Historical patterns, sociological aspects, and impact of Racial segregation
Racial segregation has existed since time immemorial and is still prevalent in society today. In the United States, the people who often fall at the receiving end of racial segregation are African Americans. From the workplaces and the judicial system to sports, the black minority population has faced racism over the years from all corners of the predominantly white society. As a result of racial profiling, African Americans have not been able to rise to their highest potentials. With so many obstacles barring them from taking advantage of available opportunities, African Americans have been turned into spectators rather than participants in a fast-paced world. Even though talented, intelligent, and just as capable as their white counterparts, the color issue has always remained constant when it comes to making opportunities available for African Americans. This color issue has mainly been rampant in the world of sports, where for the longest time possible African Americans could not participate in some sports because of their color. In this paper, several sociologists attempt to address the issue of segregation, highlighting its historical patterns, sociological aspects, and impact.
Studies reveal a typical pattern of agreement amongst sociologists and researchers about racial segregation in the world of sports. Racism against people of color has been a prevalent issue throughout the history of sports. Sociologist agrees that racism has been more prevalent in some sports such as baseball than in others like basketball, where African Americans have proved their prowess over and again, making it challenging to alienate them completely. Additionally, sociologists agree that even in the 21st century, racism is still a factor that hinders African Americans from participating in sports and reaching their highest potentials. All the authors highlighted in this paper seem to approach the topic from a sociological point of view. Generally, the authors agree about the existence of racial segregation in sport and also agree that the vice has existed for the longest time possible.
The story of Jackie Robinson is perhaps one of the most relevant examples of racial segregation in the history of sports. According to Kashatus (03), in his pursuit of greatness in a sport not meant for people of color, Robinson endured several incidences of humiliating treatment from fans and opposing players, racial slurs, and even death threats. Even though he channeled his anger and frustration to the field with the aim of becoming the best player that ever was, the painful emotions he had to deal with led to chronic stomach problems, greying hair, sleepless nights and eventually a premature death at the age of fifty three (Kashatus 03). Using a multidimensional questionnaire, Laveist confirms a strong relationship between racial segregation and high mortality rates amongst African Americans. According to LaVeist (34), discrimination largely affects the health of the African American population and has led to high cases of premature deaths. The explanation behind this lies in the close connection between mental and physical health. With constant racism meted upon them, African Americans gradually develop a dysfunctional psychological and emotional system. Consequently, many African American athletes experience health complications and therefore die prematurely.
Both Popescu et al. and Cooper address the issue of racial segregation in sports from a broader point of view. Popescu highlights the socioeconomic disparities between the white people and the African Americans, which creates a basis for the racism observed in sports. Popescu also addresses the role of residential segregation in sports segregation. Locality, in this case, has a lot to do with the sporting activities African Americans participate. The residential issue explains why it is difficult to identify an African American in the golf sport, or other sports played in upper-class neighbourhoods. Cooper reiterates this point by highlighting the close relationship between economic stratification and participation in different types of sports. A sport such as golf is expensive to play or attain membership. This makes it an upper-class sport only available to specific neighbourhoods (Cooper 168). Most importantly, African American sportsmen and women have recognized the racial disparities that exist in the sporting world and have taken up activism to raise awareness and bring racial discrimination to a stop both in the field tracks and in everyday life of the African American people. Cooper posits that an understanding of racial segregation from a broader point of view is essential because it provides insights about segregation in sports and how athletes can get involved in putting to a stop the several incidences of discrimination that still exist today.
Demas Lane reflects on the historical patterns of racism in sports, arguing that racism emerged in the 19th century and has continued to this era. Lanes assert that segregation in sports today has a lot to do with the historical incidences of racism. He takes a pathos approach to evoke feelings of empathy and sympathy for the past and present victims of segregation. Lanes explore various personalities in the past who, despite their talents and remarkable sporting skills, were barred from participating in sports because of their skin color. The formation of the famous Negroes League has its roots in extreme racism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite their talent and skills, African Americans could not participate in baseball. Their participation would mean the audiences walked out, or the sporting industry faced intense criticism (Demas, 1054). Reese, on the other hand, takes a more logical approach to racism in sports, arguing that racism in sports arises from the lack of integration between sports and society at large. In simpler terms, sports tends to occur as an individual entity rather than a part of the social world (Reese 17). This lack of social integration has resulted in racial discrimination that has seen some sports become dominated by white people as African Americans and other races dominate others. Sports should be treated as an aspect of human social life rather than an institution that exists on its own. This way, discrimination in sports can be minimized.
Racial segregation in sports has been present in the United States since the 19th century. It has seen many African Americans remain in the shadows or shy away from sports they are skilled and talented enough to participate in. Segregation in sports springs from a deeply rooted societal issue Mainly, this is from the disregard of people based on color, a factor that has foreseen blacks labelled as more capable and competent as their white counterparts. Racial segregation in sports also springs from the social boundaries existing between the white and black populations. Since these two groups belong to different residential settlements, they are exposed to different kinds of sports altogether. Residential segregation has led to many people attaching color to a sport and vice versa. Importantly, discrimination doesn’t end with the discriminatory act. It affects the victim both mentally and psychologically. More often than not, such psychological torture results in other health problems and complications, shortening the lifespans of many African Americans sportspeople. African Americans have today joined forces to become activists with an agenda to put a stop to the many incidences of racial segregation that exist in the world of sports today. One workable solution for racial segregation in sport lies in the integration of sports and society instead of treating the former as a single entity that doesn’t need a social touch to it.