Research Catalog

Moving the chains : the civil rights protest that saved the Saints and transformed New Orleans

Title

Moving the chains : the civil rights protest that saved the Saints and transformed New Orleans / Erin Grayson Sapp.

Author

Sapp, Erin Grayson

Publication

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2023]
©2023

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person.	Text	Use in library	Sc E 23-970	Schomburg Center - Research & Reference

Details

Description

xi, 282 pages; 23 cm

Summary

"We remember the 1966 birth of the New Orleans Saints as a shady quid pro quo between the NFL commissioner and a Louisiana congressman. Moving the Chains is the untold story of the athlete protest that necessitated this backroom deal, as New Orleans scrambled to respond to a very public repudiation of the racist policies that governed the city. In the decade that preceded the 1965 athlete walkout, a reactionary backlash had swept through Louisiana, bringing with it a host of new segregation laws and enough social strong-arming to quash any complaints, even from suffering sports promoters. Nationwide protests assailed the Tulane Green Wave, the Sugar Bowl, and the NFL's preseason stop-offs, and only legal loopholes and a lot of luck kept football alive in the city. Still, live it did, and in January 1965, locals believed they were just a week away from landing their own pro franchise. All they had to do was pack Tulane Stadium for the city's biggest audition yet, the AFL All-Star game. Ultimately, all fifty-eight Black and white teammates walked out of the game to protest the town's lingering segregation practices and public abuse of Black players. Following that, love of the gridiron prompted and excused something out of sync with the city's branding: change. In less than two years, the Big Easy made enough progress to pass a blitz inspection by Black and white NFL officials and receive the long-desired expansion team. The story of the athletes whose bravery led to change quickly fell by the wayside. Locals framed desegregation efforts as proof that the town had been progressive and tolerant all along. Furthermore, when a handshake between Pete Rozelle and Hale Boggs gave America its first Super Bowl and New Orleans its own club, the city proudly clung to that version of events, never admitting the cleanup even took place. As a result, Moving the Chains is the first book to reveal the ramifications of the All-Stars' civil resistance and to detail the Saints' true first win"--

Subject

Genre/Form

History.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-271) and index.

Contents

Introduction : motion prior to the snap -- The concession stands -- A long return -- Three and out -- A naked bootleg -- Crossing routes -- Check downs -- Stutter step -- Busted coverage -- Unbeaten and untied -- Running out the clock -- Open field.

Call Number

Sc E 23-970

ISBN

9780807177921
080717792X

LCCN

2022017751

OCLC

1322050526

Author

Sapp, Erin Grayson, author.

Title

Moving the chains : the civil rights protest that saved the Saints and transformed New Orleans / Erin Grayson Sapp.

Publisher

Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2023]

Copyright Date

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-271) and index.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Local Subject

Black author.

Research Call Number

Sc E 23-970

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