The Black Athlete Discourse

I just finished my masters degree at the University of Oregon. You all know the Ducks by now I am sure. If not, just open up the sports page, or any page for that matter. For my final class, I enrolled in a course from the International Studies department that focused on social theory. The final for this course was a paper, in which I researched the conception that black people are more athletic. The questions I took on were:

Q1: Are black people more innately athletic?

Q2: If not, why does every student in my class belief this to be true?

A1: In researching over 20 peer reviewed academic journals, I found that science does not support the hypothesis that black people are more athletic. This means that there is no correlation between any innate physical difference of black people and athleticism. While the common understanding is that blacks are in some way genetically more adapt to be athletic, on a physiological level, this is not supported by any scientific evidence.

A2: The lack of support for question 1 leads us to question 2. This answer is a little more involved and highly theoretical. Therefore, I will skip the social theory and move straight to the conclusion. The reason that most people perceive blacks to be more athletic is because this idea is part of a larger discourse of African Americans. This term discourse is basically references, symbols and other meanings that point to an overarching "thing." It is the same reason most people are a little more tense when walking by a black guy at night, that a women wearing a head-covering is now a reference for the "War on Terror," and the very way that the "Third World" holds meaning. They are all part of a larger discourse.

I feel challenged to question the ideas that I hold as "common sense." If I were to have been raised in any other country in the world, most of what I hold as common sense would not be common sense. Therefore, it is not common sense if not everybody knows it. Next time a stereotype flashes into your mind, ask yourself, "Why do I think this?" See what happens.

On a side note, me and my girlfriend read a Wall Street Journal article a few weeks ago, where it discussed recent construction of museums in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The article stated, "The countries are trying to find a middle ground between modernism and Islam." Look into this statement. It is saying covertly that Islam is clearly not modern. Thanks Wall Street Journal.