Edwards, Harry

Edwards, Harry (1943–  ) sociologist, civil rights activist, sports consultant; born in East St. Louis, Ill. He attended San Jose State College (Calif.) where he played basketball and was a discus thrower. As a young African-American graduating into the 1960s and well aware of racial injustice, he chose to combine an academic career with that of an activist. By 1968 he had gained national attention by urging African-American athletes to boycott the summer Olympics; he failed in this goal but was widely credited with influencing two sprinters, Tommy Smith and John Carlos, to give the Black Power salute on the victory stand. By 1970 he had joined the sociology faculty at the University of California: Berkeley, (becoming a tenured professor in 1977) and along with his academic career, which included such books as The Sociology of Sports and The Revolt of the Black Athlete, he served as a consultant to the San Francisco 49ers football team and the Golden State Warriors basketball team. In 1987, after Al Campanis made his racially insensitive remarks on national television, Edwards was hired by Peter Ueberroth, the commissioner of baseball, as a special assistant to promote the hiring of African-Americans, Latinos, and women in more administrative and managerial jobs in organized baseball. Edwards was in demand on the lecture circuit and on television on all issues relating to minorities in sports, and despite his somewhat intimidating appearance—he was 6 feet 8 inches tall, had a shaved head, and often spoke intensely—he never actually changed his simple and reasonable message: that African-Americans and other minorities get a fair deal in sports and elsewhere in society.