Kelly Umutoni AFRICAN AMERICANS IN SPORTS

Sports wasn’t only viewed as entertainment or just exercise; for some people; sports was a component of freedom. It was used as a physical way by African Americans to show the whites wrong when they were silenced They set the people’s mind for change; as Dr. King said. Sports also played a role shaping the way white America accepted them as more than three-fifths of a human African American athletes paved the way of the others.

Willie O’Ree He was born October 15, 1935, in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada First black players in the NHL. Hockey was one of the whitest sports at that time; he only came in after 50 years after it had started. The white population did not like him, so he did not get a lot of publicity. He played for the Boston Bruins but only for two seasons, he didn’t really understand the reason they sold him for.

He only played one season in the NHL, and that year was punctuated by constant fighting, cheap shots, and racial slurs by the other players from the opposing team. One night in 1961, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, O’Ree crashed hard into the end boards and the wire mesh between the ice and the fans gave away. O’Ree was pulled into an angry, drunken mob. He was rescued by his teammates. He never received on honor from the NHL. But he opened the door for other black people in the NHL, and the other black went in 25 years after him. He broke the barriers of color and paved the way for other players.

Jesse Owens ( James Cleveland Owens) He won four gold medals in 1936 Olympic games in Berlin. In 45 minutes he set three world record, and tied one in track and field. His accomplishments had a significant social and cultural impact because he proved that race had nothing to do with personal excellence. He remains the best remembered Olympic athlete because he did what no one had ever done before him; in a time when there was a lot of segregation. He not only discredited Hitler's master race theory on Aryan race, but he also showed everyone could excel regardless the race.

Joe Louis ( Joseph Louis Barrow) He was born on September 12, 1913 in a country-field near Lafayette, Alabama He fought under the name of Joe Louis so his mother won’t find out, but she later found out. Louis was a heavy weight champion for 12 years.

He beat Schmeling in front of 7000 fans at the Yankee stadium He later enlisted in the army. He would fight for entertainment or raise money for the army. He was the proof that white and black could coexist. He lost all his money after retiring.

Muhammad Ali He was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, on January 17, 1942 but he latter on changed his name To Muhammad Ali when he converted to Muslim. When he was 12, his new bicycle got stolen, so Ali decided to learn boxing. He was a Golden Glove Champion at the age of 17, an Olympic gold medal at the age of 18 and an undefeated heavyweight champion at the age of 22.

His career began with the victory over Tunney Hunsaker on October 29, 1969 and ended in 1981 with a loss against Trevor Berbick. He went 56-5, with 37 knockouts and he was able to avenge 3 of his losses. He became an outspoken commentator on civil rights and race relations. He converted to Islam and refused to get into the military created a large controversy of his life, and he was removed off the heavyweight champion title. But it only made him stronger and more determined.

He was drafted into the Vietnam War, but he refused saying the since they had been denied the civil rights in America they wouldn’t fight to protest those missing rights in another country. For This he was fined dollars and sentenced to five years in prison. One of his most famous quotes was: “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, I am the greatest, Muhammad Ali.” These words were needed for the other African Americans to hear from another Black without fear.

Arthur Ashe (Arthur Robert Ashe) Born in Richmond, Virginia on July 10,1943 His mother died when he was young, so he was raised by his father who worked as a caretaker in a park named Brook Field. So he grew up with four tennis courts, a pool and three baseball diamonds near him. He was taught tennis by R. Walter Johnson, and he used military methods to teach tennis and codes such as sharp appearance and “no cheating at any time”

He was the USLTA amateur champion and won the first U.S Open Tennis Championship at Forrest Hills. He was the first African American to reach the South African Open finals In Johannesburg, and he was the first and only African American player to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon. After retiring from competition due to his health condition, he served as captain of the U.S Davis Cup team Ashe was elected to the UCLA Hall of Fame, the Virginia Hall of Fame, and the Eastern Tennis Association Hall of Fame

He protested against the Apartheid in South Africa, and he called for higher educational standards for all athletes. He went beyond sports and took stands on political and social issues. Ashe had AIDS. But it did not stop him from doing what he was supposed to do. He fought it. He impacted the Society and up to now by his foundations: The Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, The Safe Passage Foundation, The Arthur Ashe Foundation and an endowment for AIDS research.

He co-founded the National Junior Tennis League in 1969 to help the inner city kids a new game, and that is where future champions like James Blake and the Williams sisters. The way Ashe carried himself and the integrity he competed with made a difference in the way white tennis players and fans viewed back players. He wasn’t afraid to take public stands and that is what made the difference.

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