Black men can't shoot - Brooks, Scott (University of Chicago Press, 2009)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-222) and index
Jermaine and Ray -- Becoming a basketball player -- Getting known through networks and exposure -- Playing school ball -- Old heads and young bulls -- A Saturday morning at Espy -- The heart of the playground -- Chuck breaks them down -- Gotta want it "like that" -- Playing uptown -- Some fall off -- Bringing 'em back and putting it all together -- The chip -- The glow but reality of success -- Ray vs. Green -- Playing everywhere -- Can't look poor -- Implosion -- Moving north -- Learning other stuff -- A star is born; another is still waiting -- Politics and "pub(licity)" -- Getting in (school) and getting out (of the hood) -- Being used
The myth of the natural black athlete is widespread, though it's usually only talked about when a sports commentator or celebrity embarrasses himself by bringing it up in public. Those gaffes are swiftly decried as racist, but apart from their link to the long history of ugly racial stereotypes about black people-especially men-they are also harmful because they obscure very real, hard-fought accomplishments. As Black Men Can't Shoot demonstrates, such successes on the basketball court don't just happen because of natural gifts-instead, they grow out of the long, tough, and unpredictable proce