Customer Reviews

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete

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Rhoden's aim in this finely written and very readable screed is to explore the African American star athlete's paradoxical dilemma: On one hand, he is worshipped for his athletic prowess and is lavished with millions of dollars. On the other hand, he is beholden to white team owners, white league administrators, and as such is limited to the role of a super-paid lackey.

Some reviewers object to the slavery analogy and the exodus from the plantation to the Promised Land that is heavily used in Rhoden's argument. But Rhoden is correct to point out that the slavery is both spiritual and power-based. Spiritual because too many African American athletes, Rhoden charges, are so busy micromanaging their careers that they have no sense of the broader context, of African American history (one star athlete was shocked with disbelief when he discovered that blacks were once banned from Major League Baseball). Power-based because too many blacks are relegated to "black" roles and forget the larger mission of making more opportunities for blacks in positions of privilege.

Whether or not you agree with Rhoden's analogy, I would argue that the book is nevertheless very readable and entertaining, giving us powerful narratives of how black men, starting with the emancipated slave fighter Tom Molineaux, left America to fight the English champion Tom Cribb and showed whites that blacks' athletic performance defied stereotypes about being dense, ignorant, maladroit, etc. By studying Molineaux, Ali, and other African American greats, Rhoden shows how black athletes who see themselves as symbols of black power help forge the way for other black athletes.

On a personal note, Rhoden, an African American, explains in his own life growing up in Chigaco in the 1950s and 1960s, that sports are a great avenue for learning about race and American history. I am no exception. As a child, I loved Hank Aaron and one day as I read about the way he was bullied and denied white restaurants and hotels, I got a bitter taste of what this country was like for people of color and contemplated the hideous color divide.

Sports is a powerful metaphorical arena for talking about race and Rhoden has done an exemplary job of developing that metaphor in a book that is always engaging and provocative.

Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete
by journalist William C. Rhoden gives a no-holds barred, unadulterated low-down about highly paid black athletes and the juxtaposition of slavery. How did Rhoden come to the conclusion that most Black athletes are highly paid slaves? He starts off methodically detailing the history of African Americans sports dating back to the plantation when slaves were a commodity; property to be used for entertainment as well as labor. Plantation owners would stage fights between slaves from different plantations as weekend amusement. Slaves also became jockeys to plantation owners who owned horses. This became a lucrative business and Black jockeys earned huge payoffs for their owners as well as for themselves on into Reconstruction and into the early 1900s. Blacks dominated horse racing but they were literally squeezed out of the market by greed, jealousy and blatant racism.

Rhoden also details the rise and fall of the Negro Leagues and the tragedy of Arthur "Rube" Foster, who sacrificed everything in the 1930s to organize Black ownership of baseball teams and to give due respect to black baseball players who were unable to play in the major leagues. Ironically, integration saw the end of the Negro Leagues when prime players such as Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige went to the majors. Rhoden goes on to chronicle the early days of football and basketball. He recounts pioneers in both fields, including Paul Robeson of Rutgers and Raymond Chester of Morgan State and then the Oakland Raiders. It was not until the early 1970s that Southern colleges began recruiting Black football players; at one time the NBA was almost all-white.

Rhoden contends that our young Black athletes, high school, college and professional, lack knowledge of their history in general, and the history of African Americans in sports, in particular. He cites this disconnect for not only the negative, destructive behavior that many of them indulge in but the apathy and lack of political noninvolvement and racial pride. Where are the young Muhammad Alis? But it is the Benjamins that are the prize at the end of the day. Poor inner-city or southern rural Black kids who show exceptional athletic talent become a victim of the "Conveyor Belt." A system, by which they are prepped, coddled and many times exploited at early ages on into high school and college with the main goal to snag the million dollar contracts and lucrative endorsement deals. Who would not want this? But at what cost? Even with all the money Black athletes command, there is still a lacking in coaching, those in top management and almost nil in Black team ownership with the exception of Robert Johnson of the Charlotte Bobcats. Also notable are the few African American sports journalists working to shape and control our image and the lack of exposure to Black agents, attorneys and other specialists to these new multimillionaires.

