Description
Book SynopsisTelling an inspiring, largely unknown story, Thursday Night Lights recounts how African American high school football programs produced championship teams and outstanding players during the Jim Crow era.
Trade ReviewHurd tells the PVIL story with conviction, attention to detail, and great affection. * Abilene Reporter-News *
[Hurd has] seen a lot. And he understands the connections between sports, especially football, and other, often riven cultural expressions of our state. * Austin American-Statesman *
Though this book is long overdue, it is also right on time. We are currently having a collective cultural discussion about whose history gets told, how we choose whose stories matter, and which historical characters get cast, quite literally, in stone or metal to be celebrated for years to come. Hurd shows that the stories we tell ourselves about the history of football in Texas are woefully incomplete. * Texas Observer *
Thursday Night Lights clearly succeeds in reviving the memory of black high school football in Texas and honoring its legacy. * Southwestern Historical Quarterly *
Hurd's work should prove essential to those interested in examining the racial politics of sports at the high school level, college recruitment, and desegregation. * Journal of Sport History *
In America's current Colin Kaepernick-inspired moment, with sports once again taking on a conspicuous role in debates about black citizenship and the persistence of white racism, this book is especially timely and important. * Great Plains Quarterly *
Hurd's book carefully proves how…football became a potent source of pride and ambition in the black community, helping black students succeed both athletically and educationally in a racist society. * Temple Daily-Telegram *
[A] fascinating and beautifully-written homage to black high school football in Texas…a badly needed corrective to the history of high school football in Texas. * Central Texas Studies *
[A] groundbreaking book. * Houston Chronicle *
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. The PVIL: Emerging from the Shadows
- 2. Night Train, Choo-Choo, and Ridin' the Yella Dawg!
- 3. Learning and Teaching the Game
- 4. Gold in the Triangle
- 5. Yates versus Wheatley
- 6. Integration: The Good, the Bad, the End
- Acknowledgments
- Appendixes
- PVIL Football State Champions
- PVIL Milestones
- Select Bibliography
- Index
