Thread: Forty Million Dollar Slaves

"40 Million Dollar Slaves"
Date: 7/27/2006
"Slaves" would seem to be a dubious label for athletes making millions of dollars for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that applying the term to men earning monstrous salaries potentially diminishes our appreciation of the suffering of people who worked their entire lives without owning their labor or themselves.

On the other hand, "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" is a title that's sure to get one's attention, and maybe that's excuse enough for using it, because much of what William C. Rhoden has to say in the book merits consideration.

One of Rhoden's contentions is that many of the African Americans who benefit from employment as pro athletes have sacrificed whatever social conscience they might have had to the goal of maximizing their own profits. Exhibit A, Rhoden says, is Michael Jordan, who has steadfastly refused to take sides on any issue because, as he once said, "Republicans buy sneakers, too." In a country where an individual's value is measured in great part by income, Jordan fits right in, of course, but Rhoden calls for contemporary athletes to work together and pool their resources to change a system that often renders even the wealthiest of them submissive. As Rhoden puts it, "today the slave and the plantation describe a state of mind and the conditioning of the mind."

"Forty Million Dollar Slaves" is an ambitious book. William Rhoden explores the history of participation by African Americans in sports ranging from horse racing to baseball, and he's not reluctant to view even the icons in original ways. For example, though he gives Jackie Robinson credit for integrating Major League Baseball and learning from his experience that Black athletes could not count on the white establishment to welcome them into the front office, he also laments the way the assimilation of Robinson and the other Black pioneers who played in the Majors in the late '40's and early '50's effectively killed off the Negro Leagues, which featured Black ownership and management. In a better world, Rhoden maintains, Robinson might have lobbied for the inclusion of the Kansas City Monarchs in the Major Leagues, rather than accepting the gradual integration of individual teams.

In the epilogue of "Forty Million Dollar Slaves", Rhoden poses a question: "What constitutes winning for African American athletes in the twenty first century?" The goal, he suggests, "is moveable," but asking the question demonstrates his frustration with the current circumstances of the multi-millionaire basketball, baseball, and football players who frame the answer in terms personal wealth and celebrity. It's only too bad that he limits his criticism and his plan for a future featuring more collective, progressive action to athletes who are African American. The great adventure of waking up to a world in which they can be less selfish and more creative shouldn't be limited athletes of any particular race or color, or to athletes at all, for that matter.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

Forty Million Dollar Slaves





















$40 Million Slaves : The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
By William C. Rhoden
Crown. $23.95
Sports, for some, represent the best in humanity, where talent and muscle can transcend difference and prejudice: Jackie Robinson, Muhammed Ali, Althea Gibson—pioneers whose accomplishments beyond sports are legend. But these legends, says William Rhoden in Forty Million Dollar Slave may be just that, amounting to a crutch for modern day race relations. A New York Times sports columnist for decades, Rhoden chronicles a sweaty history that has meant wealth but not always progress, and prosperity for the black athlete—the $40 million slave—who is far from free.
Rhoden gives the bench players of history their due. Like Arthur "Rube" Foster who created baseball's Negro League in 1920, which still stands as the only sports operation owned, managed and played by blacks. Says Rhoden, "Integration in sports—as opposed to integration at the ballot box or in public conveyances—was a winning proposition for the whites who controlled the sports industrial complex." Foster was a pioneer of a different sort, "an uncomprising guiding light," ultimately undone by a nervous breakdown in 1926.
Today's legends, those with perceived "black power," like the deified Michael Jordan, seldom wield it. "What [Jordan] did to inspire the multitudes—that core of black people estranged from power, the seemingly permanent underclass—beyond hitting game winning jump shots, is hard to find," Rhoden writes.
Peppered with historical gems and did-you-knows, 40 Million Dollar Slaves weaves together the twin strands of innovation and struggle that today define adrenaline-filled arenas. Jackie Robinson actually integrated baseball in Canada, signing with Montreal in 1945, (the Dodgers bought his contract in 1947). The alley-oop was actually a football invention and horseracing and cycling were once dominated by African Americans.
It's the unsung heroes from Robert Molineaux to Foster to Curt Flood, dozens of stories of men (nearly all) whom we don’t know precisely because they sought change and often lost. And thus today Americans, of all races, pour $34 billion a year into sports—from ticket sales to merchandise—while just a sliver of those revenues go to the "black muscle" that creates it, and next to nothing goes into the communities from whence that muscle came.





