Watching a football game on a Sunday evening most sports fans do nor realizethe profound impact the National Football League had on the civil rightsmovement. Si... » 

Watching a football game on a Sunday evening most sports fans do nor realizethe profound impact the National Football League had on the civil rightsmovement. Similarly in a sport where seven out of ten players are black feware fully aware of the history and contributions of their athletic forebears.Among the touchdowns and tackles lies a rich history of African American lifeand the straggle to achieve equal rights.Although the Supreme Court did not reverse their 1896 decision of separate butequal in the Plessy v Ferguson case until more than fifty years later sportslaid a foundation for social change long before our judicial system formallyrecognized the inequalities of racial separation. Integrating sports teams toinclude white and black athletes alike the National Football League served asa microcosmic fishbowl of the highs and lows the trials and triumphs ofracial integration.In this chronicle of black NFL athletes Charles K. Ross has given us the storyof the Jackie Robinsons of American football. «