{"product_id":"playing-for-power-black-resistance-in-amateur-basketball-and-football-in-jim-crow-virginia-9780817362102","title":"Playing for Power: Black Resistance in Amateur Basketball and Football in Jim Crow Virginia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eReveals the role of amateur Black football and basketball in Virginia before integration as a form of resistance to white supremacy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In \u003ci\u003ePlaying for Power\u003c\/i\u003e, Marvin T. Chiles offers a fascinating account of amateur sports in Jim Crow Virginia, revealing how, in addition to churches, workspaces, and civil rights organizations, sports were also a key arena for Black resistance to white supremacy. Drawing from a rich trove of primary sources, Chiles recounts the development of Black football and basketball culture at the high school and college levels in Virginia from the 1890s to the early 1970s. Looking beyond their role as leisure pastimes, Chiles demonstrates how amateur sports strengthened education, neutralized class divisions, shaped Black masculinity, mentored Black male leadership, cultivated race pride, and reflected Black desires for urban modernity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Illuminating the ways Black athletes created a world that pushed for racial progress through objective, meritocratic achievement anchored by masculine leadership and institutional success, \u003ci\u003ePlaying for Power\u003c\/i\u003e traces how amateur sports coalesced into a key cultural institution that fostered Black Virginians' collective sense of community, achievement, and purpose during segregation, cornerstones of later advances in the Civil Rights Movement. \u003ci\u003ePlaying for Power\u003c\/i\u003e also contributes to a larger understanding of sports history and how amateur sports became favorite American spectacles and markers of Southern identity. Chiles's groundbreaking work will interest historians, scholars, and individuals interested in the intersection of sports and civil rights and the history of Black sports during the Jim Crow era. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarvin T. Chiles\u003c\/b\u003e is associate professor of African American history at Old Dominion University. Chiles is author of \u003ci\u003eThe Struggle to Change: Race and the Politics of Reconciliation in Modern Richmond\u003c\/i\u003e. He serves on the editorial board for the \u003ci\u003eJournal of African American Studies\u003c\/i\u003e and the board of directors for the Virginia Forum.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University Alabama Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51454016815378,"sku":"9780817362102","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7324e6bf-d043-4cf3-85bf-36168bc259a3.jpg?v=1751991298","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/playing-for-power-black-resistance-in-amateur-basketball-and-football-in-jim-crow-virginia-9780817362102","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}