Though sports have been described as the great unifier, that wasn’t always the case. There once was a time when Black athletes weren’t allowed to compete against white athletes. But legends such as Jack Johnson, Jackie Robinson and Althea Gibson helped break down racial barriers, while fighting through racial slurs, violence, and death threats. In the end, they paved the way for superstars such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Venus and Serena Williams.
As time progressed, these Black athletes continued to focus on activism while dominating their respective sports. Now, in honor of Black History Month, we take a look at the athletes who forever changed the game. These are 35 Black Athletes Who Changed the World.
Hank Aaron
Sport (Years Played): Baseball (1954-1976)
During his run to the career home run record, Hank Aaron faced everything from racial harassment to death threats. He went on to a very successful career, both in business and in the Atlanta Braves’ front office, and was a voice of reason and grace in a sporting landscape that's sorely lacking in both; he actually congratulated Barry Bonds when Bonds broke his home run record.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1969-1989)
On the day after the Milwaukee Bucks the 1971 NBA Championship, Lew Alcindor changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a Muslim name of origin that roughly translates to "noble servant of the Almighty one." When asked about the reasoning behind the change, he stated that Alcindor was the name of a French planter who brought his family to America as slaves. Abdul-Jabbar would become one of the most-widely recognized Muslim athletes in sports history and write books such as Black Profiles in Courage: A Legacy of African-American Achievement, Brothers in Arms: The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, and On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1990-2001)
During the 1995-96 season, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was criticized for sitting through the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before games. He said that he felt the American flag represented "oppression and tyranny," which went against his Islamic faith. Because of his actions, Abdul-Rauf received a one-game suspension. Later on, the NBA and the Denver Nuggets guard worked out a compromise where he would stand for the playing of the anthem but still be able to bow his head in prayer.
Muhammad Ali
Sport (Years Played): Boxing (1960-1981)
Muhammad Ali had already made his mark on the world by winning a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics, defeating a heavily favored Sonny Liston for the heavyweight title, and converting to Islam and changing his name. But he became a true cultural icon when he refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. At the time, he stated, "War is against the teachings of the Holy Qur'an," he said at the time. "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... They never called me n***er." Yet, he was convicted of violating Selective Service laws. The then-heavyweight champion was stripped of his title and sentenced to five years in jail, although he didn't end up serving time. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1971.
Dick Allen
Sport (Years Played): Baseball (1963-1977)
Dick Allen was one of the first MLB player who spoke out against racism and the power struggle for players in white owned organizations. Allen was the first black player on the Philadelphia Phillies and won the NL Rookie of the Year in 1964. That same year, the Phillies staged one of the biggest collapses in baseball history, losing 10 straight games to drop the pennant to the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite stellar numbers, many Philadelphia fans and media members blamed Allen.
The young star would go on to appear in seven All-Star games during his career, but controversy often followed him. After his rookie season, he got into a fist fight with white teammate Frank Thomas who reportedly made racist remarks toward Allen. Thomas was released from the team after teammates said he swung his bat at Allen during their confrontation. This created animosity from fans and media members who believed Allen caused Thomas to lose his job. Allen was eventually traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1969 in a trade that saw Curt Flood refuse to report to the Phillies.
John Amaechi
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1995-2004)
John Amaechi may not be remembered for his contributions on the court, but what he did off of it will define his legacy. In February 2007, after retiring from the NBA, Amaechi came out and told the world that he was gay. While receiving a fair share of support and criticism, he effectively paved the way for any other athletes that feared the repercussions for their sexual orientation and it was all because of one brave former player.
Arthur Ashe
Sport (Years Played): Tennis (1969-1980)
Before he was a leader for AIDS/HIV awareness, Arthur Ashe, the only African-American male tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament, was active on the civil rights front. He was one of many prominent figures who brought attention to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and was arrested in DC while protesting on more than one occasion. He spoke out against American treatment of Haitian refugees and was arrested for protesting that as well. When he retired due to heart problems, he dedicated his life to the people, doing volunteer work and traveling to South Africa to witness the change first hand. He also wrote A Hard Road to Glory, a definitive history of Black athletes. Ashe is the only African-American male to win a Grand Slam title. He passed away from AIDS in 1993.
Simone Biles
Sport (Years Played): Gymnastics (2013-Present)
Biles accolades make the most decorated gymnast—male or female—in the history of the sport. She has won seven Olympic gold medals (and 11 total medals) and 30 total medals at the World Championships with 23 of them gold. But it was following her darkest moments in which she shined brightest. After withdrawing from the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the “twisties,” (a sudden, unexplainable loss of spatial awareness that can be dangerous), she became one of the leading mental health advocates in sport. Biles was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.
