“The Black Athlete” Prologue, page 12. SI 7/1/1968

“The Black Athlete” Prologue, page 12. SI 7/1/1968

expose, black athlete, college sports, feature content

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 delve into outcries from black athletes that athletics actually reproduce and perpetuate oppression. The SI writers present this concept as shocking and revelatory, published for the benefit of a well-meaning white audience who is oblivious to the racism in sports. The language throughout indicates this white audience: the prologue positions ‘the Negro’ as an other, and fashions Sports Illustrated as a prox white judge of the situation, promising their white readership an exploration of “the roots and validity of the black athlete’s unrest.”

Katherine Brown

Sports Illustrated, July 1, 1968

Time Inc.