Nostalgia and Liberalism in the Black Public Sphere: Jackie Robinson and the Crisis of the Black Athlete

• In Event: Top Papers of the African American Communication and Culture Division

Abstract

Read against Houston Baker’s conception of black modernity and critical memory, this essay examines persistent nostalgia about Jackie Robinson in relation to two important historical moments in the history of his appearance in public discourse. I argue that the black press, as a unique instrument in the construction of black public lif, drew on Jackie Robinson as a resource for constructing a liberal political imagination.

Author

• Abraham Khan, Villanova University