Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

NEW YORK TIMESÂ BESTSELLER â€¢ â€œAn explosive and absorbing discussion of race, politics, and the history of American sports.â€â€”Ebony
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From Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe, African American athletes have been at the center of modern culture, their on-the-field heroics admired and stratospheric earnings envied. But for all their money, fame, and achievement, saysÂ New York TimesÂ columnist William C. Rhoden, black athletes still find themselves on the periphery of true power in the multibillion-dollar industry their talent built.

Provocative and controversial, Rhodenâ€™sÂ $40 Million SlavesÂ weaves a compelling narrative of black athletes in the United States, from the plantation to their beginnings in nineteenth-century boxing rings to the history-making accomplishments of notable figures such as Jesse Owens, Althea Gibson, and Willie Mays. Rhoden reveals that black athletesâ€™ â€œevolutionâ€ has merely been a journey from literal plantationsâ€”where sports were introduced as diversions to quell revolutionary stirringsâ€”to todayâ€™s figurative ones, in the form of collegiate and professional sports programs. He details the â€œconveyor beltâ€ that brings kids from inner cities and small towns to big-time programs, where theyâ€™re cut off from their roots and exploited by team owners, sports agents, and the media. He also sets his sights on athletes like Michael Jordan, who he says have abdicated their responsibility to the community with an apathy that borders on treason.

The power black athletes have today is as limited as when masters forced their slaves to race and fight. The primary difference is, todayâ€™s shackles areÂ invisible.

Praise forÂ Forty Million Dollar Slaves
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â€œA provocative, passionate, important, and disturbing book.â€â€”The New York Times Book Review
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â€œBrilliant . . . a beautifully written, complex, and rich narrative.â€â€”Washington Post Book World
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â€œA powerful call for more black athletes to give back to their communities.â€â€”Los Angeles Times
Country USA
Brand CROWN
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780307353146
Model 9780307353146
Color Cream
ReleaseDate 2007-07-24
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780307353146

Country	USA
Brand	CROWN
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780307353146
Model	9780307353146
Color	Cream
ReleaseDate	2007-07-24
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780307353146

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

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