Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.
Africana literature, approach to subjects in, 14–15
African traditional religions, 143
Afro-West Indian spirits, 100, 104
agency: deeper dimension of, 21; Jason and, 99; stripping of, 14, 48
All-Scholastic honors, 17–18
Alpha Physical Culture Club, 37–39
Baron (informant), 16, 60–63; anger and, 135–37; Boston inner-city hoops and, 51; gangs and, 61–63, 136; T. Jones and, 137–38, 147, 149; memorial games and, 65–66, 78, 80
Barros, Marvin, Jr.: Community Awareness Tournament and, 69, 73–75, 75, 118, 131, 153, 155, 158, 161; illness and death of, 69–70, 73–75, 107–9, 111, 118, 138; influence of, 4, 21, 106; “Let it Be Magic,” 70–71, 72, 131
basketball: ball as loyal friend, 119; Black Fives era of segregated, 43; as hope, 13, 21, 89–92, 104, 117, 125, 127–28; invention of, 35–36, 45–46; as release, 18, 20, 44, 49, 65, 94; religion, race and, 34–35; second life through, 21, 111, 127
basketball courts: as black male body, 15, 150; as church, 140; inner circle of, 16, 157; as maternal symbol, 94, 104; middle ring of, 16, 18, 155, 183n2; outer ring of, 16, 19, 20, 154; as refuge, 17, 21, 44, 47, 91, 93, 104; ritual space of, 10, 19–20, 147, 167, 169; as self-emancipation vehicle, 20; as sites of memory, 21; smell, sound and vibration of, 157–58; as space of resistance, 4, 30, 42; three rings of, 16–20, 167
black athletes: civil rights movement and, 41; egoism of, 184n3; flights of consciousness, 11–12; perspectives on, 13–15; racial stigma regarding, 8; recruitment of, 31; stereotypes of, 96, 108; systemic exploitation between NCAA and, 8
black basketball: explanation of, 14; origins of, 21, 38–41
black deviance approach, 13
black male bodies: basketball court as, 15, 150; socioeconomic forces constraining, 20
black masculinity: definitions of, 19; image of, 164; mask of, 18; visible form of, 50
black men: as generators of hope, 167–68; Mattapan murder victims, 26–27, 77; rituals, reconciliation and, 150–51; as signifying monkey, 164–68, 185nn11–12; stereotypes of, 14, 21, 165; violence against, 9, 19, 22, 84
black neighborhoods, Boston, 26–28
black players: freedom of, 10, 20, 104, 111, 140; interactions between audience and, 80–82; “known,” 15, 63, 176n13, 181n5; movement and bodies of, 11, 20, 148, 164, 166; role of, 5; as saviors, 53, 81; as tricksters, 166, 168; visibility of, 38
blacks: black skin as cultural capital, 165; middle class, 41, 46; separate-but-equal status of, 36
body: black male bodies, 15, 20, 150; black players’ movement and, 11, 20, 148, 164, 166; body language, 155, 160; as God’s temple, 36; out-of-body experiences, 12; racial uplift through bodily exercise, 36–41; religion and role of, 10; soul overtaking, 11–12; synchronicity of, 119
Boston Globe: All-Scholastic honors, 17–18; reporter from, 56; reports in, 26–27, 83
Boston Herald: All-Scholastic honors, 18; caption slip, 58
Boston Marathon bombing, 19
Boston Neighborhood Basketball League (BNBL), 64
Boston Shootout Tournaments, 54–55
Boston street basketball: ethnographic study of, 10–21, 27; experience of, 4–5; journey from, 2; Yale University men’s basketball compared to, 5
Boston TenPoint Coalition, 64
Boston University: graduate school at, 18; King memorial at, 133
Bourdieu, Pierre: on bird in flight, 181n4; on habitus and internalization, 29–30, 178n7; on interviews, 49; on learned ignorance, 165, 184n7; on living memory pad, 19, 178n7; on objectivist point of view, 176n11; on self-reflexive approach to ethnography, 10; on symbolic domination, 185n11; on symbolic violence, 20, 165, 176n15, 185n8
