This was a book that was outside of my usual comfort zone, and it was well worth the time to read. It took careful reading to fully grasp the various messages being sent in the variety of essays, but it was certainly worth it. Here is my review of "Race and Resistance in Boston."
Title/Author:
“Race and
Resistance in Boston: A Contested Sports History” edited by Robert Cvornyek and
Douglas Stark
Rating:
4 of 5 stars (very good)
Review:
Trying to write a review of this book can be a challenge – just like describing the history of racial issues in Boston, especially in the world of sports. This collection of essays is a very noble attempt to describe how various sports played a role in this discussion and how the full history can be best described as “complicated.”
Just the well-known facts can send a mixed signal to the average person – Boston teams were the first ones to draft a Black player in the NBA (Chuck Cooper, Celtics), to have a Black player appear in an NHL game (Willie O’Ree, Bruins) and the first Black coach to win an NBA title (Bill Russell, Celtics.) Yet, the Red Sox were the last baseball team to integrate, they held a bogus “tryout” for three players in 1945, including Jackie Robinson, and the city as a whole held Black athletes to different standards. Even legends like Russell felt that the city was less than welcoming toward them.
This collection of essays tries to bring to
light some of the lesser-known matters of the issues, challenges and successes
experienced by these athletes. One excellent example is the rich history of semi-pro
baseball in the Boston area by many Black teams. They not only played excellent
games, some of which are described in great detail, they also faced many white
or integrated teams and received praise for their play. This was the best chapter for one of the main
goals of the book – to shine the light on lesser-known athletes and their
accomplishments. That goes for their
work toward civil rights and equality for all people as well as their athletic
achievements.
The variety of sports covered in the book was also impressive – baseball, hockey, basketball, cricket, tennis and golf are just a few of the sports in which Boston-based Black athletes made contributions to both their sport and the fight for equality. That was the biggest takeaway I had with this book – the sheer number of unknown athletes whose contributions have been lost in time. It should also be noted that the subjects of equality for women, non-binary athletes and the LBGTQ+ community are also addressed in the book as well as racial issues.
The book is a more scholarly one in nature, has many notes and references and is one that a reader must read carefully to fully grasp the message being sent by the writer. However, that time will be well spent after learning the amazing work done by these athletes.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
