<div dir="ltr"><div>All,</div><div>Please find below and attached Dick Crepeau's review of Gregory Kaliss, <i>Beyond the Black Power Salute: Athletic activism in the era of change</i>.</div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Duncan</div><div><br></div><div>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">Kaliss, Gregory J.
<i>Beyond the Black Power Salute: Athletic Activism in an Era of Change</i>.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2023. 248 pages. Photos, Chapter
Notes, Bibliography, Index. Hardcover, $110. Paperback, $24.95. E-book
available.<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">Reviewed by Richard C. Crepeau<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">The
Sixties were a decade of considerable political and social activism in
Sport across the globe. In this well-written volume, Gregory J. Kaliss
analyses not only the defining
moments of activism beginning at the 1968 Olympic Games, but takes the
analysis across the next several decades. The book is divided into five
chapters plus an introduction and conclusion. Each of the five chapters
focuses on one particular area of sport and
protest.<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">Chapter
One addresses what Kaliss terms the economics of sports and the
contribution of sport to economic uplift. Pointing out that the protests
at the Mexico City Olympics had
an economic component, Kaliss moves to such other examples as Jim
Brown’s Black Economic Union, issues of equal pay for women in tennis,
and what he sees as the limitations inherent in the acceptance of free
market capitalism.<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">In
Chapter Two the issue of women’s rights is the focus. Kaliss examines
women’s running and the push for acceptance socially along with equality
of access. The battle to gain entry
for women into the Boston Marathon is the vehicle used to examine the
issue. Equality of access generally provides the underlying context
along with the social sanctions faced by women who run.<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">Chapter
Three turns to college athletics and the growth of African American
activism. The Mexico City Olympics and the emergence of Muhammed Ali as
the leading activist are the
initial focal points. The NCAA provides a case study for abuse of
athletes, as does the ordeal of Charlie Scott the first African American
basketball player at the University of North Carolina. Scott is caught
between the pressures coming from the basketball
culture and the Black Power movement on campus and what each expects of
Scott. The case of the Wyoming 14 concludes this chapter.<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">In
Chapter Four Kaliss offers a very interesting analysis of the Joe
Frazier/Muhammed Ali rivalry and how Ali was able to brand Frazier as an
“Uncle Tom.” This leads Kaliss into
a discussion of the role of the African American athlete as “Gladiator”
and the debate over the definitions of “manhood.”
<span> </span><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">Chapter
Five may just be the most creative chapter in the book. Here Kaliss
looks at the history of the American Basketball Association as a
reflection of Hip-Hop Culture or perhaps
even an origin point for Hip-Hop. He argues that the ABA basketball
style comes out of the New York playground games, featuring the slam
dunk and “an African American aesthetic rooted in rhythmic
sophistication, personal style, and improvisation.” (p.16) The
connections made in this chapter draw from multiple locations across a
wide span of African American popular culture, and some of best known of
the ABA stars with Dr. J the archetype.
<span> </span><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">The
conclusion features an examination of the Curt Flood Case and the
limitations found in the results of Athletic Activism. The analysis of
the Flood
Case lacks a full understanding of the details of the case and the
issues surrounding the challenge to free-agency. There are other minor
points in the book that come under the category of nit-picking.</span></span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:"Courier New"">Overall,
this is a wonderful piece of work spanning the historical landscape of
the last seven decades. Anyone even remotely interested any of the
issues raised within Kaliss’ analysis
should put <i>Beyond the Black Power Salute</i> at the very top of their reading list.<u></u> <u></u></span></p>
</div><div><i><br></i></div><div><div><div dir="ltr" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Remember to smell the roses as you recumber past<br><br>Duncan R. Jamieson, Ph. D.<br>Professor of History<br>Book Review Editor<br><i>AETHLON: The Journal of Sport Literature</i><br>Ashland University<br>Ashland, OH 44805<br>USA<br></div></div></div></div>