I Fight for a Living

Boxing and the Battle for Black Manhood, 1880-1915

Nonfiction, Sports, Boxing, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies
Cover of the book I Fight for a Living by Louis Moore, University of Illinois Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Louis Moore ISBN: 9780252099946
Publisher: University of Illinois Press Publication: September 11, 2017
Imprint: University of Illinois Press Language: English
Author: Louis Moore
ISBN: 9780252099946
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Publication: September 11, 2017
Imprint: University of Illinois Press
Language: English

The black prizefighter labored in one of the few trades where an African American man could win renown: boxing. His prowess in the ring asserted an independence and powerful masculinity rare for black men in a white-dominated society, allowing him to be a man--and thus truly free. Louis Moore draws on the life stories of African American fighters active from 1880 to 1915 to explore working-class black manhood. As he details, boxers bought into American ideas about masculinity and free enterprise to prove their equality while using their bodies to become self-made men. The African American middle class, meanwhile, grappled with an expression of public black maleness they saw related to disreputable leisure rather than respectable labor. Moore shows how each fighter conformed to middle class ideas of masculinity based on his own judgment of what culture would accept. Finally, he argues that African American success in the ring shattered the myth of black inferiority despite media and government efforts to defend white privilege.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The black prizefighter labored in one of the few trades where an African American man could win renown: boxing. His prowess in the ring asserted an independence and powerful masculinity rare for black men in a white-dominated society, allowing him to be a man--and thus truly free. Louis Moore draws on the life stories of African American fighters active from 1880 to 1915 to explore working-class black manhood. As he details, boxers bought into American ideas about masculinity and free enterprise to prove their equality while using their bodies to become self-made men. The African American middle class, meanwhile, grappled with an expression of public black maleness they saw related to disreputable leisure rather than respectable labor. Moore shows how each fighter conformed to middle class ideas of masculinity based on his own judgment of what culture would accept. Finally, he argues that African American success in the ring shattered the myth of black inferiority despite media and government efforts to defend white privilege.

More books from University of Illinois Press

Cover of the book Becoming Refugee American by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Curious Encounters with the Natural World by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Jobs and the Labor Force of Tomorrow by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Spirituals and the Birth of a Black Entertainment Industry by Louis Moore
Cover of the book The Mexican Revolution in Chicago by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Beyond Respectability by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Discriminating Sex by Louis Moore
Cover of the book The Banquet by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Creating the Big Ten by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Sewing the Fabric of Statehood by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Animal Ethics for Veterinarians by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Lingua Cosmica by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Dockworker Power by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Cemeteries of Illinois by Louis Moore
Cover of the book Bach Perspectives by Louis Moore
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy