Black Athletes and the Freedom Struggle

From Muhammad Ali to the Williams sisters, the symbolic politics of Black athletes has galvanized the Black Revolt for social justice. Johnny Smith examines the complicated blood brotherhood between Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Malcolm X; and Jennifer Lansbury explores the criminally neglected history of Black women champions from Alice Coachman and Althea Gibson to Wilma Rudolph and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Most Black athletes emerged from urban poverty to fight injustice. This conversation considers their stories (Note that due to last minute circumstances, Johnny Smith was unable to attend the conversation).