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American Sports and Black Athletes, Part 5: The Olympic Boycott - Night Call
(click on title above to listen to program. )

Date:1968-08-09
Length: 59:01 minutes:seconds
Del Shields, (Host) ; Harry Edwards, (Guest) ; Don Newcombe, (Guest) ; Ray Scott, (Guest)
Although the Olympic boycott is the reason for this program, it is much more a conversation about racism in sports and in society. Dr. Harry Edwards (1942- ) was a sociology instructor at San Jose State University when he co-engineered the "Revolt of the Black Athletes"� in 1968. The high point of the protest came two months after this program - at the Mexico City Summer Olympics in October when two athletes shocked the world by protesting against racism and human oppression with a black-gloved fist salute while standing on the winners' podium. Edwards believed race relations were worse in 1968 than at any other time since emancipation. In 1971, Edwards earned his Ph.D. from Cornell and became a sociology professor at the University of California. Edwards retired from the University of California in 2000. Former Major League Baseball pitcher Donald Newcombe also appears on the program. Newcombe (1926- ) played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians. In 1968, he ran a company that trained African-Americans. Also calling in is Ray Scott (1938- ) who had an 11-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA), with the Pistons, Baltimore Bullets, and Virginia Squires.
Topics: Athletics; Civil rights; Olympics; Racism; Radio program
ID: NC0056