This episode explores the integration of college basketball in the South, including the landmark legal events which shaped this change and the challenges these trailblazing black athletes overcame.
James Cash, the first black basketball player in The Southwest Conference, poses with his reliable hook shot.
Chris Vescovo
Chris Vescovo is a geography major from Austin, Texas.
Ezra Dotson-Oyetade
Ezra Dotson-Oyetade is a psychology major from Garland, Texas.
Sources
Guridy, Frank Andre. The Sports Revolution: How Texas changed the Culture of American Athletics. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2023.
Martin, Charles H. Benching Jim Crow: The rise and fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890-1980. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2010.
Martin, Charles H. “Jim Crow in the Gymnasium: The Integration of College Basketball in the American South.” The International Journal of the History of Sport 10, no. 1 (April 1993): 68–86.
Wiggins, David K. “The Future of College Athletics Is at Stake: Black Athletes and Racial Turmoil on Three Predominantly White University Campuses.” Journal of Sport History 15, no. 3 (1988): 304–33.
“Campus Remains Calm with Total Integration.” The Skiff, February 4, 1964.
“Town Students Praise Change.” The Skiff, May 13, 1969.
“Black Brotherhoods to Activate in Fall.” The Skiff, August 31, 1971.
“Walkout Spurs Black Outcry.” The Skiff, February 5, 1971.
“Answer in Sight for Black Woes?.” The Skiff, February 9, 1971.
Bulpett, Steve. “Celtic Part-Owner James Cash Sees Light in the Long Social Justice Tunnel.” Boston Herald, June 21, 2020.
Cooke, Sam. “A Change Is Gonna Come.” *Ain’t That Good News*, RCA Victor, Youtube, 1964.
The Temptations. “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today).” On *Greatest Hits II*. Detroit: Gordy, Youtube, 1970.
McGuire, Barry. “Eve of Destruction.” On *Eve of Destruction*. Los Angeles: Dunhill, Youtube, 1965.
Gaye, Marvin. “What’s Going On”. Tamla, Youtube, 1971.
Our Expert
Dr. Charles H. Martin is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Texas at El Paso. He received his M.A. and Ph.D from Tulane University and his B.A. from Texas A&I University. He specializes in Recent United States History, Texas History, Civil Rights History, and Sports History. He is an expert on the integration of college sports in the American South and is the author of Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports.