With the 2024 Paris Olympics now a fond memory, a Franklin & Marshall professor has won his own sort of medal for his 2023 book about athletes who engage in political activism.

Assistant Professor of History Gregory Kaliss recently received the North American Society for Sport History monograph of the year award for “Beyond the Black Power Salute: Athlete Activism in an Era of Change.” 

Kaliss wanted to write about the general spirit of activism among athletes in the 1960s and ‘70s. He read stories on the topic in biographies of individual athletes, and in articles on specific events, but he could not find them collected in a single text. 

“That’s what ultimately led me to this book—I was writing a book I was looking for that just wasn’t out there, something that synthesized all these different stories and tried to draw out larger patterns,” he says.

"Really, the key figure--and the person who I open the book with in the preface--is Muhammad Ali," Kaliss says.

In this brief Q&A, Kaliss discusses the origins of the athlete activist as well as the feedback to early versions of the manuscript that some of his students provided:

Q: Was the Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico the start of politics and activism and is that activism more powerful today than it was then?

A: The Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympics was not the start of athlete activism, per se, but it did thrust that activism into the spotlight more fully. Really, the key figure--and the person who I open the book with in the preface--is Muhammad Ali. His adoption of Islam, his change of name, and, of course, his refusal to serve in Vietnam, all challenged mainstream norms. He inspired other athletes to push back against a wide range of issues in American society. The Black Power Salute, which of course also stemmed from the rise of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement, followed from Ali's work. As to what is more powerful, I do think that social media has changed the game. Athletes in contemporary times are able to use their social media presence to advocate for a wide range of issues--they don't have to depend on mainstream media coverage and they can tell the story they want to tell.

Q: As an historian, why did you choose this topic to write about? Does it say something about how much power athletes can exert in politics?

A: I was interested in the rise of activism in the 1960s and early 1970s and wanted to figure out where it came from, what the dominant issues were, and why it seemed to fade away over time. Of course, I also wanted to use it as a way of thinking about more recent activism--Colin Kaepernick, Naomi Osaka, etc. I certainly think that all of these stories show how athletes can have a profound impact in shaping public discourse and in creating significant change. For example, the athletes of the 1960s and 1970s played key roles in getting more opportunities for girls and women in sports, in increasing the amount of money that athletes made, in boosting the presence of African American Studies programs at colleges and universities, and in opening up new media opportunities for a wide range of athletes. They also show some of the limitations that athletes run into--especially when it comes to changing the power dynamics in government and in the economy. In almost every case, the people in power stayed in power--and that led to underlying economic problems and social inequalities that continue into the present day.

Q: What were the responses from your students who proofread and offered feedback on the manuscript? Were any surprised by the evolution of activism?

A: Just to be clear, my students didn't proofread my manuscript! But I did share chapters that I was working on, using them as readings and topics for discussion for my Race and Gender in American Sports class. It was helpful to hear issues that they found especially compelling and to identify places where they were less clear. For example, I shared early versions of my chapter on the American Basketball Association and the rise of hip-hop, and students' comments in discussion helped me identify some of the strongest pieces of evidence, and led me to seek out some more evidence on particular issues--such as the links between players' fashion choices, Black art, and politics.