Browse Items (73 total)

“Our ignorance about wines and the art of enjoying them is one of the secret scandals of the civilized world,” writes the author S.S. Field. They proceed with a field guide to table wines, constantly mentioning that “civilized peoples” ought to know…

The prologue to the Black Athlete cover story introduces the story, which probes whether or no sport is “one of the few areas of American society in which the Negro has found opportunity.” The introduction promises to complicate this notion, and…

After zooming into various individual case studies of specific black athletes, Olsen returns to his initial conception of the ‘cruel deception’ that sport is transformative and beneficial to black youth and their communities. The purported…

Olsen continues to pursue the ‘cultural gulf’ between black college athletes and their white peers. Olsen is somewhat forgiving of coaches who recruit black youth who are dismally ill-equipped for college academics, noting that “coaches are paid to…

Olsen interviews Robert Buford, a “19-year-old very black boy” who aspires to be a pro-football player. Buford is exceptionally fast and adept at scoring touchdowns, but he grew up living in cars and often starving. Olsen interviews Buford, allowing…

Olsen resumes his overview of the experience and disadvantages of black collegiate athletes compared to their white counterparts, beginning with a discussion of education in many poorer black communities. Olsen challenges the stereotypes that white…

Olsen continues to cover the story of Elvin Hayes’, particularly his path to basketball stardom. Hayes’ recalls being less academically successful than his five older siblings, who all had college degrees and excelled in school. Hayes’ remembers…

After establishing the reverence that Hayes’ commanded at the University of Houston, Olsen documents the instant change in the attitude of white Houston residents when Elvin Hayes’ signed with a Sand Diego pro team, rather than the Houston Mavericks.…

On this page, Olsen turns his attention to the other part of the cruel deception: the false promise of success and social uplift that sports provides to black youth. Olsen notes the fall-out from this “meaningless dream” is the emergence of a “new…

This page opens Part 1 of Jack Olsen’s five-part series on the ‘black athlete’, and it is titled “The Cruel Deception.” Olsen begins the piece by addressing the persistent story of racial opportunity in sports, citing the oft-used phrase “look what…