Leisure, Sport, and Recreation through a DEIA Lens

Resources: Summer 2023 edition

Posted on August 9, 2023 in DEIA Resource Lists

Following the popularity of last year’s resource list on leisure studies, Toward Inclusive Excellence has been working to compile a new resource list for understanding leisure and recreation activities through a DEIA lens. New to this iteration are many resources that focus on sports and sports history, as well as some that consider international dimensions. Collectively, these resources reveal the potential of sports, recreation, and leisure activities for fostering social change and for revealing broader social trends at a given time. There is much to learn from this rich reference. As always, TIE owes many thanks to our contributors.

Racism, Race, and Ethnicity

1. Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, 25th anniversary ed. (2008) by Jules Tygiel
2. “‘Black Lives Matter:’ Sport, Race and Ethnicity in Challenging Times” (2020) by Adam B. Evans et al.
3. Black Man in the Huddle: Stories from the Integration of Texas Football (2019) by Robert Jacobus
4. Critical Race Theory: Black Athletic Sporting Experiences in the United States (2016) edited by Billy J. Hawkins, Akilah R. Carter-Francique, and Joseph N. Cooper
5. Football’s Fearless Activists: How Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid, Kenny Stills, and Fellow Athletes Stood Up to the NFL and President Trump (2020) by Mike Freeman
6. Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field (2020) by Howard Bryant
7. The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism (2018) by Howard Bryant
8. Idlewild: The Rise, Decline and Rebirth of a Unique African American Resort Town (2013) by Ronald Stephens
   • Built by whites in the 1910s, Idlewild attracted the major Black entertainers from the 1920s through the 1960s before its decline.
9. In the Game: Race, Identity, and Sports in the Twentieth Century (2005) ed. by Amy Bass
10. Latinos in U.S Sport: A History of Isolation, Cultural Identity, and Acceptance (2011) by Jorge Iber et al.
11. Lord, Please Don’t Take Me in August: African Americans in Newport and Saratoga Springs, 1870–1930 (1999) by Myra B. Young Armstead
12. Lynching and Leisure: Race and The Transformation of Mob Violence in Texas (2022) by Terry Anne Scott
    • Examines how lynching was considered an outdoor leisure activity by whites in the 19th and 20th centuries in the American South
13. Major Taylor: The Extraordinary Career of a Champion Bicycle Racer (1996) by Andrew Ritchie
    • Bicycle racing was perhaps the most popular sport in the late-19th-century US, and Black athlete Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was a world champion in the sport.
14. Mexican Americans and Sports: A Reader on Athletics and Barrio Life (2006) edited by Jorge Iber and Samuel O. Regalado
15. A Nice Place, to Visit: Tourism and Urban Revitalization in the Postwar Rustbelt (2016) by Aaron Cowan
    • Focusing on Cincinnati, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore, this book considers how tourism mitigated race rioting, white flight, and deindustrialization.
16. Out of Bounds: Racism and the Black Athlete (2014) edited by Lori Latrice Martin
17. Passing the Baton: Black Women Track Stars and American Identity (2020) by Cat M. Ariail
18. Race, Culture, and the Revolt of the Black Athlete: The 1968 Olympic Protests and Their Aftermath (2003) by Douglas Hartmann
19. Race, Riots and Roller Coasters: The Struggle Over Segregated Recreation in America (2012) by Victoria W. Wolcott
20. Racism in College Athletics, 4th ed. (2020) edited by D. Brooks and R. Althouse
21. Raise a Fist, Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports (2021) by John Feinstein
22. “Restoring Resilience Through Joy: The Pursuit of Happiness in the Midst of Unprecedented Times” (2023) by Leslie Ekpe, Ashley Sherman, and Ezinne D. Ofoegbu
23. The Revolt of the Black Athlete, 50th anniversary ed. (2017) by Harry Edwards
24. This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving (2020) by David J. Silverman
25. We Will Win the Day: The Civil Rights Movement, The Black Athlete, and the Quest for Equality (2021) by Louis Moore, illustrated by Brett Colley (originally published by Praeger, 2017)
26. When Baseball Went White: Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Dreams of a National Pastime (2014) by Ryan A. Swanson

Gender and Sexuality

1. 37 Words: Title IX and Fifty Years of Fighting Sex Discrimination (2022) by Sherry Boschert
2. Citadels of Pride: Sexual Abuse, Accountability, and Reconciliation (2021) by Martha C. Nussbaum W. W. Norton 2021 Sarah K. Fields, Daniel Garzon Gender and Sexuality Nussbaum
   • This volume probes the three “Citadels of Pride”—the judiciary, the arts, and sports—to analyze how the pride of men at the top contributes to sexual abuse.
3. Collective Chaos: A Roller Derby Team Memoir (2023) by Samantha Tucker with Amy Spears
4. Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates (2023) by Katie Barnes
5. Female Gladiators: Gender, Law, and Contact Sport in America (2005) by Sarah K. Fields
6. Justice for Trans Athletes: Challenges and Struggles (2023) edited by Ali Durham Greey and Helen Jefferson Lenskyj
7. LFG (2021) film directed by Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine
   • A documentary about the US women’s national soccer team’s pay discrimination lawsuit
8. Muscle on Wheels: Louise Armaindo and the High Wheel Racers of Nineteenth-Century America (2018) by M. Ann Hall
   • Contrary to popular opinion, women not only rode, they raced high wheel, also known as ordinary, bicycles to the delight of the American public.
9. National Parks and the Woman’s Voice: A History, updated ed. (2006) by Polly Welts Kaufman
10. Nine for IX: Let Them Wear Towels (2013) ESPN film directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg
    • A documentary about sexism in sports journalism
11. Nine for IX: Venus Vs. (2013) ESPN film directed by Ava DuVerney
    • A documentary about Venus Williams’s fight for fair pay in tennis
12. No Slam Dunk: Gender, Sport and the Unevenness of Social Change (2018) by Cheryl Cooky and Michael A. Messner
13. Women on the Move: The Forgotten Era of Women’s Bicycle Racing (2018) by Roger Gilles
14. “The Women’s Sports Foundation 50 Years of Title IX: We’re Not Done Yet Executive Summary and Policy Recommendations” (2022) by Ellen J. Staurowsky et al.