Jim Brown
Sport (Years Played): Football (1957-1965)
At the young age of 29, Jim Brown retired from the NFL as the all-time leading rusher with 12,312 yards; a record that stood for 19 years. After retirement Brown would go on to star in movies such as 100 Rifles; one of the first major releases to include a interracial love scene. Aside from his acting career, Brown founded programs like the Black Economic Union which was aimed at black professional athletes to help black-owned businesses thrive in urban communities. After the BEU folded, Brown created another program now known as Amer-I-Can in 1986. The Los Angeles based program helps gang members and convicts learn life skills in an effort to change their lives for the better. Over the years Amer-I-Can raised millions of dollars and expanded to cities such as Cleveland and San Francisco.
John Carlos and Tommie Smith
Sport (Years Played): Track and Field (1968)
After winning the gold and bronze medals in the 200 meter dash at the Olympics in Mexico City, John Carlos and Tommie Smith stood on the medal podium and raised their gloved fists in a Black power salute. At the time their gesture was seen as a very disrespectful airing of the country's dirty laundry on the world stage. Carlos and Smith were immediately suspended from the U.S. Olympic team and received death threats for years after returning home. Today Carlos and Smith are seen as Civil Rights heroes and were honored with a statue in 2005 at their alma mater, San Jose State University.
Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith
Sport (Years Played): Football (2007)
Super Bowl XLI marked an important day in NFL history. It was the first time that two Black head coaches were in a Super Bowl. The game put to lie the racist theory that African-Americans couldn't be successful coaches.
Curt Flood
Sport (Years Played): Baseball (1956-1969, 1971)
When traded to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1969 season, Curt Flood refused to report to the team for a myriad of reasons. He felt the Cardinals disrespected him by sending lower-level personnel to inform him of the trade; he believed Philadelphia was a racist city; most of all, he believed that MLB’s “reserve clause” was a form of involuntary servitude. Allen was willing to forfeit his $100,000 contract in order to become a free agent. By taking a stand for what he believed in, the MLB implemented the 10/5 rule, which allows any player with ten years of MLB service, the last five with the same team, to veto any trade. Although true free agency wasn't granted to players until years later, Flood took a stand (and sacrificed his career) so that today's ballplayers could make the millions they do.
Althea Gibson
Sport (Years Played): Tennis (1950-1958)
Before Venus and Serena Williams dominated the tennis court, there was Althea Gibson. As the first Black woman to compete on the world tennis tour and, in 1956, the first to win a Grand Slam, Gibson was a true titan in a sport that was predominantly white, both then and now. In total, she racked up six Grand Slam singles titles. After her retirement, she went on to become the New Jersey state commissioner of athletics before taking a position on the governor's council on physical fitness.
Craig Hodges
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1982–1992)
After the Chicago Bulls won an NBA title in 1992, they were invited to the White House by President George H.W. Bush. Hodges saw it as an opportunity to voice his political concerns to President Bush. He showed up wearing a dashiki and delivered a letter to the President detailing what Hodges saw as the government's treatment of Black Americans. Hodges was waived by the Bulls in the off-season and believes that his political actions, not his play, were the main reason behind him being released.
LeBron James
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (2003-Present)
During an era when politics turned more polarizing and tribal, LeBron James refused to just “shut up and dribble,” as one of his critics once suggested. Throughout his two-decade long career, James has been a vocal activist, using his huge platform to advocate for justice for Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Breonna Taylor. Along with his peers, James co-founded More Than A Vote, a non-profit fighting for voting rights. He also partnered with the Akron School District to open the I Promise School, a public elementary school in Akron.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1979-1991, 1996)
There will never be a point guard quite like Magic Johnson. Standing at 6-foot-9, Magic dominated his position and set an unattainable precedent in the NBA. But his play on the court pales in comparison to the work he's done off of it. After publicly disclosing in November 1991 that he was HIV-positive, Johnson became a staunch supporter for HIV prevention and safe sex. On top of all that, Magic Johnson Enterprises helped bring businesses like Starbucks and AMC theatres to urban communities. Johnson is now reportedly a billionaire.
