Our class has been discussing this theme all semester. This is an example of the relationship between race, sports, and society. Sports allows individuals regarded as 'lesser individuals' to enter spaces previously occupied by people regarded as 'the upper echelon' of society.

This will be the theme of this paper. It will examine why 'race' matters when it comes to understanding sports, in particular, and society, in general. In addition, it will examine the world through the prism of race.

How did sports originate? Sports was a way in which individuals could relax and get away from the daily grinds of life in the late 19th and early 20th century. The most popular sports were baseball and boxing. These sports allowed 'blue-collar' workers to socialize and have a good time.

Since they allowed Jackie Robinson to play baseball, he was always in the media, and society was forced to listen to him. He became the voice of African-Americans. Robinson was not just a novelty act for baseball. He was good as a very talented baseball player. He won "Rookie of the Year" honors among other achievements as a professional baseball player.

Joe Louis was the first African-American to gain notoriety from every caste in society in the boxing profession. However, no boxer was ever influential as the great Muhammad Ali. Ali was a gifted fighter and orator. He was very articulate to the media, and Whites and Blacks adored him. This was very important. Like Robinson, Ali used his public visibility to help his people have a better life in America. He spoke out against the Vietnam War and he was a leader in Civil Rights Movement.

As mentioned in the above paragraph, baseball and boxing were the two most popular sports during this era. These were sociable events, which were limited to Whites. Society did not want to allow any African-Americans enter into the sports arena because it would give African-Americans a window of opportunity to enter in to other spaces, and Whites did not want this to happen. Let's examine these two particular sports.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1097
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)