Social Justice

1. “Allyship as Activism: Advancing Social Change in Global Sport Through Transformational Allyship” (2021) by Shannon Jolley, Joseph N. Cooper, and Yannick Kluch
2. Baseball Rebels: The Players, People, and Social Movements That Shook Up the Game and Changed America (2022) by Peter Dreier and Robert Elias
3. Beyond the Black Power Salute: Athlete Activism in an Era of Change (2023) by Gregory J. Kaliss
4. The Day Sports Stood Still (2021) HBO film directed by Antoine Fuqua
5. Don’t Stick to Sports: The American Athlete’s Fight Against Injustice (2023) by Derek Catsam
6. The Game is Not a Game: The Power, Protest and Politics of American Sports (2020) by Robert Scoop Jackson
7. The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World (2021) by Dave Ziren
   • See also: “The NFL Operates Like a Monopoly Which Fortifies Systemic Racism“
8. Love and Justice: A Story of Triumph on Two Different Courts (2023) by Maya Moore Irons and Jonathan Irons
9. A People’s History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play (2009) by Dave Zirin
10. “The Performance and Reception of Race-Based Athletic Activism: Toward a Critical, Dramaturgical Theory of Sport” (2022) by Douglas Hartmann, Alex Manning, and Kyle Green
11. “Shut Up and Play: Black Athletes, Protest Politics, and Black Political Action” (2020) by Christopher C. Towler, Nyron N. Crawford, and Robert A. Bennett III
12. “A Site to Resist and Persist: Diversity, Social Justice, and the Unique Nature of Sport” (2019) by George B. Cunningham et al.
13. Social Issues in Sport Communication: You Make the Call (2023) edited by Terry L. Rentner and David P. Burns Routledge 2023 Sarah K. Fields, Daniel Garzon Social Justice
14. Social Justice and the Modern Athlete: Exploring the Role of Athlete Activism in Social Change (2023) edited by Mia Long Anderson
15. Taking a Knee, Taking a Stand: African American Athletes and the Fight for Social Justice (2020) by Bob Schron
16. The Weight of Gold (2020) HBO film directed by Brett Rapkin
    • This film offers “an unvarnished look at alarming mental health issues plaguing Olympic athletes.” For more on this topic, see “Raising Awareness about Mental Health Must Supersede Divisive Punditry“

International and Postcolonial Perspectives

1. African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World’s Game (2010) by Peter Alegi
2. Beyond a Boundary, 50th anniversary ed. (2013) by C. L. R. James
3. Cricket Country: An Indian Odyssey in the Age of Empire (2019) by Prasant Kidambi
4. Dominican Baseball: New Pride, Old Prejudice (2014) by Alan Klein
5. The Empire of Nature: Hunting, Conservation, and British Imperialism (1997) by John Mackenzie
6. Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America’s Anti-Apartheid Movement (2021) by Derek Catsam
7. The Games Ethic and Imperialism: Aspects of the Diffusion of an Ideal (1998) by J. A. Mangan
8. Laduma!: Soccer, Politics and Society in South Africa, from its Origins to 2010, updated ed. (2010) by Peter Alegi
9. Leisure and Society in Colonial Brazzaville (1996) by Phyllis Martin
10. The Race Game: Sport and Politics in South Africa (1998) by Douglas Booth
11. Race, Resistance, and the Boy Scout Movement in British Colonial Africa (2004) by Timothy Parsons
12. Safari Nation: A Social History of Kruger National Park (2020) by Jacob S. T. Dlamini
13. Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France (2010) by Laurent Dubois
14. Sport and Apartheid South Africa: Histories of Politics, Power, and Protest (2022) edited by Michelle M. Sikes, Toby C. Rider, and Matthew P. Llewellyn

TIE is grateful to the following Choice reviewers and their colleagues who graciously contributed specialized recommendations to the list above:

Dr. Derek Catsam

Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities, History, The University of Texas, Permian Basin
Twitter: @dcatafrica

Daniel Garzon

MBA and MSBM Candidate, University of Central Florida

Dr. Sarah K. Fields, JD, FNAK

Professor of Communication, University of Colorado, Denver

Dr. Duncan R. Jamieson

Professor of History, Ashland University 

Thomas Pyke Johnson

Lecturer in History, University of Massachusetts, Boston

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