Journal of Leisure Research: Black Recreation: A Historical Perspective

Black Recreation: A Historical Perspective. Holland, Jearold W. (2002). Chicago, IL: Burnham Inc., Publishers.

Reviewed by Corliss Wilson Outley

Division of Recreation and Sport Studies

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, MN

In Black Recreation, Jearold Holland presents, describes and explains the influence of recreation on Black culture and how Black recreation has influenced American culture from before slavery to the present. Dr. Holland's' introduction reveals that his initial premise was to provide a text that could historically document blacks and their leisure experiences in the U.S. He proclaims that the book "will show that blacks, contrary to some myths, have never had a chaotic culture; that play, recreation, and leisure were important and significant in the black experience; and that blacks contributed significantly to white recreation and leisure." Other scholars have failed when attempting to illustrate the influence leisure has had on Blacks and how black recreation has influenced other groups' leisure as well. Holland succeeds in this challenge by producing a text that will be useful for introductory classes, as well as a good starting point for classes on leisure/recreation and diversity. Dr. Holland provides simplicity in reading that will appeal to not only those within academe but practitioners as well. The book contains 11 chapters and explores a wide array of topics including the major theories utilized to explain black participation in recreation, leisure and recreation of African cultures before being brought to America, recreation while in slavery until the reconstruction period, leisure for Blacks under the Jim Crow era, the impact of Civil Rights legislation on Black recreation and current issues.

In the Prologue, Holland provides an overview and critical analysis of the conceptual foundations of various terms: race, culture, play, recreation, and leisure. This chapter also introduces the role of leisure in Black culture and provides an overview of the major theories regarding Black and White recreation participation differences. Chapter 1 provides an overview of Black culture prior to the enslavement of Blacks in America. Holland describes many colonial African tribal leisure activities and their importance to African culture-specifically, music, dance and storytelling. He also provides insight into the sociological and anthropological challenges regarding myths and misconceptions of the African people. In Chapter 2, Holland continues to present historical data as he describes the slave trade, the impact seasoning (process where blacks were trained for the customs of slavery which, in some instances, took up to 2 to 3 years) had on the retention of African culture and leisure activities, and the role of the slave auction. Holland describes the slave auction as possibly the first time in history where Blacks influenced White recreation. Whites would travel great distances for the arrival of the slave ships and would engage in drinking, socializing, gambling before, during, and after the exhibition of the slaves. The slave auction, Holland asserts, served as a backdrop for whites to engage in leisure. Chapter 3 continues with an overview of slavery and the black recreation experience by describing slave life on the plantation during the antebellum period. Among the discussion introduced in this chapter are the recreation experiences of slaves, free blacks, and whites. This chapter provides outstanding examples for each of these groups and has an appendix that will be a valuable reference source.

Chapter 4 through 9 shifts gears slightly as Holland begins to explore the Black recreation experience between the end of slavery and the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Chapter 4 introduces how America legitimized and limited the leisure opportunities of the newly freed slaves during the Reconstruction period. Specifically, Holland introduces how Black Codes, the rise of the Klu Klux Klan, lack of employment, and the mass exodus of Blacks from the South to the North impacted Black recreation. In addition, Holland asserts that it is during this time period that stereotypical myths of Black recreation were conceived. Chapter 5 is devoted to a brief overview of two entertainment activities of Blacks after slavery-minstrel shows and radio. Both of these forms of entertainment began as stereotypical entertainment for whites and were used to display and reaffirm whites' attitudes about Blacks. However, with the increase in the number of Blacks migrating to major cities across America these forms of entertainment provided the first vehicles for black performers and in turn provided inspirationally folly for many Black only audiences.

Chapter 6 and 7 delivers an overview of the role of the public sector in providing recreation experiences for Blacks. These chapters are presented under the auspices of separate and unequal facilities and the various discriminatory practices that ensued to finally a management of public facilities under the separate but equal legal mandate. Surprisingly, it is in this chapter that readers are provided the opportunity to read about some of the major studies that were completed during this time period regarding Black recreation and are introduced to a few of the Black scholars and leaders in the field. Holland also shows that despite the continued trend of integration during this time period one arena still faced tremendous hurdles-public swimming pools.

The experience of Blacks in commercial recreation arenas such as shopping centers, travel and tourism, transportation, pool halls, amusement parks, eating establishments, hotels, golf ranges, and theatres are presented in Chapter 8. Chapter 9 is devoted to the financial funding of black recreation through various churches, voluntary agencies such as the YMCA and YWCA, community organizations, Black entrepreneurs and the National Recreation Association (now known as NRPA) Bureau of Colored Work under the direction of Ernest T. Atwell.