Kellen Winslow Sr., now an attorney, was a former college football star and played pro for several years and is now in the Hall of Fame. Because he went through the Conveyor Belt, he was able to advocate for his son, Kellen Jr. when the college scouts came courting. He speaks candidly about how college scouts will try to divide the child and parents. He refused to let this happen, often butting heads with his son over where he would go to college. Winslow maintains though that most Black kids do not have a parent, most specifically a father, who will run interference in these matters.

One of the most profound chapters is "The River Jordan: The Dilemma of Neutrality."
Rhoden shows disappointment, hurt, an almost aversion to the beloved Michael Jordan. Jordan's apathy towards Black causes and his neutral stance was a topic of debate when Marcus Book Club met to discuss this book. The members however, came to the agreement that to whom much is given, much is expected and cited Magic Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo as excellent examples of those giving back to their communities. This book is a must-read, especially for young people, both young men and young women and their parents. The history is invaluable and the subject is timely. This is a keeper in one's African American library.

Dera R. Williams
Marcus Book Club (Oakland)
APOOO BookClub

Many other reviewers have noted that William Rhoden's basic premise is thought-provoking and well-argued. I agree. But Rhoden makes his point with a ton of repetition and a great deal of exaggeration -- thus weakening a well-researched and deeply-felt book.

From my perspective, Rhoden's most interesting point is about the integration of major college and professional sports in the 1950s-1960s. While integration is portrayed as an almost purely beneficial act, Rhoden shows that integration in this case meant absorption of the entire black sports infrastructure -- which created some negative consequences.

However, while I agree with this line of argument, Rhoden takes it too far. He basically says that integration had no positive effects for the black community, which is preposterous. And he cites statistics that don't seem to support his contention. For example, he writes that blacks filled 10% of NCAA sports administrative positions at major colleges in the 1990s. But blacks are 13% of the population, so what's the problem? The number doesn't seem far offline to me.

Thus, Rhoden's constant refrain about the "racist sports-industrial complex" (his phrase) is a little hard to believe. Pretty much everyone at the time thought integration was a good idea. And it's far from clear that not having a great football team at Morgan State University (where Rhoden played) today is the reason that inner-city Baltimore is a hellhole. I think there are bigger factors.

So, read the book and learn from William Rhoden. But you can read the first half of each chapter and skip the second half, which is usually a rehash (often with the exact same phrases and sentences).

Overall, this is a very good book. As a bookworm since childhood, I've never been a big sports fan (Ali aisde as I'm a 70s child), but I am a historian by profession so I enjoyed that aspect of the book.

Mr. Rhoden gets into some really good information about pioneer Black Athletes as boxer Tom Mollineux, baseball player Moses Fleetwood Walker, cyclist Major Taylor, and Negro League inventor Rube Foster. I've heard of these people, but have not read of their lives with this much depth.

Mr. Rhoden goes on to criticize the modern Black athletes for lacking a sense of history and black nationalism. I understand his frustration and agree from a moral standpoint, but something has to be considered here. Mr. Rhoden and the Black baby boomers came of age during the civil rights movement and the rise of Black nationalism. Its understandable, but not really realistic to expect marginally educated athletes born long after the fact to fully undertstand such things. Actually, its just as well that some of them don't speak out, as poorly informed individuals with a platform can do a lot of damage and cause major confusion among the public by speaking out on important issues that they really know little-to-nothing about (as was the case of some so-called "conscious rappers" of the early 90s). With that said, it WOULD do some of the young black athletes who are more inclined toward serious reading to read this book.

Also, I have to strongly disagree, as I often do with Black Nationalists of his generation, with the glorifying of the Jim Crow era. While I understand that a lot of people feel that we lost out culturally with the end of segregation, growing up in South Carolina in the aftermath of all that makes me say that the bad of Jim Crow far outweighed any good and it is dangerous to encourage any return to this era. One does not need enforced seperation to encourage a sense of group identity.

His argument against Bob Johnson (BET founder and Charlotte Bobcats owner) is far more valid, since Johnson is old enough to have had an appreciation of the struggle to have sold out like he did. It is a sad reminder that we are living in an age of materialism over ideology.

However, Mr. Rhoden's book, even when polemical, is a valuable service and food for thought.

