Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Jiří Jež Cultural Responses in the United States to Protests by African American Athletes Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. 2020 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Jiří Jež 2 I would like to thank my supervisor, Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A., for his time, guidance and helpful suggestions during the writing of this thesis. I would also like to thank my dad for his continuous support. 3 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 5 2. ORIGINS OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN PROTESTS IN SPORTS .......................... 7 JESSE OWENS AND THE ORIGIN OF SPORTS PROTESTS ................................................................... 8 JACKIE ROBINSON AND THE BLENDING OF SPORTS AND POLITICS .............................................. 10 MUHAMMAD ALI, THE CATALYST ............................................................................................... 12 3. THE 1968 OLYMPICS BLACK POWER SALUTE ........................................................ 17 BEFORE THE PROTEST .................................................................................................................. 17 THE PROTEST .............................................................................................................................. 20 4. COLIN KAEPERNICK'S NFL PROTEST ....................................................................... 25 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ALI, SMITH, CARLOS, AND KAEPERNICK ................. 29 5. PRESIDENTS AND CORPORATIONS IN REGARD TO THE PROTESTS .............. 33 PRESIDENTS ................................................................................................................................. 33 CORPORATIONS ........................................................................................................................... 34 6. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 38 WORKS CITED........................................................................................................................... 40 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 45 RESUMÉ ...................................................................................................................................... 46 4 1. Introduction Over sixty years ago, in 1947, Jackie Robinson was the first African American athlete to compete in Major League Baseball. Back then, African Americans were yet to achieve equality, and Robinson faced animosity. Unlike his teammates he was not only an athlete, he was a subject of discussion in regard to segregation of white people and black people. He managed to prove himself in the league and used the sports platform to advocate against racism. Robinson’s presence among the group of white players promised a future where African Americans and white people could coexist and be treated equally, not only in sports. Since then, black people have formally earned equality, yet in reality, some things have not changed to this day, and the political actions of black athletes remain controversial. Nowadays, African Americans comprise a significant percentage of athletes in major league sports in the United States. However, these athletes are still the subject of discussion. These were the words of Donald Trump, the current president of the United States, in reaction to African American footballers kneeling to the sound of the national anthem: “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now’” (President Trump wants to see NFL players fired for kneeling during anthem). Such expression by the highest representative of a country illustrates the situation of African American athletes. African American athletes began to kneel as a form of protest against police brutality aimed towards black people. The pioneer of this gesture, Colin Kaepernick, first used to sit out the pre-game national anthem, once he knelt public began to notice. While the form of the protest is peaceful, the reactions, such as the one from the American president, were not. It has been three years since Kaepernick first knelt and since then he has not been hired by any NFL team. The situation is not much different from the one that had happened almost 50 years earlier. Two African American sprinters held up their black-gloved fists during a medal 5 ceremony in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Their gesture was a demonstration of Black Power, a protest against racism in America. Both sprinters had then been forced to quit the Olympic team and criticized by both the public and media. In both cases, the one from fifty years ago and the one from the recent past, African American athletes exercised their rights. Although they acted within the law, they were ostracized by the public, media, and even the president. The main aim of the thesis is to discuss and analyze the sports protests of African American athletes regarding racial inequality, and to inspect the response to the actions of these athletes throughout history. The main focus lies in the documentation and comparison of two major protests in sports, the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute and Colin Kaepernick's NFL protest. The cultural response to both events is presented and discussed. After the first chapter, which is the introduction, the second chapter provides a background in the form of three African American athletes, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, and Muhammad Ali. They illustrate the evolution of black athletes in white sports and demonstrate how they were perceived. The third chapter presents the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute. It documents and analyzes the responses to the protest. The fourth chapter discusses Colin Kaepernick’s NFL protest. It also provides responses and further compares them with those from 50 years before. Furthermore, similarities and differences between the reception of the actors of the two protests are drawn. The fifth chapter discusses presidential and corporate reactions and compares them. The final chapter is the conclusion of the thesis. 6 2. Origins of the African American Protests in Sports When African Americans were first allowed to compete in white sports, they did not have a political agenda. The athletes took the possibility to partake in sports as a promise for the future. The ability to take part gave them a chance to at least partially abandon the low standards of living and treatment to which they were accustomed. However, although they did not mean to express themselves regarding the overall situation of African Americans i.e. racial inequality, segregation, and discrimination, their sole presence on the field or track was political. As the African American integration into sports begun, it was a sign of the changing dynamics within American politics. Not only did the African American athletes contended in teams with their white counterparts, but the two parties also displayed mutual respect. Showing such affection at stadiums in front of a predominantly white audience that comprised thousands of people was in a way revolutionary. Yet, albeit the people witnessing the spectacle might have cheered for the black athletes, they perceived it only as entertainment, a performance for which they paid, and which had little in common with the real world where black people were far below them on a human scale. African American athletes were under a lot of pressure. As long as they performed on a high enough level, brought their teams to victories, they were rooted for. Nonetheless, their failures were just as significant, if not more, as their successes. Black athletes did not have the luxury to make mistakes. If they made them, they would be met with the stereotype that they are lazy and lack the discipline demanded for top-level performance. They sometimes unwillingly carried the overall image of the African American population on their shoulders. They were the representatives who were to form opinions about their people, whether or not they wanted to. As such, the sheer presence of African American athletes was political. However, the tangible change that would manifest itself outside the stadiums could not emerge from the mere presence on the stage, the athletes had to break through the fourth wall and 7 speak out, otherwise, they would possibly remain just entertainers of the white crowd. Though at first the athletes solely did as they were told and acted as good Americans, it was only a question of time until they would fully embrace the role they were given. The process that led to the major sports protest in the form of the 1968 Olympics Black Power Salute took over 30 years, beginning with Jesse Owens as an inconspicuous originator of sports protests. Then came Jackie Robinson, who broke the barrier between sports and politics and influenced the political scene by paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement. Finally, Muhammad Ali’s actions and statements regardless of the possible damaging effect on his career and later negative reception by the public, confirmed