Athletes as Activists

Thurs., May 13 * 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT on Clubhouse

This week in History Club, we’ll be exploring histories of athletes as activists.

Athletes have been highly visible and politically active in the past decade in campaigns to end police brutality, achieve gender equality and in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

But athletes as activists are not a new phenomenon, e.g. Jesse Owens, Bill Russell, Cassius Clay, Wilma Rudolph, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, John Carlos, Tommie Smith and many others.

What roles have professional athletes historically played in spurring social change? What factors enable athletes to become politically active? What success have athletes had in effecting shifts in policy?

Our guest is Lindsay Krasnoff, sports historian and consultant in global sports diplomacy. Our conversation is timed with the tip-off of the WNBA’s 25th season.

Join us on Clubhouse Thursday night at 10 ET. We’ll do a 1-on-1 conversation, followed by audience Q&A. (Add to calendar.)

Below: Tennis star Billie Jean King holds a trophy after defeating Bobby Riggs in a “Battle of the Sexes” match held on September 20, 1973 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas.

Source: Timeline. Original image by the Associated Press.

See you on Clubhouse, Thursday, May 13 at 10 PM ET.

P.S. - Want to suggest a topic, book or speaker for History Club? Go to historyclub.club.