Sportswriter William C. Rhoden offers in "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" a fascinating portrait of the modern African American athlete. He finds that they are well compensated, but that they are forced to confirm to a longstanding meme in society, which of white dominance and control versus black subservience and servitude. In his estimation, modern "athletes have ridden the coattails of protest movements, benefiting from the sacrifices of the [Paul] Robesons and [Jackie] Robinsons and Jim Browns and Muhammad Alis, but have been content to be symbolic markers of progress rather than activists in their own right, pushing progress forward. They have been unwilling to rock the boat" (p. 217).

Rhoden finds that athletes are processed, like so many manufactured products, homogenized "to get along, they learn by inference about the benevolent superiority of the [owners] and enter into a tacit agreement to let the system operate without comment." They learn "to accept the power structure as it is. The young, talented athlete learns about the value of cultivating the far-reaching range of range of affiliations, connections, and alliances that can make the athlete's...journey smooth; he also learns about the kinds of associations and ideas that can make it quite miserable or even terminate it altogether" (p. 194). They learn early on to keep their mouths shut, uttering trite clichés and little more. That is one of the reasons why when an athlete articulates sophisticated criticism of the status quo, regardless of the purpose, it is such a delight to journalists and such a threat to owners and others in the power structure.

From the boxing rings of the early twentieth century with such individuals as Jack Johnson through Jesse Owens, Paul Robeson, and Jackie Robinson to the more recent experiences of Arthur Ashe, Mohammed Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, Kellen Winslow, and John Thompson, "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" explores how everything about modern sports is built around an unwritten agreement that in return for unchallenged authority and excellence on the court or field the black athlete receives wealth and fame. Few question the structure of sports and society, and some even revel in it. Rhoden holds up Michael Jordan as the classic example of one who has been celebrated and enriched through this arrangement. When asked about his response to overt racism expressed by a candidate for Congress in 1990, Jordon responded, "Republicans buy sneakers, too" (p. 201). He did not want to jeopardize his deal with Nike. In contrast, those who question this situation set themselves up for marginalization
Rhoden's work is powerful, provocative, and perceptive. His characterization of the state of sports, the place of athletes, and the nature of the business of sports is illuminating. His conclusion that many African American athletes are willing participants in this system is troubling. I recommend "Forty Million Dollar Slaves" as a thought-provoking treatise on a major aspect of sports and society.

This book enunciates the problems in graduation from the inner city
into the big leagues. Historically, by the late 1890s, black athletes
excelled at an ever increasing rate. Despite the progress made,
the profile of the black athlete stands at the periphery of power
in the sports establishment. This has lead to the loss of an overall
mission, although the psychological armor remains in the achievements
of the black athletes over the years. The author states that the
plantation slaves performed great physical labor. Prior to the 1970s,
segregation was a significant limiting factor. Sojourner Truth
worked on behalf of the black women of the time. Today, there are
multiple tiers of blacks in America. The book provides some very
important historical background; however, the next step is to
turn the capital acquired from the sports into personal wealth .
In addition, an athlete's physical stamina remains until the
mid-30s or early 40s. What does an athlete do when his/her career
has peaked athletically? The book could discuss this aspect in more
depth. For instance, black athletes could graduate into their
own businesses or attend college/further study to branch out into
other careers/ventures. Another important issue regards how the
black athlete invests money for the future.

Overall, the book provides an important perspective relevant to the
black history of athletes in the various sports. As such, it is
a valuable addition to American History in the sports arena.

What a terrific book! Rhoden does his homework and writes a detailed, provocotive history of sports in America and African Americans' unique role in shaping that history. It's important for today's athletes and fans to remember the black sports heroes that "history" forgot: Isaac Murphy, the most celebrated horse racing jockey in the late 1800s, a time when Blacks dominated the sport; Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League and a sports/black entrepreneur with a vigor unrivaled in the 20th century; Curt Flood, the first to challenge baseball's Reserve Clause and start the push for player control and free agency. It is equally important to take note of how Blacks were systematically pushed out of professional sports around the turn of the century, then had their own thriving institutions (HBCUs, Negro Leagues) appropriated and plundered by the dominant white industries when integration came about.

