Generations: Academic and Athletic Integration of a Southern PWI Basketball Program

Abstract

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to: (a) analyze the insights and experiences of the 1st African American student-athlete (in basketball) at a prominent predominantly White institution in the Deep South as well as the later insights and experiences of his sons at the same university; and (b) to present a counterstory to the dominant historical rendering of the Civil Rights Movement, the integration of athletics, and the experiences and outcomes of contemporary African American athletes. Method: Using qualitative critical race methodology, investigators conducted and analyzed interviews with the 1st African American to play basketball at a prominent university located in the Deep South and his 2 sons who attended the same university a generation later. Results: Using the lens of critical race theory, the themes conceived from the analysis were the counterstory of agency, counterstorytelling stereotypes, and the salience of everyday racism. Conclusion: Racism is still existent within society, even within college athletics. The holistic success of African American athletes in college is dependent upon their ability to navigate overt and covert racial climates.

Keywords::

• African Americans
• critical race methodology
• critical race theory
• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

Acknowledgments

A special thanks is given to the African American Male Research Initiative at The University of Texas at Austin that supported this research.