What Is The Connection Between High Flying Bird And The Revolt Of The Black Athlete

The movie "High Flying Bird" and Harry Edwards' book "The Revolt of the Black Athlete" both explore the complex connection between sports and social issues, specifically the difficulties faced by black athletes and the concept of the political athlete. This essay will examine how the themes from the book were incorporated into the movie and will also examine its portrayal of the political athlete. In addition, how the growth of certain characters were either influenced by Harry Edwards’ book or not. "High Flying Bird" presented a case of the issues that surfaced during the NBA lockout. In terms of what was being offered to them for their talent, the young players were being treated unfairly. The athlete highlighted in this case, Erick Scott,

You need someone who would go out and seize their opportunity without any self doubt. You need a symbol who would be willing to represent the people and allow their voices to be heard. In chapter five of the “The Revolt of the Black Athlete” Edwards discusses the impact that Muhammad Ali had on the fight for African Americans’ rights. In the text it states, “He rebelled at a time when he, as an athlete, stood alone. He lost almost everything of value to any athlete—his prestige, his income, and his title. But he maintained and enhanced the most crucial factor in the minds of black people everywhere—black dignity”(Edwards, page 157). Edwards describes Muhammed Ali as a symbol for black liberation in white dominated era. It's the fact he was one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen with many titles to his name, but it was his awareness of how special it was for a black man to have the success that he had, that he was able to see that he had to stand for something bigger than just himself. It's the fact he believed in a religion that provided him with support and a framework for navigating the difficulties and injustices that a person of color encounters in a racially divided society. This caused disruption within the sport and the people in power didn’t like this. They would go as far as stripping Muhammud Ali of his titles for refusing to enter the Vietnam war because he didn’t want to serve a country that had white people oppressing black people. In “High Flying Bird” Ray Burke had a situation where his job was at risk for having non-traditional techniques to try and save the agency that he worked for. At first he was being threatened of being fired because he wasn’t bringing in enough for the company to hold up. Towards the end of the film Ray was being heavily questioned by his boss about his approaches to help keep the clients at the agency. This was all due