Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America

by Jason Reid

A compulsively readable sports narrative by senior NFL writer for ESPN’s The Undefeated (now Andscape), Jason Reid, chronicling both the history of Black players in the NFL, such as Warren Moon, and the recent careers of groundbreaking Black quarterbacks, including Colin Kaepernick.

In September 2019, ESPN's The Undefeated website (now Andscape) began a season-long series of articles on the emergence of Black quarterbacks in the NFL. The first article in the series was Jason Reid's enormously popular, "Welcome to the Year of the Black Quarterback." The series culminated with an hour-long television program in February 2020, hosted by Reid himself. The Rise of the Black What It Means for America will expand on Reid's piece―as well as the entire series―and chronicle the shameful history of the treatment of Black players in the NFL and the breakout careers of a thrilling new generation of Black quarterbacks. Intimate portraits of Colin Kaepernick, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray feature prominently in the book, as well as the careers and legacy of beloved NFL players such as Doug Williams and trailblazing pioneers Marlin Briscoe and Eldridge Dickey. Reid delves deeply into the culture war ignited by Kaepernick's peaceful protest that shone a light on systemic oppression and police brutality. Fascinating and timely, this page-turning account will rivet fans of sports, cultural commentary, and Black history in America.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, History

288 pages, Hardcover

Published August 2, 2022

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me realize how embarrassingly little I knew about the history of racism in the NFL. For DECADES, and we’re talking into the 80s and 90s (!!!), the NFL refused to draft Black QBs as QBs. They’d force them to switch positions because of horrifically racist ideas that Black QBs weren’t “smart enough” to make strategic decisions and lead a team. I don’t have words to express how absolutely appalling this is!!! And that’s not even to begin to get into the 13-year literal BAN that the NFL had on Black players in the 1930s and 40s and the decades of general bias that ensued. I truly had no idea how overt and entrenched racism was in the very fabric of the NFL for essentially its entire history. I am so grateful for the unflinching reporting here.

Reid follows the NFL from its inception to the present day, following the folks who first broke ground in the league, those whose promising careers were cut short by bias, and today’s crop of elite signal-callers, including Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes. It was really sad to read about all of the college stars in history who had highly-deserved opportunities snatched away for no reason other than the color of their skin. The book ended on a hopeful note, though, in that today’s players are increasingly able to advocate for social justice on and off the field while setting records and literally changing the game. I thought this was fantastic reporting, really eye-opening, and a vital read for any football fan!

[Nathan Snowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on the history of the quarterback position and on black players playing the position. I didn’t realize that the league had a “black ban” back in the day and that it was such a concerted effort to ensure that black players weren’t even allowed in the league. Seeing that the league especially at the quarterback position is so much more diverse now makes you appreciate the work of Fritz Pollard, Doug Williams, Shach Harris, and others. The book talked about many of the modern black quarterbacks that so many love but it didn’t talk about one who has been so polarizing. I would’ve loved a chapter that talked about Cam Newton considering both his college and pro success. None the less Jason Reid did an excellent job giving a historical overview on those who attempted to play the position but weren’t given the opportunities due to racism. It makes you think about how many black quarterbacks were talented enough but just didn’t get an opportunity.

[Emily Loomis Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book to read! The stories of black QBs over football’s history were so interesting (and also horrifying!). The writing itself is disjointed, but I’d still recommend the book to any football fan.

[Jamar Creech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent historical account of the struggles that many Black quarterbacks faced and the shift in recent years. I appreciated how the societal issues were presented alongside the issues occurring in the NFL.

[Caitlyn Gabbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

so glad i read this days before the first super bowl featuring 2 black quarterbacks. i knew it was an amazing thing, but having the context and history this book provided, it means even more to me. everyone, especially football fans, should read this. it was very eye opening and informative and it will make this super bowl an extremely powerful and beautiful moment knowing what it has taken for black quarterbacks to get here.

[Allena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and thought-provoking. I learned a lot!

[Caroline Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting (and sad) history

[Jessica Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history of black quarterbacks throughout the NFL and the caliber of young quarterbacks currently in the league.

Throughout the history of the NFL, there have been many players to don a jersey in many different positions. Some quarterbacks have been great, while others weren’t even the best player on the team. A far cry from most of the players to start in that position for todays’ games. However, one trait was very common for the position of quarterback for decades: they were white. There have been a few black quarterbacks with teams that challenged the status quo, but many of them never saw the Super Bowl. Flash forward to present day, names like Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and Lamar Jackson are linked to high talent teams who regularly make playoff and even Super Bowl appearances. Times have changed and what is in store for the future of football?

