Harry Edwards, Black Power, and Countering the Mainstream Media’s Repression of the Revolt of the Black Athlete

Harry Edwards led the organization of a Black Power campaign to organize a boycott of the 1968 Olympics. Contrary to the prevailing conclusion that the boycott failed to materialize because it was unpopular, Edwards’ efforts challenged the state-enforced Cold War-consensus that racial discrimination was declining in American society. Consequently, the state, including the mainstream media, moved swiftly to repress the boycott by demonizing him as a “black militant” and accessing the effort as misguided. Edwards, like several Black radicals, responded by adopting a militant façade that attracted media attention that allowed him to counter oppositional pronouncements and keep the boycott newsworthy for a year. Edwards’ use of the media, however, continues to complicate understandings of the boycott and Black Power. Uncritical mainstream media-based assessments suggest both failed because they were unpopular. By contrast, activist-focused studies conclude that activists succeeded by expanding discussions on racial discrimination in the national discourse

Art · Black Power · Mainstream · Media studies · Physics · Political science · Politics · Psychological repression · Sociology · American Sports and Literature · Law · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society

• Giants in the Frame

  Open Access•William Griffin, C Keith Harrison•Religions•2023

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