Race and sports in the United States

Discussions of race and sports in the United States, where the two subjects have always been intertwined in American history, have focused to a great extent on African Americans. Depending on the type of sport and performance level, African Americans are reported to be over- or under-represented. African Americans compose the highest percentage of the minority groups active at the professional level, but are among those who show the lowest participation overall. And though the list of African Americans in professional sports remains high, it only represents a small fraction of aspiring black athletes. The Journal of African American History’s (JAAH) Special Issue on African American participation in sports in the 19th and 20th centuries demonstrates that African Americans have often used sports to challenge the social subjugation of their communities and stigma of the society.