It’s easy to forget how difficult change comes to any organization, but one as large as the NFL seems to have major difficultly making any kinds of shift. Reading this book and looking back in time, it was really startling to see how different the position of quarterback was compared to what it has become today. It’s just so easy to think of things in the present only. Reid does a great job chronicling this history and how changes came to be. He also gives dedicated chapters to several of the players who helped to shape that change as well as the current players who are pushing the envelope even farther.

Readers who enjoy documentary type reads and sports books will love this one!

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re thinking you have to like football to like this book you’d be mostly right. This is a book about the start of the NFL and other professional football leagues as they got started in the early 1900s and about the black players, but you can’t tell that story without talking about that period of time. I found the first half of the book just as interesting historically as anything else. Reid does an exceptional job of painting a portrait of the men. I really felt like I knew these men who broke barriers, like Fritz Pollard.

Even though I’m not completely naive to the the history of racism in the US and how it still rears its ugly head, I was surprised to see the barriers put up for black quarterbacks, like a 13 year period when some unspoken rule kept them from the NFL. But even after this ‘ban’ lifted so many great black athletes were passed over and the ones who weren’t faced so much backlash from fans. Warren Moon, the only black quarterback in the NFL Hall of Fame, was booed by his own college fans for years, before leaving to play in the Canadian league. He had to win up there for 6 years before an NFL team was willing to bring him home. This was the early 1980s. And the hate mail and death threats around that time period for many of the men were still shocking to me and I’m an 80’s kid!

There’s so much more here, but I can’t tell all of the stories! I am so glad I read it. Reid did a skillful job of telling the stories of the past and tying them to the current day NFL and it’s crop of black quarterbacks. He brings it full circle.

[Ken Heard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that really opens the eyes of the readers about the racism in the NFL. Obviously, we all heard about Jackie Robinson and baseball, but it seems it was even harder for blacks to become quarterbacks in the league for decades after.

I had not heard of Fritz Pollard before and his breakthrough. Some of the stories were heartbreaking because of the lost chances for these players.

The downside of this book is the repetitive comments about players. Ok. We know Warren Moon was the only black QB inducted in the Hall of Fame. You don't have to tell us 32 billion times. Also- and I realize this is a book on the successes of black quarterbacks- but every play someone did in the recaps were of the "greatest highlight film of all time." Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mohomes, Doug Williams, etc.

This was a good look at the history of the NFL and the "hidden" racism that really was rampant in the league. It's just that the repetitive nature of names and stats and games (yes, Doug Williams did win the Super Bowl MVP when his Washington team beat Denver) seemed to bog it down .

[Tonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing up in a "football family" this title caught my eye. As with most football fans, the quarterback is the heart of the team. I found the history interesting, dating back to Doug Williams the first of the Black Quarterback to win The Most Valuable Payer award to Patrick Mahomes. Although I was familiar with players such as Colin Kaepeernick and Lamar Jack, I was not aware that Lamar was discouraged and told that he would not make it as a QB in the NFL. The racial imitations and struggles were apart of each story. The underlying belief that Blacks did not have the intelligence or leadership capability to play such an important position. In fact, an unspoken rule was that Black Q's coming out of college, no matter how good they were, would need to play another position. I will be recommending this one to football and history fans. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The subject matter here is excellent, but I thought the writing leaned a little too heavily on cliches and was overly repetitive.

I learned a great deal about how the NFL was desegregated (two teams moved to Los Angeles in the 1940s and the city-owned L.A. Coliseum refused to let whites-only teams use the facility!) and about early Black pioneers at quarterback such as Willie Thrower (great name), Fritz Pollard, and James "Shack" Harris.

The racism that quarterbacks in the 1950s and 1960s faced was staggering--they received big boxes full of hate mail with death threats. Even most Black players who were highly successful college QBs were forced to change positions once they reached the NFL.

The second half of the book mostly covers modern players, which I knew more about prior to reading this book.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've lived through the end of this book, but it was still a pretty striking payoff reading through it as the conclusion of this book. There were a lot of players and history I learned about through this book that, as pointed out, I wouldn't have found much about on my own without the digging from folks like Reid. Sometimes I felt a little lost in the timeline with chapters that were mostly chronological, but had some overlapping players. An actual timeline page or a photo section that was in order of players entering the NFL might have helped me retain the players and their accomplishments over history. There were a few inferences that seemed a little heavy-handed, but ultimately, a lot of story that I would have gone without knowing if I hadn't picked up this book, and I appreciate it being put together here in an accessible read.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

These days the issue of Black men playing quarterback in the NFL is so passé. There's so many brothers playing in college and in the league nowadays that many of the issues addressed about Black quarterbacks in this book are not even brought up by college and pro football insiders and fans. But this book is needed and required reading because the history of Black quarterbacks in professional football is lost on many of these young football players and fans.

