes and maintaining the dominance of white culture. She supports her claim first by explaining the stereotypes the white culture have made about African American, then she says, ‘since the entire coaching staff for men’s basketball is traditionally male, the paradigmatic choices are black or white… the overall image is white” (Wonsek 453). Displaying that even if the team was majority consisted of African Americans, but during a sport game most the people are whites, and finally African American are overrepresented in sports advertisements. Wonsek’s purpose is to reveal to audience the media portray young African American as an athlete only. She adopts an objective tone to show the intended audience on how African American’s are being portrayed by the media.
Racism is a worldwide issue that not many people are aware of. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse, the protagonist Saul Indian Horse experiences love for hockey, but eventually undergoes racial issues. Initially hockey gives Saul a sense of freedom which motivates him to seek a career in hockey, however, due to the racism he faces while playing causes him to give up his love for the game. Saul’s love for freedom while playing hockey motivates him to seek a career in hockey in the future. First of all, hockey gave Saul freedom which is why he wanted to keep playing it.
The minority athlete then becomes the symbol of the American dream for people in the United States and in the athlete’s home country. For most Asian athletes, this narrative of success entrenches themselves as a racial model minority (Joo, 2012). Being labeled a model minority suggests that Asian athletes are obsessive conformers, highly intelligent, rigorously self-disciplined people, and excessively hard-workers. The model minority stereotype appears to be very positive because it categorizes those Asians/Asian Americans as law-abiding and self-sufficient citizens, who completely embrace core American values. Yet, this perceived positive sometimes provides negative resentment amongst other minority groups and the majority of culture due to the overall abundance of success which Asians have had in school and careers (Nixon, 2015).
Just because Serena Williams is a “black women” (Claudia) she is seen to portray a certain type of image in “white America” because she is in the public eye, and on the flip side she overpowers her white competitors. But of course, once recognized, black excellence is then supposed to perform with good manners and forgiveness in the face of any racist indifference or violations. Even on her worst days media reports can put down Serena Williams but that will never stunt her growth as one of the worlds best tennis players or take any of her talents away. Through injuries, sickness, training, and harsh name-callings Serena has showed the world why she is one of the top tennis players. Despite what newspaper articles and social media say about
According to “Billie Jean King Vs. Bobby Riggs: The 40 Year Recap (Excerpt)”, “Interestingly, more viewers tuned in for the Women’s Tennis Championship Final at the U.S. Open than the Men’s final.” Goes to show, times are changing, equality is growing, but this is just the beginning of the modification. Each and every year, more and more results are starting to disclose for female athletes. For example, on the day of April 24, 1996, the NBA Board of Governors approved the idea of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), which eventually began during June, 1997.
Racial Profiling was used disrespectfully towards the basketball players because of their performance and it affected them both mentally and physically. Society has become adjusted to diversity, racism, and racial profiling. Because of that, many colored people feel unwelcome and insecure in their skin tone. However, these issues have been going on for generations, but are still being used in everyday life.
Billie Jean King announced to the United States, “ I have often been asked whether I am a woman or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a woman.”
Turning on a hockey game and seeing mostly white players is an ongoing trend for hockey fanatics around the country. The NHL has been evidently dominated by white athletes since the league began in 1964, and this dominance has flowed into the present. A lack of opportunity for non-white children and the high economical demands of the sport have definitely played a role in this issue. That is why “Blacks on skates are still a rare sight: in the NHL’s nearly 100-year history, there have been just over 70 black players”(Whiting). The sport of hockey has been inherently deemed a “white” sport which seems to reinforce the stereotype of white dominance in the NHL, leading to the continual of this issue.
For the past couple of centuries, racial stereotypes have been a problem that many have faced, and are still facing, throughout the world. Many people question what stereotyping is and how it affects people. Racial stereotyping is when a person judges another person based on their race’s fixed characteristics (Pickrell). To this day, racial stereotypes have gotten out of hand and continue to cause not only racism, but also segregation. People today use negative assumptions against African Americans, Latinos and other races.
Black Female Presence; Tennis and Dance In Claudia Rankine’s, Citizen, she addresses a various amount of relatable circumstances as an African American. Rankine addresses a specific black figure in America, Serena Williams, as an example of a resilient and strong black female athlete. Serena is one of the examples in which Rankine points out racial inequality, and microaggressions in sports, she also opens up about the stereotypes placed in front of Serena and the personas Serena had to play for years of her career. I've found that in both dance and tennis, black women have faced judgement from spectacle, competed with mostly white counterparts, and have had to consistently reclaim their undeniable contribution to the sport and art form.
all-inclusive multicultural space , there is still a significant fear of the “other” that isn’t removed by Muslim visibility in the Olympics. While Hall is correct in claiming that the recent visibility of ethnic minorities in sports is significant, this visibility alone is not enough to eradicate racism from sports. Non-white bodies, especially black bodies, are often portrayed as being more physically gifted than white bodies (Koenig, 2008).
People pretend it does not exist, but racism is still here and very alive in the world of tennis. Despite this, the leaders of tennis pride themselves as being innovative and having forward-thinking because of tangible things like equal prize money, television and media coverage for male and female tennis players. But the sad fact remains that tennis will not truly be socially advanced until racism is stopped. Two of the greatest woman athletes to play the game, Serena and Venus Williams, are both African American sisters who began tennis when they were young and through the years have been hugely successful. The two sisters have brought inspiration to learn the game to a new generation of young African Americans, since they grew up in a poor neighborhood and became professionals.
In this section Rankine describes the “angry black woman” stereotype with Serena Williams. Historically tennis was a sport that was dominated by white people. However, with the advent of Serena Williams arriving on the tennis scene (and doing exceptionally well) there were “those who [were] enraged that [she] was there at all–graphite against a sharp white background” (Rankine 26). Again, we are given insight into the underlying racism that is present in modern society. Serena in light of the bad calls against her in matches mentioned throughout the section, displayed outrage in the form of throwing her racket and yelling.
Everybody has their own misconceptions of others, but how did stereotypes turn out to create false images for certain groups of people? Misconceptions are views or opinions that appear to be incorrect about a person. The misconceptions that are talked about these days often are from movies and tv shows that are watched everyday by millennials. They create a false image of particular people or things which get believed by young adults and kids. Stereotypes also have an effect on the generations of today because they are general characteristics that people believe represent a particular person or group.