Bill Russell's Impact On African American Sports

A few decades ago, African-Americans weren’t able to participate college basketball due to racial tensions amongst blacks and whites and to Jim Crow Laws. Many programs at the collegiate level blocked this from happening on multiple occasions until in 1949, when they lifted the ban and allowed integration. By lifting the ban, this allowed inclusion that ushered in whites to compete against blacks. However, some schools still refused to compete because they were hesitant and continued to stereotype. Over time, integration was evident but it didn’t take place in major programs and blue blood schools, such as Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas until the 70s. During the 1965-66 NCAA season, a team that including several black players out

Legend Bill Russell was one of the premier African American basketball players during the Civil Rights Movements. Article Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution states, “By the turn of the decade, Russell had changed his sport and opened new political avenues for the black athlete” (Goudsouzian, p.67). Russell was already a black figure during his college days as one of the preeminent talents. After college, he went onto the NBA and became political figure advocating for all black athletes. It was a huge turning point in

According to the article The False of Black Athletic Scholarships states,

“Putting aside basketball, nearly 3,000 students enrolled at the nation’s top 25 highest-ranked universities this past fall- approximately 100 times as many black will eventually earn places in basketball. A large majority of these academically talented black students will earn diplomas from these prestigious universities and go on to successfully carve careers in law, business, academia and other professions”(Journal of Blacks in Higher Ed no.6, p.37).

Not only will black be able to compete on the court, but also will have the chance to pursue life after basketball by receiving an