Bromley-Heath Street projects, 82–83
ceremony, compared to rituals, 144–45
Chamberlain, Wilt, 43, 70
“Change Is Gonna Come, A” (Cooke), 74
chest: displaying, 79; pounding and pointing to, 164–66, 168; puffed out, 18
church: basketball courts as, 140; black churches, 21, 37–38, 64
C.J. (childhood friend), 21–22, 139, 147; Community Awareness Tournament and, 152–53, 158–60, 168; drugs and, 110–11, 122–24, 127; incarceration, 21, 109–11, 115, 121, 124–27; reuniting with, 106, 109–11; toll of death and violence and, 112–19
community centers, 43, 53
Copeland Street playground, 4
critical inheritance, 4–5
crossover dribble: Jason’s, 89; sleight of hand of, 14, 17
dead, the: communication with, 21, 104; “empty chair” inhabited by spirit of, 69; grief for, 11, 33–34; names and images of, 9, 28, 146, 155; spectral presence of, 14; substitutions for, 30. See also memorial games, Boston
deception, 5; edifying, 152
Department of Social Services: group homes, 135–36; Jermaine and, 140
Doin’ It in the Park: Pick-Up Basketball, NYC (Garcia and Couliau), 180n31
double consciousness, 168
dreams: dreaming and pursuit of, 4; of dying and being reborn, 33; hoop, 13, 34, 49, 55; Marlon’s, 133; xanu, 148
drugs, 31–32; C.J. and, 110–11, 122–24, 127; crack, 31, 91–92, 133, 135; Jamal and, 134–35; marijuana, 61, 78, 94, 111, 121, 132, 154; Marlon and, 132–33
Du Bois, W. E. B., 25, 168
dunk: analysis of, 160–61, 164–65, 168; as archetype, 22; as prototypical symbol, 152; as shared experience, 82
ego: ego-displacement technique, 144; egoism of black athletes, 184n3
Ellison, Gregory, II, 22, 167
emotion: expression of, 74, 101, 140–41; freeing mourner from, 146; hiding, 19; playing without, 6
existential questions, 84–85
Fathers Are Champions Too Tournament, 15–20, 83, 85
flights of consciousness, 11–12
forgiveness, for murderers, 150–51
gangs, 15–18, 163; Baron and, 61–63, 136; Boston inner-city hoops and, 50–53; memorial games and, 64–66, 73, 78, 81–83; as role models, 29; students as targets of, 17
ghetto: escape as gangster, rapper or ballplayer, 17; resilience to hardships of, 4; transportation beyond confines of, 166
ghosts: haunting and, 14; restless energy of, 146
God: benevolence of, 74; body as God’s temple, 36; glory of, 35; influence of, 2–3, 21, 45, 69–70; Jason and, 94–95, 98–101, 103–4; lady of, 99–100, 156–57
good sportsmanship and fair play, 60
gratitude, expression of, 149
grief rituals, 22, 141–51; awareness of humanity during, 168; closing, 149–50; crisis of death and, 145–46; dialogue in, 144, 147–49; separation in, 144, 145–46; structure of, 143–45; threshold in, 144, 146–47
grieving process: blessing received during, 150; elders during, 22, 147; elements missing from, 142
Hammond, Joe “Helicopter,” 43
Harvard University’s Franklin Summer Program, 73
healing, 10; model of, 142; women as catalyst for, 151
heart: heart disease, 27; pain in, 56; putting out, on asphalt, 94, 120–21; significance of, 165–67
“I’m Missing You” (Ross), 74
incarceration, 28; C.J., 21, 109–11, 115, 121, 124–27; Kirkland, 46; prison as microcosm of streets, the, 125; Shorty, 31–33
“Inner Life IV, The: The Flow Between the Inner and the Outer” (Thurman), 165–66
Jamal (Dupont Prep ball player), 133–35
Jason, 21–22, 89–105, 127, 143, 149; agency and, 99; college and, 96–100; Community Awareness Tournament and, 152–53, 156–60, 162–63, 166–68; consciousness and, 97, 99; crossover dribble of, 89; God and, 94–95, 98–101, 103–4; great-grandmother’s spirit, 91–94, 97–99, 101, 104; hoop ritual of, 104
John (Haitian ballplayer), 12