The final section of the book covers chapters 10 and 11 and describes contemporary recreation since 1954. In Chapter 10, Holland describes the role of the PWA and the WPA in constructing new recreation facilities in predominately black neighborhoods and the impact of the Civil Rights Act on recreation. Holland also pays homage to the founding of the Ethnic Minority Society within the National Recreation and Park Association. Chapter 11 is the final chapter and provides a brief overview of black recreation experience in the 1990's and beyond.

Many of the chapters in this book are presented very briefly. Though this does not provide fluency in reading, it is effective in initially exposing the reader to the material and is appropriate given the 400 plus years of topics that are covered in the text. Black Recreation, A Historical Perspective is a broad based book that attempts to expose the reader to the historical experience of Blacks in recreation. As such, the book is not able to explore in detail any particular subject, nor does it explore theoretical underpinnings of the issue of race in American culture. However, because Holland fails to provide an adequate overview of race as a conceptual construct and its use historically in regard to Black Americans he has lost out on a great opportunity to educate the field (and those outside the field) in a grounded historical context. The use of race historically as a social construction has been an important political tool throughout the history of America and warrants greater attention.

The book falls short in some cases of providing up-to-date information on the role of recreation in black culture. Much of the empirical research provided is derived from the early 1900's with few mentions of the expanse of studies (exceptions include Floyd 1998; Floyd & Shinew 1999; and Philipp 1995, 1999) that are being conducted around the issue of race and recreation (e.g., Dwyer, 1994; Hutchinson, 1988; West, 1989; Woodard 1988) nor the initiatives that have been undertaken by governmental agencies providing recreation opportunities (i.e., US Forest Service, National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers). This is especially true in regards to the use of the ethnicity/marginality perspectives which many scholars in the field have attempted to follow Floyd's (1998) urgency to move beyond and look at other societal influences as well as differences within the racial group.

Given the lack of scholarly attention in this area, portions of the book read surprisingly and perhaps unavoidable like a fictional text. The reader is pulled through the text, chapter by chapter, failing to explore many historical events, cultural descriptions, or societal views in any depth that may (and should) spark critical analysis. Despite this Holland is able to inject a high degree of readability into the book by providing many interesting examples that are drawn from various fields inside and outside the realm of recreation and leisure.

Surprisingly, Holland provides little attention to the continued impact discrimination (individual and institutional) and poverty has on the black recreation experience and the overall quality of life of this racial group. Demographic trends indicate a continued rate of increase in this population and will become a tremendous economic, social and political force in the future.

Holland's goal of providing an introductory text on the historical perspective of black recreation is achieved by providing historical documents and cultural illustrations on each topic within his chapters and presenting the material to make the subject matter interesting. This book is highly recommended in that it provides each and every reader with something to hold on to and call his or her own. For the students or average reader, Holland provides many wide ranging and interesting examples from African and American history that assists in allowing the reader to apply a "real world" perspective. For academicians, this text is ideal as a supplemental text since it touches on so many different areas that can be introduced in a classroom and the text provides excellent resources at the end of the chapters to assist the researcher in furthering their knowledge on this topic. Finally for practitioners, this text provides an excellent overview of the role public services and facilities as well as the role black leaders have played in the black recreation experience.

References

Dwyer, J. (1994). Customer diversity and the future demand for outdoor recreation. General Technical Report RM-252. Fort Collins, CO: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Floyd, M. (1998). Getting beyond marginality and ethnicity: The challenge for race and ethnic studies in leisure research. Journal of Leisure Research, 20, 3-22.

Floyd, M., & Shinew, K. (1999). Convergence and divergence in leisure style among Whites and African Americans: Toward an interracial contact hypothesis. Journal of Leisure Research, 31, 359-378.

Hutchinson, R. (1988). A critique of race, ethnicity, and social class in recent leisure-recreation research. Journal of Leisure Research, 20, 10-30.

Washburne, R. (1978). Black under-participation in wildland recreation: Alternative explanations. Leisure Sciences, 1, 175-189.

West, P. ( 1989). Urban region parks and black minorities: Subculture, marginality, and interracial relation in park use in the Detroit metropolitan area. Leisure Science, 11, 11-28.

Woodard, M. (1988). Class, regionality, and leisure among urban Black Americans: The postcivil rights era. Journal of Leisure Research, 20, 87-105.

Philipp, S. (1995). Race and leisure constraints. Journal of Leisure Research, 17, 109-120.

Philipp, S. (1999). Race and gender differences in adolescent peer group approval of leisure activities. Journal of Leisure Research, 30, 214-232.