CTV News – Windsor

Chris Campbell, June 2, 2022

Chatham author tackles racism in sports with new book ‘On Account of Darkness’

A Chatham-Kent sports journalist is celebrating the recent release of his new book that explores a history of racism in sports.

Ian Kennedy said the aim of “On Account of Darkness” is to make some change by shining light on race and sports, saying systemic issues remain today.

“It’s a deep dive into Canada’s history of racism but through the lens of sports.”

The author and educator said more than 100 years’ worth of stories about athletes who prospered during times of systemic racism and social injustice are detailed in the book.

“We use stories of athletes to talk about issues that might otherwise for some people be difficult to look into,” Kennedy explained. “But sports is just like any other part of society, and of Canada and we kind of have this reputation that Canada is an all-inclusive, all welcoming country, but if you look at our history of residential schools and slavery in Japanese-Canadian internment camps, it’s not really our truth.”

Some of the athletes featured in the book include baseball hall-of-famer Fergie Jenkins, professional fisher Bob Izumi and Gerry Binga, the only Black hockey player on the Blenheim Golden Blades.

Read the full article at CTV News.