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 3, 108, 133
leagues: BNBL, 64; Malcolm X League, 64; Manny Wilson Basketball League, 55, 58–60, 59, 113; National Basketball League, 41; tournaments compared to, 181n6
Lived Religion in America: Toward a History of Practice (D. Hall), 9
Malcolm X Park, 4, 26; memorial games at, 64–65, 77–82; twenty-one game at, 67
manliness: definition of, 36; expectations of, 105
Marathon Athletic Club, 38
master of ceremonies (MC): at Community Awareness Tournament, 161–62; role of, 16–17; as tricksters, 16, 161
McDonald’s All-American game, 54
Melvia Wright Patten Tournament, 82–83
memorial games: Baron and, 65–66, 78, 80; Boston, 21, 63–85; failure to be more than palliative, 150, 169; gangs and, 64–66, 73, 78, 81–83; at Malcolm X Park, 64–65, 77–82; Paul, Chris, 142–51
memory: basketball courts as sites of, 21; of deceased loved ones, 4, 146–47; living memory pad, 19, 178n7
music: blues, 10, 22; as communal heartbeat, 16; as medicine, 158; rap, 42, 168, 180n31; sports, dance and, 40, 42, 46, 179n23, 180n31
National Basketball League, 41
National Basketball Players Association, 142
NBA Eastern Conference finals, 81
neighborhood: black, 26–28; symbolic reading of itself, 5
netherworlds or underworlds, 28, 178n6
On the Shoulders of Giants (Abdul-Jabbar), 40, 152
Patten, Melvia Wright, 82–83
Paul (Stone Hill projects player), 78, 80
“Picked Me Up” (Withers), 90
points: scoring, 147, 149; style compared to, 161
proximity, between researchers and subjects, 15, 48
psychological pathology, 13
race: collective injury of, 9, 22, 131, 146–47; discrimination, 22, 28, 41, 46; inequities, 27, 177n2; religion, basketball and, 34–35; stigma regarding black athletes, 8; uplift through bodily exercise, 36–41
racial injury: history of, 27; as term, 177n3
religions: basketball, race and, 34–35; black religion, 180n35; definition of, 181n3; lived religion, 9–13, 63, 104, 128, 151, 169; Long on, 1, 10; rituals of African traditional, 143; role of body in, 10; study of philosophy and, 1, 3, 8; tricksters in African Diaspora, 16, 186nn14–16
resistance: basketball courts as space of, 4, 30, 42; to dehumanization, 166, 168; expression of, 185n11
rituals: African American ritual grounds, 167, 187n17; of African traditional religions, 143; black men, reconciliation and, 150–51; ceremony compared to, 144–45; communication with spirit and, 143, 147–49; doves in, 66; failure of, 134; Gennep’s stage theory of, 144; grief, 22, 141–51; Jason’s hoop ritual, 104; for T. Jones, 137–38, 147; during Louis Saunders Tournament, 76; slaves’ ring-shout, 10
Roxbury Community College, 92
rules, external conditions predetermining, 14
sacred and profane: center point as meeting place between, 83; Durkheim on, 53
Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes: Finding Religion in Everyday Life (Ammerman), 9–10
Sanders, Tyrus Elijah, 73
saviors, black players as, 53, 81
Sea Island Series (Weems), 69
second life, through basketball, 21, 111, 127
segregation: Black Fives era of, 43; in Boston, 28; Jim Crow, 36, 46
self: authenticity and rootedness of, 144; definitions of, 20; devastation to, 182n2; hopeful, 167
self-emancipation vehicle, 20
self-reflexive approach, to ethnography: Bourdieu on, 10; use of, 14–15
sexual prowess: assumption about, 96; gestures of, 165
slaves’ ring-shout rituals, 10
sociology of practice, 10
souls: communication with deceased, 178n6; doves as symbols of peace for, 66; overtaking body, 11–12
