Jim Crow in the Big House the benching of Willis Ward and the rise of segregation in the Nort

A significant portion of the literature exploring the history of Jim Crow in America has been geographically situated upon the South, where Jim Crow had its most pernicious presence. Thus, studies on the existence of Jim Crow in the North have been limited and have produced widespread assumption that the North not only was more racially-tolerant than the South but also uncommitted to Jim Crow. However, an examination of collegiate sports in America yields quite a different reading of Jim Crow's presence in the North. The scrutiny of incidents involving black athletes at northern institutions provides evidence buttressing the certainty that the North also capitulated to the practice of Jim Crow. Black athletes at northern universities were withheld from sporting competitions or participation in sports altogether. This thesis surveys these experiences that black athletes countenanced at northern universities in order to enlarge upon Jim Crow's existence in the North.