Discuss

Some blacks should be hung...

I become more racist everyday because of shit like this.

Originally Posted by KelJu

I become more racist everyday because of shit like this.

Originally Posted by KelJu

I become more racist everyday because of shit like this.

I think your "all people are shit" theory is the best one of all...

I wish I could be a media slave for 40 million dollars.

For taking money that's given to them? I would be Foremans slave for 5 million.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

For taking money that's given to them? I would be Foremans slave for 5 million.

I'm Foreman's slave for free.

Originally Posted by BigDyl

I'm Foreman's slave for free.

Originally Posted by min0 lee

For taking money that's given to them? I would be Foremans slave for 5 million.

One of Rhoden's contentions is that many of the African Americans who benefit from employment as pro athletes have sacrificed whatever social conscience they might have had to the goal of maximizing their own profits.

This is common with most folks. Most people are working, raising families, and trying to have some fun in between.

Before the multi-millionaire athleates were this rich, were they activists? Were they in the communities working to make things better?

NO.

My point is, social activism is not for everyone.

Being a professional athlete is a job, just like any other job. Of cousse it pays a lot more, and there is the public spotlight. But because a few people have these professional sports jobs, is doesn't mean they are obligated to be social or political activists.

As for 40 million dollars "slaves."

Look at what businesses can be created with this money.
Look at what investments in local companies can be made.
Look at what organizations can be created, invested in, or promoted.

A lot can be done with this money if an individual chooses to want to do it.

And skin color, religions, or background, should not mean one is obligated or not obligated to do so.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

Shit that's a sexy bitch! If I ever get married, tha bitch is gone have to be mix.

Originally Posted by ForemanRules

"40 Million Dollar Slaves"
Date: 7/27/2006
"Slaves" would seem to be a dubious label for athletes making millions of dollars for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that applying the term to men earning monstrous salaries potentially diminishes our appreciation of the suffering of people who worked their entire lives without owning their labor or themselves.

On the other hand, "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" is a title that's sure to get one's attention, and maybe that's excuse enough for using it, because much of what William C. Rhoden has to say in the book merits consideration.

One of Rhoden's contentions is that many of the African Americans who benefit from employment as pro athletes have sacrificed whatever social conscience they might have had to the goal of maximizing their own profits. Exhibit A, Rhoden says, is Michael Jordan, who has steadfastly refused to take sides on any issue because, as he once said, "Republicans buy sneakers, too." In a country where an individual's value is measured in great part by income, Jordan fits right in, of course, but Rhoden calls for contemporary athletes to work together and pool their resources to change a system that often renders even the wealthiest of them submissive. As Rhoden puts it, "today the slave and the plantation describe a state of mind and the conditioning of the mind."

"Forty Million Dollar Slaves" is an ambitious book. William Rhoden explores the history of participation by African Americans in sports ranging from horse racing to baseball, and he's not reluctant to view even the icons in original ways. For example, though he gives Jackie Robinson credit for integrating Major League Baseball and learning from his experience that Black athletes could not count on the white establishment to welcome them into the front office, he also laments the way the assimilation of Robinson and the other Black pioneers who played in the Majors in the late '40's and early '50's effectively killed off the Negro Leagues, which featured Black ownership and management. In a better world, Rhoden maintains, Robinson might have lobbied for the inclusion of the Kansas City Monarchs in the Major Leagues, rather than accepting the gradual integration of individual teams.

