History Book Festival Featured Author Theresa Runstedtler
SDARJ is pleased to be a Community Partner for the History Book Festival in Lewes. Theresa Runstedtler will present her book, “Black Ball,” at a free author event on Saturday, September 28, at 2:00 pm in the Large Meeting Room at Lewes Library. Read more.
About the book
Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA
Bold Type Books, 2024
Against a backdrop of resistance to desegregation and the rise of Black Power, the National Basketball Association in the 1970s embodied the nation’s imagined descent into disorder. A new generation of Black players introduced an improvisational style derived from neighborhood courts, garnering high salaries and increased agency. Critics — citing drug use, violence, and greed — blamed them for the sport’s supposed decline. Combining knowledge of the game with incisive social analysis, Runstedtler argues this much-maligned period was pivotal to the rise of today’s NBA.
This event is presented in partnership with Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ).
About the author
Theresa Runstedtler is an award-winning scholar of African American history whose research focuses on the intersection of race, masculinity, labor, and sport. A professor at American University, she has shared her expertise on the History Channel, Al Jazeera America, Vox.com, NPR, and the BBC.
