Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890-1980

by Martin, Charles H.

• ISBN13: 9780252077500
• ISBN10: 0252077504
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

Chronicling the uneven rise and slow decline of segregation in American college athletics, Charles H. Martin shows how southern colleges imposed their policies of racial exclusion on surprisingly compliant northern teams and explains the social forces that eventually forced these southern schools to accept integrated competition. Martin emphasizes not just the racism prevalent in football and basketball in the South, but the effects of this discrimination for colleges and universities all over the country. Southern teams such as the University of Alabama, University of Mississippi, and the University of North Carolina were obsessed with national recognition, but their Jim Crow policies prevented them for many years from playing against racially mixed teams from other parts of the country.

Author Biography

Charles H. Martin is an associate professor of history at the University of Texas at EI Paso and the author of The Angelo Herndon Case and Southern Justice.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: The Strange Athletic Career of Jim Crow	p. xiii
White Supremacy and American College Sports: The Rise of the Gentleman's Agreement, 1890-1929	p. 1
"Fair Play" versus White Supremacy: The Gentleman's Agreement under Attack, 1929-45	p. 27
"Massive Resistance" and the Fall of the Color Line, 1945-65	p. 55
Cracks in the Solid South: Texas Western College Abandons Jim Crow	p. 90
Hold That (Mason-Dixon) Line: The Atlantic Coast Conference and Football	p. 120
"Two at Home and Three on the Road": The Atlantic Coast Conference and Basketball	p. 150
The Eyes of Texas Are (Not) upon You: The Southwest Conference and Football	p. 180
From Exclusion to Prominence: The Southeastern Conference and Basketball	p. 215
The "Final Citadel of Segregation": The Southeastern Conference and Football	p. 255
Conclusion: The Accomplishments and Limitations of Athletic Integration	p. 293
Notes	p. 305
Sources	p. 355
Index	p. 359
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.