Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing w/ Gerald Horne
On this edition of Parallax views, boxing is known as the "Sweet Science" due to its technical aspects. Historian Gerald Horne, however, offers a different perspective on the sport and its history in The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering, and the Political Economy of Boxing. In this book Horne explodes the untold story of boxing as it relates to racism, capitalism, deregulation, and the exploitation of labor. Horne joins us on this edition of the program to delve deep into the untold aspect of the sport and thus provide a fresh take on the history of boxing in America. From the days of the slave battle royales to the stories of Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, Joe Gans and other legends of the ring Horne takes us on a journey that encompasses the shadows of Reagan and Nixon, the mob, the "Great White Hope" trope, boxing promoters like , the lack of unions for boxers, match-fixing, Watergate, Roy Cohn, the business-side of boxing as an example of capitalism unchained and unregulated, and much, much more. Also in this conversation, Horne explains the connection between his previous works on settler-colonialism and this latest work on the subject of boxing and the dark underbelly of its illustrious history. And yes, we do make mention of Floyd Mayweather. All that and more on this edition of Parallax Views,