CVORNYEK BOOKS EXAMINE RACE, ATHLETICS, SOCIAL CHANGE IN BOSTON

Robert Cvornyek, Ph.D., a teaching professor at FSU Panama City, recently co-edited two new books examining how Black athletes in Boston, Mass., contributed to social movements including integration and cultural expression.

“Race and Resistance in Boston: A Contested Sports History” (University of Nebraska Press, January 2025, available for pre-order at Amazon.com) and “Boston’s Black Athletes: Identity, Performance and Activism” (Lexington Books, July 2024), were both co-edited with Douglas Stark, a consultant and museum director at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

Richard E. Lapchick, president of the Institute for Sport and Social Justice, called the former title “a must-read for anyone who wants to go deep into the issue of race and sport and how they intersect with society.” He added that the editors and contributors explore “the subject of how racism affects sport, but also show how sport can be used to bring people together across racial and economic divides.”

Generations of Black athletes, teams, sports writers and others have exercised influence in Boston over the years as they advocated for racial integration and transformed their sports into modes of racial pride, resistance and cultural expression, Cvornyek said. Going beyond familiar teams like the Red Sox and Celtics, “Race and Resistance in Boston” takes a closer look at Black Bostonians’ involvement in sports as varied as soccer, cricket, boxing, baseball, golf, tennis, basketball and hockey.

According to Cvornyek, sport often mirrored the racial climate of the time, but it also informed and encouraged equality on and off the field and “represented a challenge to the city’s liberal image.”

Meanwhile, “Boston's Black Athletes” interprets Boston’s contested racial history through the diverse experiences of the city’s African American sports figures who directed their talent toward the struggle for social justice. The book’s 13 contributors explore a variety of representative athletes—such as Kittie Knox, Louise Stokes and Medina Dixon—who negotiated Boston’s racial boundaries during the 19th and 20th centuries to demonstrate the city’s long and troubled racial history.

“In recounting the struggles and triumphs of these individuals, this book amplifies their stories and reminds readers that Boston’s Black sports fans found a historic consistency in their athletes to shape racial identity and cultural expression,” according to Cvornyek and Stark.

Cvornyek is an assistant teaching professor in Social Science at FSU PC. A professor emeritus and former chairman of the History Department at Rhode Island College, he specializes in sports history. He edited the autobiography of baseball Hall-of-Famer Effa Manley, and his documentary film, “The Price of Admission,” will be screened April 6 at the Rhode Island Black Film Festival at Brown University in Providence.