Jack Johnson
Sport (Years Played): Boxing (1897-1938)
During the Jim Crow era when Black men were regularly lynched for beating up white men or being in relationships with white women, Johnson did both in the public eye. After becoming the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, Jack Johnson faced the undefeated white boxer James Jeffries in 1910. Before they met in the ring, Jeffries took a personal jab at Johnson saying that he was "going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro." But in the 15th round of their match, Johnson knocked his opponent out and handed Jeffries the first loss of his career. Johnson received a posthumous presidential pardon in 2018.
Johnson was one of the first celebrity athletes, with a lucrative side career endorsing various products; he was also famous for dating white women. In 1913, he was convicted on trumped up charges of transporting a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes," and after living in exile for 7 years, returned to the U.S. and served 10 months in prison. Efforts continue to obtain him a posthumous presidential pardon.
Michael Jordan
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1984-1993, 1995-1998, 2001-2003)
Do we really need to explain why Michael Jordan is on this list? Besides being regarded as one of the best to ever play the game, MJ also played a pretty key role in that little sneaker company that became worth a $1 billion in 2009. The world's most recognizable athlete has a legacy that stretches far beyond sports. While not politically active during his career, in 2020 Jordan pledged $100 million to support social justice, economic justice, education, and awareness causes.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Sport (Years Played): Track and Field (1987-1996)
As a six-time Olympic gold medalist and star basketball player for UCLA, Jackie Joyner-Kersee was one of the best to do it. Since leaving the game, the runner has made strides off the track by starting the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation which provides athletic resources to at-risk families in the St. Louis area.
Colin Kaepernick
Sport (Years Played): Football (2011-2016)
During the 2016 NFL preseason, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat on the team bench on the sidelines during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” After the game, he explained, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people. and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.” Kaepernick soon altered his approach out of respect to members of the military and instead began kneeling during the national anthem.
Kaepernick’s protest against systematic racism and police brutality spread. Soon, some of his teammates started kneeling beside him, and in September 2017, over 200 NFL players protested during the national anthem, some of them kneeling. By that point, Kaepernick was out of the league. He wasn’t offered a contract following his departure from the 49ers, leading to accusations that the league had blackballed him. Kaepernick would never play another down in the league but has remained a dedicated activist.
Joe Louis
Sport (Years Played): Boxing (1934-1951)
Numbers don't lie. From 1937 to 1949, Joe Louis held the heavyweight title for 140 consecutive months, the longest such streak in boxing history. Many people regarded him as the first Black national hero. In the late '30s, at the height of pre-World War II tensions between Germany and the rest of the world, Louis fought two internationally publicized bouts with German Max Schmeling. Schmeling won the first, in 1936; the writer Langston Hughes described seeing people weeping in the streets of New York. After Louis won the rematch in 1938, he became an icon for anti-Nazi sentiment in the country. His celebrity was often used to encourage Black people to join the armed forces despite the fact that the U.S. military was segregated. The Brown Bomber responded by saying, "Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them."
Maya Moore
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (2011-2018)
In 2018, Maya Moore, one of the greatest players in WNBA history, walked away from the game in the prime of her career to focus on criminal justice reform and to fight for the exoneration of Jonathan Irons, a man wrongfully convicted by an all-white jury in Missouri. After serving 23 years in prison, Irons’ conviction was vacated in 2020 after suppressed evidence was revealed. Jones and Moore were married soon after his release from prison. Moore also founded Win WIth Justice, a social action campaign and initiative dedicated to educating the public on the role of prosecutors in the criminal justice system and mass incarceration.
Naomi Osaka
Sport (Years Played): Tennis (2013-Present)
Despite being painfully shy during on-court interviews and with the press, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka grew into the role of advocate. At the 2020 U.S. Open, which was held without crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic, Osaka walked onto the court before each match wearing a mask featuring the name of a Black person who’d been a victim of racial violence or police brutality—Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile, and Tamir Rice. Both Trayvon Martin’s mother and Ahmaud Arbery’s father, thanked her for raising awareness .Afterwards, Osaka said, "I feel like I'm a vessel at this point in order to spread awareness."
Jesse Owens
Sport (Years Played): Track and Field (1936)
During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Adolf Hitler attempted to use the Games as a showcase for his Third Reich and the supposed superiority of the Aryan race. Jesse Owens turned that theory on its head quick, winning four gold medals in the 100m sprint, the long jump, 200m sprint, and the 4x100m relay.
Frederick “Fritz” Pollard
Sport (Years Played): Football (1920-1926)
In 1919, Frederick Pollard became one of the first African-Americans to play in the NFL. One year after making his debut, Fritz led his Akron Pros to their first ever NFL championship. The following year, Pollard was appointed player-coach, becoming the first Black head coach in the NFL.
