William C. Rhoden

Even after more than a decade, “Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete” is still a serviceable book about the challenges and adversity black athletes faced throughout history and continue to face as they churn through the merciless, mostly white-owned machinations of pro-sports. Is the book insightful and interesting? Definitely. Is it a page-turner? Not really. Reading this felt a bit like a necessary chore. And, I feel like Rhoden is a little unfair in his criticism of the ignorant aspiring black athlete, who he believes should know more about their predecessors. And, he laments the lack of coverage of black women in sports only to spend a single chapter of his book on the topic. Despite it’s flaws, this book provides some valuable historical context about the black athlete – especially in a time when figures like Lebron and Kaepernick are heckled to just “shut up and play the game.”… (meer)