If you grew up in the 1960s, Jim Brown was the man that many young black men grew to idolize. He carried himself in a way that you he would not allow himself to be disrespected. He stood up to the system as a player in the NFL and in society.

Brown played an integral part in uniting black athletes in the sports world during the Civil Rights movement. He would go on to become cinema’s first black action film star. He shared a kissing scene with 1960s bombshell Raquel Welch, which caused quite a stir.

If men wanted to be Jim Brown, women just wanted him. Brown dated black women, white women; any woman that appealed to him was his.

There is the fabled story of Brown shoving his European companion off a balcony. That story has been denied by Brown and the alleged victim, but the stigma of being a womanizer sticks to Brown better than most tacklers did.

After football, Brown became founder of the Amer I Can foundation. This organization seeks to stop violence in the South Central Los Angeles community. Brown has been at the forefront of several truce meetings between the rival Crips and Bloods gangs, and remains an activist in black communities across America.

These are just some of the black contributors to sports and to society. There are many more to be mentioned—Fritz Pollard, Marion Motley, Larry Doby, Bill Willis, Dr. Harry Edwards, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Curt Flood, Dick Allen, Joe Frazier, Arthur Ashe, Wilma Rudolph, Tommy Smith, and John Carlos.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the black athlete stepped to the forefront and laid the groundwork for much of what you see today in sports—free agency, black coaches in professional sports, and multi-million dollar contracts.

However, to gain the notoriety of millions, there was a price to be paid. It was paid in the form of fire hoses, German shepherds, billy clubs, lynchings, and a government that could care less. Progress has been made; but there are still areas in sports and society that have not been touched by our hands.

The question brought to me was how black athletes have influenced our children. It is easy to point to a crossover dribble or an end zone dance. But there is more to the black athlete than just entertainment value, and they need to be shown respect in that manner.

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