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Kenneth ClarkKenneth Clark
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stars had the vision of an Arthur Ashe to communicate to black youth that athletics, athletic skills are not going to answer the problems of their lives.

Q:

Actually, isn't true for most professional athletes irrespective of white and black their professional lives are limited?

Clark:

That's right. But blacks have been dramatized, and understandably because they, just recently--there weren't black athletes at the time of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig. Black athlete became part of the public visibility with Jackie Robinson who, by the way, was very, very sensitive to the complexities of the problem of his role, to the day of his death he was saying, “Look, it isn't enough that you idolize me or talk about my role, but the fact is that very few blacks have any decision making roles in this big industry, professional sports.” Very few blacks are coaches. What Jackie was able to do was not to be caught up in the surface approach to this problem, but to use his celebrity status for concern with more basic civil rights problems, and racial justice problems.

Q:

Of course, wouldn't his becoming an officer of a fairly well known corporation help in that direction?

Clark:

Yes, I --

Q:

How many black executives were there at that time?





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