In the epilogue of "Forty Million Dollar Slaves", Rhoden poses a question: "What constitutes winning for African American athletes in the twenty first century?" The goal, he suggests, "is moveable," but asking the question demonstrates his frustration with the current circumstances of the multi-millionaire basketball, baseball, and football players who frame the answer in terms personal wealth and celebrity. It's only too bad that he limits his criticism and his plan for a future featuring more collective, progressive action to athletes who are African American. The great adventure of waking up to a world in which they can be less selfish and more creative shouldn't be limited athletes of any particular race or color, or to athletes at all, for that matter.

I didnt read all of this bullshit, but I hope their now saying that athletes should give money back to the community? I really dont understand (or care) about what this bitch is saying. People do what the fuck they want to with they money Black or White. And whoever agrees with this article is a stupid pathetic muthafucker that needs to be killed 19th century Russian style with a horse tide to each arm going the opposite direction.

Originally Posted by Mr_Snafu

This is common with most folks. Most people are working, raising families, and trying to have some fun in between.

Before the multi-millionaire athleates were this rich, were they activists? Were they in the communities working to make things better?

NO.

My point is, social activism is not for everyone.

Being a professional athlete is a job, just like any other job. Of cousse it pays a lot more, and there is the public spotlight. But because a few people have these professional sports jobs, is doesn't mean they are obligated to be social or political activists.

As for 40 million dollars "slaves."

Look at what businesses can be created with this money.
Look at what investments in local companies can be made.
Look at what organizations can be created, invested in, or promoted.

A lot can be done with this money if an individual chooses to want to do it.

And skin color, religions, or background, should not mean one is obligated or not obligated to do so.

I dont like you, but you really made some good points.

Originally Posted by KelJu

I become more racist everyday because of shit like this.

You are this sites new most stupidest muthafucker! Nobody is entited to help anyone

Originally Posted by god hand

You are this sites new most stupidest muthafucker! Nobody is entited to help anyone

No, they're not entitled too. It's called kindness though. If I had the kind of money some of these athletes had I'd gladly hand some over to the less fortunate.

Originally Posted by JordanMang

No, they're not entitled too. It's called kindness though. If I had the kind of money some of these athletes had I'd gladly hand some over to the less fortunate.

HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA HA

And this is coming from a white person! Ya all white rich people give their money away only the evil no good negros keep all the money to themselves! LMAO! THe United States of America, it gets worse every year

The fucker in my sig make millions a year why? Because he can do what most cant! 40 million dollar slaves lmao! How bout their 400 million dollar owners? Rich people waste their money! Its made to be spent not given away! White rich people know how to waste thier money, ever watch extra or access hollywood?

Now I'm a stupid muthafucker, but damn theirs some stupid people on this site

Originally Posted by god hand

Ya all white rich people give their money away only the evil no good negros keep all the money to themselves! LMAO! THe United States of America, it gets worse every year

That's false. Negros give all their money to jewelers and General Motors.

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

Yup! Youre a stupid White American.

Originally Posted by god hand

Yup! Youre my favorite White American.

Why thank you! And all this time I was told that the truth hurts!

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

That's false. Negros give all their money to jewelers and General Motors.

Okay what's your point? is that the reason why your racist!?

Originally Posted by god hand

Okay what's your point?

Nothing really, I just figured I'd shed some light on a "dark" situation.

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

Nothing really, I just figured I'd shed some light on a "dark" situation.

Your mayo pale ass isnt going to shed light on anything. Now go out and get skin cancer by trying to make yourself look darker

Originally Posted by god hand

Your mayo pale ass isnt going to shed light on anything. Now go out and get skin cancer by trying to make yourself look darker

Ok?

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

Ok?

Ok get one bitch you need it.

Originally Posted by god hand

Ok get one bitch you need it.

And to think, that's the last face you'll see before waking in the ER.

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

And to think, that's the last face you'll see before waking in the ER.

That's the reason I'd be walking in the ER