spirits: Afro-West Indian, 100, 104; ancestor, 103–4; bird as Holy Spirit, 181n4; crisis of death and separation for, 145–46; dialogue with, 147–49; “empty chair” inhabited by, 69; impacts of, 9; Jason’s great-grandmother’s spirit, 91–94, 97–99, 101, 104; rituals and communication with, 143, 147–49
“State of Black Boston” (Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts), 27
St. Christopher’s Club, 38
St. Cyprian Athletic Club, 38
stereotypes: of black athletes, 96, 108; of black men, 14, 21, 165; of whites, 116
Stone Hill projects team, 78
street basketball: Boston, 2, 4–5, 10–21, 27; celebration and, 22, 66, 161, 163–68; choreography and flow of, 4, 21, 22; as collective love, 154; ecstatic dimensions of, 152; emergence of, 41–43; haunting and ghosts in, 14; interactions between audience and players in, 80–82; lived religion of, 9–13, 63, 104, 151, 169; Mecca of, 43, 64; in New York City, 178n6; “out of joint” dimension of, 13, 162; professionals against, 43; Rucker and rise of, 42–43; university culture compared to, 20; violence and spiritual essence of, 44–47
streets, the: identity of, 79, 119, 122; narratives of, 30; prison as microcosm of, 125; as socializing institution, 42, 46, 50, 180n30
structural violence, 177n3
students, as gang targets, 17
style: points compared to, 161; street style, 4
subjects: Africana literature approach to, 14–15; proximity between researchers and, 15, 48
tattoos: kissing of, 138, 146, 149; Last Ones Left, 34; of names and initials, 9, 138
Thurman, Howard, 150; “Inner Life IV, The: The Flow Between the Inner and the Outer,” 165–66
time, moving in and out of, 11–13
tournaments: Boston Shootout Tournaments, 54–55; Chill Will Tournament, 65–66, 67; C-Murder Tournament, 82; Community Awareness Tournament, 69, 73–75, 75, 118, 131, 152–63, 168; Dre’s Tournament, 66; Fathers Are Champions Too Tournament, 15–20, 83, 85; first, 38; focus and design of, 63–65; leagues compared to, 181n6; Louis Saunders Tournament, 75–77, 76, 77; Melvia Wright Patten Tournament, 82–83; Rucker Tournament, 43; Save R Streets Summer Classic, 60–61, 66–67, 68, 69, 139; Suave Life Tournament, 26, 28, 77–82; World Professional Basketball Tournament, 40–41
transcendent meanings, 14
tricksters: in African Diaspora religions, 16, 186nn14–16; black players as, 166, 168; Elegba, 12, 185n12, 186n14; Esu, 12, 185n12, 186n14; Legba, 185n12, 186n14; MC as, 16, 161; Yoruba trickster gods, 12, 166, 185nn11–12, 186n14
uniforms: military precision of, 161; names and pictures on, 9, 138
University of Kentucky Wildcats, 54
Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, 27, 177n2
violence: against black men, 9, 19, 22, 84; cycle of, 21, 146; street basketball spiritual essence and, 44–47; structural, 177n3; symbolic, 20, 144, 165, 176n15, 185n8; toll of death and, 112–19
Wake Forest University, 143
White Men Can’t Jump (film), 184n3
whites: masculinity, 36; stereotypes of, 116; white paternalism, 6; white supremacy, 21, 40; Yale University men’s basketball teammates, 5–6
“Who’s Got Next?” (Woodbine, R.), 170–72
Wilson, Manny: death of, 55–56, 113–14, 118, 138; influence of, 4, 21, 58–60, 112–13; Manny Wilson Basketball League, 55, 58–60, 59, 113; Yawkey Club and, 69, 112
Wilson, William Julius, 41
women: as catalyst for healing, 151; with “Chicken Gawds” shirts, 168; role of, 16, 18, 39, 96, 163; value of, 104
World Professional Basketball Tournament, 40–41
Yale University men’s basketball: Boston street basketball compared to, 5; decision to quit, 1–4, 6–8; experience in, 1, 18; intrasquad scrimmages, 5–6; Princeton game against, 3; white teammates on, 5–6
Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), 35–37, 46