Globetrotting: African American Athletes and Cold War Politics

2. “Spreading the Gospel of Basketball”: The Harlem Globetrotters, the State Department, and the Minstrel Tradition, 1945–54

2. “Spreading the Gospel of Basketball” The Harlem Globetrotters, the State Department, and the Minstrel Tradition, 1945–54 James Michener, the noted Pulitzer Prize–winning author, was an acclaimed writer whose work reflected his conviction that writers should commit themselves to addressing social issues because they were the “conscience ” of the nation. To that end, in his 1975 nonfiction work Sports in America, Michener revealed how a Harlem Globetrotters game forced him to reconsider his long-standing support for the notion that African American success in sports alleviated racial inequality. Michener began the chapter “Sports and Upward Escalation” by acknowledging that he had been taught and readily accepted the argument that sports were “the salvation of the black race . . . the highroad to upward escalation, the way he will escape from the ghetto.” For Michener, the previous success of Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, and others had proved two contentious points: in the sporting arena, African Americans thrived or failed solely based on their individual merit; and access to careers in athletics meant that social mobility was attainable for the masses of African Americans. In Sports in America, Michener recounted a conversation with a colleague that challenged his understanding of sports as a viable vehicle through which to pursue the American Dream for African Americans. His unnamed counterpart, a sociologist, disagreed with Michener’s perspective and countered Michener’s arguments by saying, “All you’re saying is that if a young Negro has superhuman capacities . . . he can win the normal decencies that the ordinary white man takes for granted. We’ll have no social justice in this country until the day when an orThomas_Text .indd 41 7/22/12 10:07 AM 42 Chapter two dinary Negro with a ninth-grade education and no outstanding skills, has full equality.” Michener momentarily pondered this position, but quickly dismissed the sociologist as a known troublemaker and potential communist.1 Despite Michener’s dismissive words, this encounter had a profound impact upon him. Shortly after this exchange, James Michener attended a Harlem Globetrotters game in Hawaii. He laughed as the all-black team made fools of their white opponents and the white referee. Michener was amused by the trick basketball that contained a heavy weight inside the bladder, which caused the ball to bounce at unnatural angles. As he laughed and applauded, Michener noticed the troubling facial expressions of one of the Globetrotter players who sat on the bench. For the first time, he saw the face of a black man who seemed to find the team’s antics unpleasant and distasteful. Immediately, he tried to understand the evening’s game from the standpoint of that particular player. Michener began to see the Globetrotters’ antics as validating widespread racist notions that African Americans were lazy, gangling, sly, and given to wild bursts of laughter. As he left the arena, he concluded that the team’s racial message was “despicable.” Michener began the evening cheering, but by the end of the game, he supported the notion that the Harlem Globetrotters did more damage than good because they “deepened the stereotype of the lovable, irresponsible Negro,” a notion that dominated the American minstrel tradition and had profound implications for the Globetrotters’ comedy routines. Globetrotter players whose talents were, in many cases, equal to those of white professionals were reduced to earning a living by exhibiting derogatory stereotypes that had been propagated to disparage African Americans. Michener’s insights are important because they highlight several meaningful interpretations of the Harlem Globetrotters during the 1950s. First, he demonstrates how the Globetrotters had to cater to dominate racist ideas regarding African Americans to maintain their financial viability. Second, Michener’s account demonstrates the privileged role of sport in the national imaginary and discussions of race. Third, by beginning his account on the role of sport in race relations with a discussion of the Globetrotters , Michener acknowledged the importance of the Globetrotters in the larger discussions of race relations. Fourth, Michener’s self-reflection is consistent with the reassessment that many whites experienced as they reexamined long-standing assumptions regarding African Americans as the civil rights movement dominated the American social and political landscape. And, finally, the facial expressions of the troubled GlobetrotThomas_Text .indd 42 7/22/12 10:07 AM “Spreading the Gospel of Basketball” 43 ter and, by omission, the seemingly contented facial expressions of other members of the Globetrotters entourage hinted at the contentious...