Though this history is painful, it may help to be conscious of it when attempting to reform modern day systems and institutions. Rhoden lays all the facts on the table for you. He only falls short when making recommendations for the future. His suggestion is that black athletes today should organize effectively and unite in the "struggle," a vague term that connotes the fight for control and power, not just wealth. Some questions not addressed in this book, but which a careful reader will no doubt seek answers to are: What off-the-field goals drive and motivate the professional athlete? How prevalent is the desire in the athlete to become a team owner or social change agent? If not athletes, who will be drawn to the ranks of the "new ownership" Rhoden advocates for? How does the history of post-slavery black labor mirror the sports industry? What is the nature of black business and entrepreneurship over time - does it too parallel the black experience in the sports industry? In the wake of Robert Johnson's sale of BET to Viacom, what is the nature of black "corporate responsibility" to some social mission in addition to the bottom line? Is a White-ally style of corporate responsibility able to achieve some of the reforms that the book advocates for? How does public education tie into the "conveyor belt" that mine's black talent from the inner city? What are education and other public and private institutions' roles in helping to reach the "promised land" that Rhoden refers to frequently but never quite defines? How can sports catalyze change for the African American community and other disenfranchised groups?

Check this book, and come up with some questions of your own. It's worth your time. Then, bug Rhoden and get him to write the sequel!

William Rhoden is a throw back to another age. A still passionate believer in African American exceptionalism who sees ill-intended exploitation around every corner. In many cases, perhaps even most, he is right. Other times he sounds like the grumpy old scold who wags his finger at everyone--a Bill Cosby "critic and crank" of those damn ungrateful kids who just don't appreciate the effort of those who blazed trails before them. Regardless of what you think of his premise--I thought it valid but overstated--everyone who cares about sports, politics and race should read and consider his arguments.

The stories of Tom Molineaux and Charles Stewart, both unknown to me, were fascinating. The first nearly captured the world heavyweight boxing title from an Englishmen in the early 19th century, and the latter was a slave/jockey and horse trainer who achieved enormous success, fame and wealth, but never his freedom. Molineaux serves as a sort of African American Adam, the first to answer the Siren allure of sports. His near success but ultimate failure is tarnished by racist crowds, referees and judges. Charles Stewart though respected and compensated for his equestrian abilities, appallingly once arranged his own sale to another racing afficionado, setting up Rhoden's premise for the book--one can be enormously wealthy and still powerless.

Subsequent sections about the Jockey Syndrome and the Negro Baseball Leagues are illuminating and heartbreaking. Early success by former slaves in the sport of kings lead to a backlash in racing. Ruthlessly and systematically African American were excluded from jockey clubs and thereby the race track. It is in this section that Rhoden begins to take his argument too far, suggesting that NBA players like Grant Hill are naive to think it couldn't happen again. While Rhoden is right that the civil rights laws of 1875 were all but overturned by Plessy v. Ferguson, he seems to forget that the Civil Right Act of 1965 and Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka KS replaced them. Furthermore, his argument suggests that NOTHING has changed since the 1880s in this country and an entire white population would stand idly by as African American were systematically marginalized. If Rhoden truly believes that then he must feel like an alien in his own country.

Also, some of the assertions about integration of baseball are just wrong. Branch Rickey's raiding the Negro Leagues for talent had little or nothing to do with race. It had to do with corporate greed that exploits blacks and whites equally and with the same chilling indifference. Baseball needed/wanted new talent to rejuvenate the game. It went to where there was a tremendous untapped pool. Thirty years after Jackie Robinson, expansion required a new infusion of talent and the influx of Hispanics began. Twenty years after that, Asia was tapped. And while the demise of the Negro Leagues may have been a symbolic blow, realistically African American wanted integration as much as white owners. Rhoden points out the Reserve Clause that "enslaved" players existed in both the white and negro games. Is there an advantage to blacks exploiting each other?

A good argument can be made that the integration of African Americans, first in sports and then in entertainment and now at the pinnacle of political power is all part of the same narrative. Rhoden uses biblical quotes throughout his book and I think it appropriate to add a biblical paraphrase: Johnson begat Robinson who begat Oprah who begat Obama. The author's anger at younger athletes, who he thinks (and perhaps rightly so) have sold out, sometimes obscures the arc of African American history which I think is still ascending.

