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Friday, October 19, 2007

Speaking of Race Politics…

posted by on October 19 at 16:22 PM

People were a lot more enlightened in the 1970s … or at least less uptight.

Remember the whole big deal about the first black coach to win a super bowl thing earlier this year— which I bitched about at the time.

Well, this little history lesson from the 1970s puts all the self-congratulatory, self-conscious (and doth protest too much) Super Bowl ‘41 hype in perspective. Once upon a time, people didn’t feel compelled to posture about this stuff.

Dig me some 1975:

Courtesy, Bullets Forever.

RSS icon Comments

1

"People were a lot more enlightened in the 1970s … or at least less uptight."

Whatever.

Black men were still being lynched in Georgia for being with a white woman in a car after dark. But if two black NBA head coaches makes you feel all misty eyed about the past, go for it.

Posted by Big Sven | October 19, 2007 4:42 PM
2

Right on, right on.

Posted by Nicolae White | October 19, 2007 4:42 PM
3

Josh,
We are all so impressed with your hipster interest in race, sports and jazz.

But this doesn't make you any taller.

Posted by I'm impressed | October 19, 2007 4:51 PM
4

Sorry, I was living in BC at the time. My next door neighbor was black, but it was only when we went on field trips to the US that his skin color was a big deal.

Mind you, his family had lived in Canada for a couple of hundred years.

Posted by Will in Seattle | October 19, 2007 5:21 PM
5

It was nice to see Wes Unseld. And was that Jamaal Wilkes on that sweet pullup?
I grew up watching Willis Reed and Wes Unseld bang in the low post, every kid on the block had to have a spin like Earl Monroe, kick their legs like Dick Barnett, and nobody would shoot underhand free throws like Rick Barry. When the Ice-man came along, everybody had to get a finger roll too. And that's right, no hype about black coaches. Although it seemed most coaches were guys like Red Holzman.

Posted by Michael McGinn | October 19, 2007 8:51 PM

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