Helen Plum Library

Places important topics in context so that readers will understand the connection between black history and the sweep of America's story. This volume covers African Americans in sports.

"It used to be that politics and sports were as separate from one another as church and state. The ball field was an escape from the world's worst problems, top athletes were treated like heroes, and cheering for the home team was as easy and innocent as hot dogs and beer. "No news on the sports page" was a governing principle in newsrooms. That was then. Today, sports arenas have been transformed into staging grounds for American patriotism and the...

Playing in the NBA for eighteen years, Ray Allen won championships with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat and entered the record books as the original king of the three-point shot. Known as one of the hardest-working and highest-achieving players in NBA history, this most dedicated competitor was legendary for his sharp shooting Playing in the NBA for eighteen years, Ray Allen won championships with the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat and entered...

Provides biographical and career details on notable African American individuals, including leaders from sports, the arts, business, religion and other fields.

"Today, the NBA is around 74% Black but, when basketball first started to catch on, it wasn't easy for Black people to play. They couldn't enter segregated YMCAs or attend privileged colleges. So Black Americans made their own spaces, playing in dance halls before the dancing started, and eventually forming teams called the Black Fives. More than Just a Game celebrates the history of basketball from a Black perspective, revealing how it changed Black...

"A groundbreaking and timely graphic memoir from one of the most iconic figures in American sports-and a tribute to his fight for civil rights. On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics, Tommie Smith, the gold medal winner in the 200-meter sprint, and John Carlos, the bronze medal winner, stood on the podium in black socks and raised their black-gloved fists to protest racial injustice inflicted upon African Americans....

"Bubba Wallace started racing cars at nine years old. He began competing in 2010 and hasn't slowed down since, setting records as the youngest winner at many races. He was the first Black driver to win Rookie of the Year for NASCAR. Find out how Wallace's talent has led him to success in the world of stock car racing"--

"The other great Renaissance of black culture, influence, and glamour burst forth joyfully in what may seem an unlikely place--Pittsburgh, PA--from the 1920s through the 1950s. Today black Pittsburgh is known as the setting for August Wilson's famed plays about noble but doomed working-class strivers. But this community once had an impact on American history that rivaled the far larger black worlds of Harlem and Chicago. It published the most widely...

"By the time Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 24 years old, he'd already shown the world how to play and lead like a superstar. After achieving early success playing college football and baseball, Mahomes has become an NFL trendsetter and record breaker, becoming only one of four African American quarterbacks to win an All-Pro Most Valuable Player Award. With help from photos and biographical timelines, this book tells the story...

Provides informative biographical profiles of the important and influential persons of African American and/or black heritage. Covers persons of various nationalities in a wide variety of fields, including architecture, art, business, dance, education, fashion, film, industry, journalism, law, literature, medicine, music, politics and government, publishing, religion, science and technology, social issues, sports, television, theater, and others.