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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2011)
February 2, 2011 ^"Portland observer IN S ID E Black History Month This page Sponsored by: FredMeyer What's on your list today?» B lack H istory page 5-6,22 Local professor challenges notions of progress C alendar S ports Sports Culture and Race Thabiti Lewis, associate pro fessor in the College o f Liberal Arts at W ashington State Univer sity Vancouver, has published a book challenging the notion that sports culture is a pioneer for racial progress. "Bailers o f the New School: Race and Sports in America" is a thought-p ro v o k in g analysis o f m inorities in the sports industry that critically re-exam ines the m ythologies and social uplift nar ratives that dom inate our culture. Sports are often hailed as a w ay fo r m in o rity a th lete s to achieve fame and wealth. In his book, L ew is d eco n stru cts the Cinderella story o f scoring big in the m ajor leagues and asks why there is little m inority representa tion at the corporate level. Lewis contends that American sports have not contributed to racial progress as m uch as our culture has been led to believe. "This is more media spin than truth. It's a figm ent o f im agina tion aided by m odem technology arm ed with 24-hour sports re porting, unlim ited sports televi sion channels and a culture that cultivates anti-intellectualism ," said Lewis. "Bailers o f the New School: Race and Sports in America" begins with Thabiti Lewis a "Letter to My Cousin," which serves as a guidance letter to Lewis's own cousin as well as to any young person who aspires to a career in professional sports. He goes on to explain how a majority o f black collegiate athletes are ex ploited by the sports industry with little compensation and often with out the education promised with their scholarships. Lewis then chal lenges readers to view the sports industry with a keen eye on hiring opportunities and racial equality on and off the playing field. "I am challenging people o f all ages, races and ethnicity to be what I call a 'true bailer' or 'Bailer of the New School,' which is intellec tual, critical, innovative and un afraid to challenge the flawed affir mative action, and post race narra tives we are bombarded with daily. Through essays, my book exam ines how racist sports media cov erage perpetuates, rather than alle viates, racial tensions in our soci ety. I want readers to understand that the icons they see are not the norm and do not reflect the dire social, educational and economic status o f many people o f color in America," said Lewis. Lewis lectures widely on top ics such as hip-hop, film, black m asculinity, race and sports in America. He has been a colum nist and freelan ce w rite r fo r The Source, the St. Louis Am erican and N ew s One. His w ork has appeared in several book antholo gies and in publications such as M osaic Literary M agazine, O r egon Hum anities, Crisis M aga zine, the St. Louis Post-D ispatch and Am eriQuests. L ew is's book to u r in clu d es stops in Philadelphia, Seattle, Iowa City, Iowa, and Kansas City, Mo. He will discuss his work and sign copies o f his book at 12 p.m. M arch 1 in the W SU V ancouver library. "Bailers o f the N ew School: Race and Sports in A m erica" is available through T he B ookie, Borders, Pow ell's Books, Third W orld Press, A m azon and his website, T habitiL ew is.com . page 16 Governor Hires Rights Advocate O pinion pages 18-19 C lassifieds page 24 F ood page 20-22 Gov. John K itzhaber has hired an Oregon attorney with a civil rights and victim rights record as his general counsel. Liani Reeves received both her undergraduate and law degrees from W illam ette University. She has worked at the Oregon De partm ent o f Justice in many ca p acities, m ost recen tly as the deputy chief trial counsel. She’s also served as an attorney for the National Crim e Victim Law Insti tute to prom ote, advance and en force crim e victims' rights. Reeves served as the co-chair o f the Oregon M inority Lawyers A ssociation from 2002-2008. She Liani Reeves received the Rev. M artin Luther K in g Jr. A w a rd fro m th e W illam ette University College o f Law honoring work and dedica tion toward the ideals o f equal civil and human rights and was recognized as an up and com ing leader by the Portland Business Journal. She m entors law stu dents and has been nam ed M en tor o f the Year by both W illam ette and Lewis & Clark College. “W orking as the G overnor's general counsel allow s me to con tinue in public service working on issues w ith broad im plications th r o u g h o u t th e s t a te ,” sa id Reeves.