Oscar Robertson
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1960-1974)
Oscar Robertson, a walking triple-double and one of the greatest basketball players of all time, was also one of the most important players’ rights advocates in the history of the NBA. Robertson led a player boycott of the 1964 NBA All-Star Game to secure better pensions and to force the owners to recognize the players union. Later, as president of the NBA Players Association, he filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league that eventually led to free agency. Robertson has continued to be a vocal proponent of social issues and equality.
Jackie Robinson
Sport (Years Played): Baseball (1947-1956)
As the man who broke the color barrier in America’s National Pastime, Robinson was one of the true forefathers of the American Civil Rights Movement. A multi-sport star at UCLA, Robinson was famously chosen by Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey because he was "a Negro with guts enough not to fight back." On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his debut as the first Black major league player of the modern era in the Dodgers 1947 home opener. Despite racism from some fans, opposing players, and even his own teammates, Robinson won Rookie of the Year honors that season and the National League MVP in 1949.
Wilma Rudolph
Sport (Years Played): Track and Field (1956-1962)
No one paved the way for Black female track and field athletes quite like Wilma Rudolph. At a young age, Rudolph faced adversity when she was diagnosed with polio. But that didn't stop her from racking up three gold medals during the 1960 Olympics. Her performance compelled many young women to take an interest in track and field. A winner and inspiration, the embodiment of an icon.
Bill Russell
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (1956-1969)
Russell battled racism throughout his years in Boston but still managed to lead his team to become the most dominant dynasty in sports history. After Russell had won nine championships in ten seasons with the team, Celtics head coach Red Auerbach retired and named Russell as player-coach, making Russell the first Black head coach in NBA history. Russell coached the team to another two championships in three seasons as player-coach. In 2010 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Wendell Scott
Sport (Years Played): Auto Racing (1951-1973)
After years of driving on the minor circuits, Wendell Scott broke NASCAR’s color barrier, debuting on the Grand National Series in a March 1, 1961 race at Spartanburg, South Carolina. Scott, who, in 1963, became the first Black driver to win a NASCAR race dealt with racist throughout his career and faced death threats. Once, he was even allegedly poisoned. Scott paved the way for drivers such as Bubba Wallace. Scott inspired the animated character River Scott in Disney’s 2017 film Cars 3.
Charlie Sifford
Sport (Years Played): Golf (1948-1980)
Early in his golf career, Sifford could compete solely in tournaments organized by his fellow Black golfers, but he wanted more. He attempted to qualify for the 1952 Phoenix Open by using an invitation from Joe Louis. While there, Sifford received death threats. He continued to play, and joined the PGA Tour in 1961. He went on to play in 422 tournaments, with 51 top 10 finishes, including wins at the 1967 Greater Hartford Open and the 1969 Los Angeles Open.
Etan Thomas
Sport (Years Played): Basketball (2001-2011)
A defensive-minded big man out of Syracuse, Thomas’ nine seasons in the NBA were largely unspectacular. But he was a deep thinker and made an impact off the court. He published a book of poetry called More Than an Athlete and is also an outspoken peace activist who spoke out against the United States led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Venus & Serena Williams
Sport (Years Played): Tennis (Venus, 1994-Present; Serena, 1995-2022)
Two sisters emerge from the streets of Compton to both become world no. 1 in the predominantly white sport of tennis? It’s one of the greatest stories in the history of sports. Venus is a seven-time major champion and would’ve won more if not for her little sister. Serena, meanwhile, is the unquestioned GOAT of women’s tennis with 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 186 consecutive weeks at no. 1. Both sisters challenged racism and sexism throughout their career and served as an inspiration to millions.
Tiger Woods
Sport (Years Played): Golf (1996-Present)
Ever since he putted on national TV at age 2, Tiger Woods was destined for greatness. Though injuries slowed him down, Woods is still considered the most dominant golfer of all time. Tiger has won 14 major tournaments, the second most all-time, but more importantly, he inspired a nation of young Black men to pursue a sport that historically hasn’t been inclusive to Black people.
1966 Texas Western Basketball Team
Sport (Years Played): Basketball
Prior to 1966, no major college basketball team ever had five African American players in the starting lineup. But a little known school (now the University of Texas El-Paso) pulled it off and embarked on a miracle run that ended with Texas Western beating Kentucky, 72-65, in the National Championship Game. A story so amazing that Hollywood made a movie out of it.