Racism Still Evident In Sports World

Throughout the year of 2014, the US saw more issues with racism than anyone can remember. Shootings of African-Americans who were unarmed by the police and the jury decisions in Michael Brown's case and Eric Garner's case. It was during this year that in the sports world, highly respected athletes would use their stage to speak on these racial issues happening today. Examples are LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, and others wore "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts during their warmups to show respect for Eric Garner. Oklahoma City's superstar, Kevin Durant, wrote "Black Lives Matter" on his shoes for the game against Cleveland Cavs that would be nationally televised. 

Instead of looking for racial issues within the sports industry, I decided to use something different, African-Americans using their strong foundation as a positive avenue to raise awareness for an important issue.

 

Lapchick, R. (2014, December 30). Racism Still Evident In Sports World. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/12093538/the-year-racism-sport

The Lessons of Baltimore

With a population of 63% African-American, a Black mayor, a Black commissioner, and majority of the city's police also being African-American, Baltimore still struggles with a troubled police department. Being one of the most dangerous cities in U.S., the murder rate was 37 per 100,000 in 2013. Back in 2005 a white mayor made a change urging the police to stop young males acting suspiciously and searching for guns or drugs. The article The Lessons of Baltimore describes the changed in the criminal justice system after the changes mayor Martin O'Malley made.

K., D. (2015, April 28). The lessons of Baltimore. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/04/race-and-criminal-justice 

Jalen Rose: Review of Fav Five Documentary on ESPN

Race in the world of sports causes a significant issue. The increasing discussion of racism in sports dates back 20 years ago in the story of the Fab Five, a Cinderella team from Michigan who made a run during March Madness and who also had a starting five of African-Americans. They were a group of guys who bought in an era that exemplified the hip-hop revolution that was emerging in the early 90s. The Fab Five wore baggy shorts with tall black socks, tattoos, and headphones. They were changing the game of college basketball.

This article describes their journey throughout their experiences as student-athletes at Michigan and the hatred towards African-Americans from the mainstream media.

Rogers, D. (2011, March 18). Jalen Rose: Review of Fab Five Documentary on ESPN.
Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/639448-jalen-rose-fab- five-documentary-on-espn-a-job-well-done