12/03/24
June 20, 2007
Larry Whiteside Died Last Week: and his co-workers at the Boston Globe have done a nice job eulogizing him. The CHB shares some stories and Bob Ryan uses his new blog to talk about how Whiteside didn't just pave the way for African-Americans in sports departments, he actively cultivated a "Black List".
That's a nice story. I hope another journalist takes up his Black List.
posted by bperk at 08:38 AM on June 21, 2007
The true measure of Larry Whitesides is this. Back in the day, when I actually paid for my daily copy of the Boston Globe, the sports columns were not accompanied by pictures. Thus, I had no way of knowing anything about Whitesides, other than the fact that I both enjoyed and respected his writing. Thus, it is perfectly true that black, white, or mottled green, Whitesides was as good as anyone else, and better than most. Now that the story is out about his efforts to better the prospects of black sportswriters, I am even more impressed. He did this not by protest or headline seeking. What he did was to point out that these writers existed and that their work could be looked at and judged. Only the most racist of us could refuse to fairly judge a man on his body of work. Thanks for picking this up, fatty.
posted by Howard_T at 11:29 AM on June 21, 2007
Oddly, parts of Bob Ryan's article on Whiteside's "Black List" seemed racist to me. Anytime someone uses a phrase like "we whites" I get a little chill. And maybe I'm out of the loop but I didn't know "a black thing" was a popular phrase. And how on Earth can Ryan explain how revering Whiteside was "a black thing"? Maybe I'm just sensitive about this. But given the article was about a man like Whiteside, Ryan's comments seemed particularly sharp. Anyone else?
posted by DudeDykstra at 11:39 PM on June 21, 2007
Not me. And "it's a black thing, you wouldn't understand" was a popular phrase in the 90s.
posted by yerfatma at 09:54 AM on June 22, 2007
Almost 100%-unrelated, but Whiteside makes an appearance in what is quickly becoming my favorite New England-based sports column, the Larry King-esque Hitting to All Fields. Sample observation: "Coming right up Wimbledon, the granddaddy of all tennis tourneys."