African American athletes’ roots have always been in social justice. It has also been a specter for them. As individuals, Black athletes want to compete. As members of a team, they are conditioned to put their own interests aside. Outweighing their individual needs and the pressure to perform for their teammates, however, is the crushing tension of trying to make a difference for their race, aiming to achieve not just equality on the field, but in the society in which they live.
From the producers of the Signal Award-winning series The League and hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill comes the audio documentary series Shadowball: Rise of the Black Athlete.
African American athletes’ roots have always been in social justice. It has also been a specter for them. As individuals, Black athletes want to compete. As members of a team, they are conditioned to put their own interests aside. Outweighing their individual needs and the pressure to perform for their teammates, however, is the crushing tension of trying to make a difference for their race, aiming to achieve not just equality on the field, but in the society in which they live.
From the producers of the Signal Award-winning series The League and hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Jemele Hill comes the audio documentary series Shadowball: Rise of the Black Athlete.
Among the stories featured are a football player’s tragic death in his second college game in 1923; a female track star’s courageous fight for de-segregation, including remaining seated during the national anthem at the Pan-Am Games in the late 1950s; the ascension of African American quarterbacks in the NFL; a WNBA team’s courageous efforts to change the tide of the 2020 election; and a baseball player who left Tiger Stadium in his uniform in the middle of the Detroit Rebellion of 1967 to quell the violence in his city.
This Audible Original series offers a window into the history of the Black athlete’s role and how it has led us to where we are today, recounting a dark past, but showing inspirational triumphs that provide hope for future generations.
Episode 1: I Will
Jack Trice, Iowa State’s first African-American football player, died from injuries sustained during a game against University of Minnesota in 1923. Nearly seventy years later, the school would name their stadium after him, and today it remains the only Division I college stadium named after an African-American.
Episode 2: Run, Sis, Run
Eroseanna “Rose” Robinson was a track star and member of the U.S. Women’s National Team in 1958. “Sis,” as she called herself, was also a devout activist who fought for segregation and equality for African-Americans. After boldly protesting during the Pan-American games of 1959, Rose would find herself in the crosshairs of the U.S. Government. During her prosecution and conviction, Rose began a hunger strike that gained national attention — and nearly killed her.
Episode 3: Stolen Game
In 1954, the Dusable High School Panthers became the first all-black team to compete for a state title in the country in basketball. Despite being undefeated and boasting a roster of six future Division I players, including three future professionals, the team inexplicably lost in the finals in a game that was widely thought to be corruptly officiated. For nearly seventy years, family members have been trying to overturn the loss.
Episode 4: The Dream
When Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler denounced the Black Lives Matter movement at the start of the 2020 season, the Dream players decided to take a stance that would not only alter their season but also the course of history in American politics.
Episode 5: Pass Interference
From being virtually non-existent for over a half-century due to institutionalized racism, the Black quarterback in the NFL has ascended to the pinnacle of the sport, becoming a cornerstone of franchises across the league.
Episode 6: The Wonder
Major League Baseball legend Willie Horton, hometown hero of the Detroit Tigers, took to the streets of the city amidst the 1967 riots — while still in his uniform from that day’s game — to bring peace to the city he loved. He continued to spread the message of peace and equality throughout his career and life.
Episode 7: Hope Diamond
In the plains of the midwest during the Great Depression, a bold experiment was happening when a team came together called the Bismarck Churchills that included future Hall of Fame players including Satchel Paige and Hilton Smith and became the country’s first fully-integrated professional baseball team.
Episode 8: The Only Color That Matters
After caddying at local golf courses in his youth and captaining his high school and college golf teams, Bill Powell left the United States to proudly serve his country in World War II, but when he returned home to Ohio in 1946, he was denied entry to his local golf courses… just because he was Black. Undeterred by the discrimination and fueled by both his passion for the game as well as his commitment to equality, Powell then did the impossible — he designed and built the first ever integrated golf course.