Author and sports historian Dr. Louis Moore, a professor at Grand Valley State University, knows that one thing Black athletes have never done is simply “stick to sports.”
His forthcoming book, “The Great Black Hope,” is dropping in September and covers the history of the Black quarterback. And his previous two books investigate similar intersections of race and athletics: the first, called “We Will Win the Day,” focuses on the legacy of activist athletes, while the other, “I Fight for a Living,” uses boxing to chronicle the “battle for Black manhood” starting in the late 19th century.
We chatted about the decadeslong effort to silence Black athletes, the obstacles activist athletes face today, and how Black sports journalists have altered American life through their work. Check out the video below! I’ve transcribed some highlights from our interview below, as well (edited throughout for clarity and length).
JJ: You’ve written extensively about the Black quarterback, and we saw Patrick Mahomes succeed yet again in the Super Bowl. What was your takeaway?
LM: The game was just amazing because of Patrick Mahomes. If you think about the historical view of the Black quarterback, he’s not supposed to have that kind of patience, not supposed to have that kind of confidence in himself. And when you watch Mahomes, he has all of that. That’s the reason why they won. Mahomes is just cool and steady. And you hope that GMs looking around the league for their new quarterback realize that [about Black QBs]. There was a time that they didn’t. But you combine the game with the halftime show — Usher — and you get this moment of Black excellence. You start with “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” You have Patrick Mahomes, you have Usher — it was really the perfect Sunday.
JJ: A few years ago, we were having this conversation about people boycotting the NFL over athletes’ outspoken demonstrations against racism. That tension seems to have faded away. Has the…
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