Rhoden has little patience or respect for the likes of the Michael Jordan's of the world. He and perhaps Tiger Woods is held in barely concealed contempt for their tremendous accomplishment as marketers and their failures as role models for African American kids. I did not know that Jordan refused to support Harvey Gant arguing "Republicans buy sneakers too." God if that doesn't depress you, nothing will. Clearly Rhoden's argument merit but again sometimes goes too far. The Jordan-Oprah-Woods ascent in the 80s, 90s and early 00s lead to (some would say Barack Obama) at the end of the last decade. Whether that progress was intended or not, it is real. And it is good.

The best chapter was one that introduced me to an all but forgotten, trail blazing female basketball player named Luisa Harris. How you might wonder does she relate to the also too-little-remembered fiery and magnificent Sojourner Truth? Both have and were marginalized by the power structures of their day. The book is worth the cover price just for a one page speech by ST, bellowing, "Ain't I a woman?!? The correct response? Yes, ma'am.

For those in the media who have written about the book, commented on its contents or have interviewed William C. Rhoden:

1. Did you read the book or the brief excerpts that are typically part of the release sent to possible reviewers?

2. To "stimulate" debate - especially on talk radio - have you simply joked about the book's title in hopes of getting a few callers before the top of the hour news, weather and traffic report?

3. Did you give Mr. Rhoden time to discuss portions of the book or did you simply attempt to debate him based on your ignorance on the contents of the book?

I stongly urge those interested in African American heritage to read Forty Million Dollar Slaves. In under 300 pages, Rhoden packages a wealth of material based on his research, interviews and - importantly - as a black man who came of age during the Black Power movement of the 1960s.

Will every reader agree with Rhoden's historical outlook on the plight of the African American athlete in the white-dominated power structure? No. But it just may be the first time for the reader to be challenged concerning the "conventional" views on race & sports.

Until America confronts the ramifications of slavery, it can never truly be free from the sordid past and the rewriting of history that plagues education today. Rhoden lays down the challenge....and the truth isn't the neat package the mainstream media loves to recite.

Although I am somewhat of a sports fan, and certainly an avid reader, $40 MILLION DOLLAR SLAVES: THE RISE, FALL AND REDEMPTION OF THE BLACK ATHELETE by William Rhoden, is not the kind of book I would ordinarily read, but after hearing about the last 3 minutes worth of debate centered around the book on a sports talk show, it caught my attention. The book is fairly well written, and does accurately credit the advent of black athletes in professional sports, ala Jackie Robinson, with having an enormous impact on civil rights evolution. Rhoden also gives an accurate accounting of the difficulties early black athletes endured making the transition into predominately white professional sports.

That's all well and good and has earned the author two stars in my book. This would have scored higher had it been a rendering of the history of black athletes in America, but the author's liberty in comparing professional athletes to slavery is beyond absurd and is demeaning to generations of blacks who endured the callous, degrading and insufferable institution of slavery. Let's look at the facts here, shall we? Most professional black athletes are privilege to four years of free college education, because of their God given talent. This is an opportunity few people of any race are afforded, and certainly no slaves were ever afforded this luxury. They are then given the utmost in medical attention. Only a miniscule handful of actual slaves ever had the benefit of actually seeing a real doctor just one time in their lives. They retire to labor union pensions amounting to more money annually than most Americans will make in their lifetimes. Sorry, but the Cotton Picker's Union of America never existed!

This whole thing just rubs me the wrong way. Athletes are spoiled rotten. If they don't appreciate the opportunities they are given, and many of them don't, then they are welcome to walk away from it and try earning a living and supporting their families like the rest of the world. Rhoden attempted to show his great compassion for black America by making a politically correct analogy and failed miserably. In the end, his insulting comparison will do far more harm to black athletes than it will do them good by portraying them as being self absorbed and filled with self pity for their `exploitation' in life. Sit down and shut up! There are thousands more black athletes, perhaps not quite as gifted, who would gladly take your place and be treated like slaves.