Rise of the Black Quarterback was a chronological book on the ups and downs of various Black quarterbacks in NFL history. Author Jason Reid started his analysis of professional Black quarterbacks by reaching all the way back to the Fritz Pollard story (he was a pro quarterback from 1920 to 1926), and he finished his chapters for the book with the most famous football player on the planet in Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

One of the main things I appreciated about this book was that Reid didn't pull no punches when it came to describing the inherent racism and the white superiority complex that pervaded NFL franchises' front offices, coaching staffs, and scouting systems from the 1920s and into the 21st century. He even called out NFL innovator and Hall of Fame head coach Paul Brown (page 59). Read that page and you'll see what I mean about Reid and his being unapologetic about the subject of this book.

The way Reid wrote this book he not only wanted to educate you on the history of Black quarterbacks in pro football, but he also wanted to convey his lifetime frustration with systemic racism in different facets of society. Many times, I caught myself while reading this book saying that man, Reid seems really frustrated with the social injustices that Blacks have had to put up with in America since the 1860s.

It's a trip how Reid was able to focus on putting together this book even though he was going through a divorce around the time he wrote the book (he addressed this in the Acknowledgements section and on page 271). I hope he got through that ordeal safely.

In conclusion, some readers of this book may come away from it and think it was too Pro-Black or too critical on racism towards Black quarterbacks from 1920 to about the late 2010s, but those sentiments couldn't be further from the truth. This book was educational, well planned, and at times a diatribe, but the book was well meaning, and it addressed historical subjects that needed to put out there for public consumption.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good history book about the NFL and football. If you want to learn about how Black
men had to wait around to even play football and how we have only FOUR Black Coaches out
of 32 teams this is the book for you. I never thought about the history of football until I read
this book...I learned that Blacks were banned to play football in the 40's. They waited and
watched Baseball have Jackie Robinson play and then in 1946 the ban on Black players was
officially ended.
As of 2017 32 teams started at least one quarterback. As of 2022 there are only 10 Black
quarterbacks.
They have come a long way and the road ahead is slowly changing. Great reading and I'm
glad I read this good book....you will too.

[Kiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely learned some NFL history as I had not heard of Willie Thrower, Fritz Pollard or James Harris but all 3 (and many others) played significant roles in opening doors for today's black NFL quarterbacks such as Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, Jordan Love, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson and others. The writing was repetitive at times (for example there were several times where information was presented in almost the same way as it was written in a previous chapter).

[Mikki Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided so much insight into how Black quarterbacks were/are treated in the NFL. It made me really angry and want to stop watching games more then I did already. However, I watch to support the Black quarterbacks who are playing and allowed to be themselves. Hopefully, the rise of the Black quarterbacks continues.

[Chris Poyner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sports fans who like history will not be disappointed. A deep dive into the struggles Black football players, and specifically black quarterbacks have faced across the NFL’s 100+ years. The book does repeats itself often, but I think that’s intentional, so that you could pick it up and read any chapter on any given day. Extremely informative and a solid read.

[Curtis Steverson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, it was a solid book! I definitely appreciate what the Black quarterbacks have sacrificed to play in the NFL! But, the main fault of this book is that the author had quite a bit of repetitive information about stats of players that was noticeable throughout the book! This is the main reason for the 3-star rating!

[Patrick Prevost · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so happy, I got a chance to read this book, enlighten me a lot about the game that I love to watch. Educated me on black pioneers who made an impact on this game, the racism that they had to endure was eye-opening. All football fans watch the NFL need to read this book.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better as a reference point than anything else. Each chapter felt disjointed (he even repeated background info and some jokes in multiple chapters). I’m also curious about the exclusion of Russell Wilson and Cam Newton as chapters.

[Mariana Niekamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERY high quality read. I am so glad Reid told these black men’s stories in such a diligently researched, empathetic, and contextualized way.

In my personal opinion, the NFL needs to stop trying to toe the line and just decide to full heartedly support People of Color— sooner rather than later.

[Ricardo Motti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting, even if the writing didn't always grab me.

[Brooke Fradd]

An interesting perspective, and timely as we go into the Super Bowl. This will be the first with each team starting a Black QB.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly eye opening. Information is knowledge. When you know better, you do better.

[Mario D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical info. A pretty easy read with some good stories.

[Tylor Craffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, love when books about sports start naming dudes and I don’t think there’s a better named dude than Willie Thrower being the first black qb to play in an NFL game

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent insight into the ordeals endured and obstacles black Quarterbacks had to overcome.

[Sophia Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid football fan, this was an essential read. I heard Jason Reid talking about this book at Tulane's Bookfest and knew I needed to read it.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some insight here into how far the NFL has come in accepting black men at quarterback. However, a lot of the book just reads like Wikipedia pages of different black QBs.