Jay Coakley, Professor Emeritus
Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
As syllabi are prepared for the 2026-27 academic year, we have an opportunity to include videos describing the history of political activism among Black athletes in the US. This 12-part series, The Last Lectures, consists of informative presentations by Dr. Harry Edwards, sociologist, noted civil rights activist, and Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Edwards’ 1974 textbook, Sociology of Sport , his 1969 book, The Revolt of the Black Athlete, and his agency in promoting social change were prominent catalysts for generating interest in the sociology of sport in the U.S. and beyond.
As a young scholar committed to using sport as a vehicle for social change, Dr. Edwards founded the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), a social justice movement that highlighted and protested racism, and challenged segregation in sports. His advocacy and his courses inspired San Jose State University students, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, both Olympic sprinters, to raise their gloved fists in an iconic Black Power Salute on the victory podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Dr. Edwards is also a founding member of The Institute for the Study of Sport, Society and Social Change (ISSSSC), which continues to use sport as a tool to encourage meaningful positive social change, in the hope that we can create a more equitable future for all.
In addition to his noteworthy achievements and awards, Edwards promoted diversity in sports management as a consultant with professional teams in the U.S., including the San Francisco 49ers, Golden State Warriors, and Major League Baseball.
Now in his mid-80s and facing health challenges, Dr. Edwards has created a bookend to his career in the form of The Last Lectures, a 12-part video series describing the history of Black athlete activism in the U.S. Two of these videos are being made available to professors by Dr. Edwards and documentary film maker, Jonathan Hock. A link to the website/portal, www.lastlectures.com provides access to the trailer for the series, written descriptions of the 12 lectures, and other content on the website. Through the fall semester we have access to the following two lectures:
- THE LAST LECTURES – Lecture 6 “The Tallest Tree in Our Forest” | Running time: 45 minutes | https://vimeo.com/1192427870 | Password (case sensitive): LL52026scr!
- THE LAST LECTURES – Lecture 8 (Part 2) “The Activist Journey of Muhammed Ali” | Running time: 33 minutes | https://vimeo.com/1192441594 | Password (case sensitive): LL52026scr!
There is no subscription fee for Vimeo required to view these lectures, nor for the lectures themselves through the website/portal. They are hosted on Jonathan Hock’s Vimeo account and are available to professors to use in their courses or other campus-based forums. Just use the links above and enter the password provided if prompted. Joining Vimeo is not required.
Jonathan Hock and Dr. Edwards told me that they will also make all the lectures available to professors at no cost, at least for the next academic year and almost certainly beyond. Based on what they hope will be positive feedback from professors and students, they will raise money to cover access in academic settings.
Free access to all the lectures requires contacting Jonathan Hock, the producer of the series (jhock@hockfilms.com; phone- 917 623-9381) and letting him know that your desire to incorporate The Last Lectures into a course or a campus-based forum. Dr. Edwards asks that we do not use the lectures for fundraising purposes outside of these contexts.
For unlimited access to The Last Lectures, Drs. Hock and Edwards ask for a brief, 1–2 line endorsement or testimonial from the professor and a couple of their students, if they feel the Lectures are a worthy component of their coursework and beneficial for students.
This will assist in recouping production costs and provide some benefit for Dr. Edwards. The goal is to raise funds through philanthropic giving apart from the academic use of the videos.
Additional useful links
The Dr. Harry Edwards Collection at San Jose State University
SJSU Special Collections and Archives is growing its collection of artifacts and memorabilia connected to the history of sport and social change, including the Olympic Project for Human Rights and the Speed City era. Visit the Collection
It Is Time – A Paper by Dr. Harry Edwards
“It Is Time: From Protest to Policies, Programs, and progress” is a paper summarizing the challenges and options faced by athlete activists today, by Harry Edwards, Ph.D., May 22, 2018
Abstract: Owing to a constellation of developments already well this side of the sports-political horizon, it is not only advisable but critically imperative that today’s athlete activists move beyond protests to direct participation and involvement with peoples and communities struggling under burdens of injustice. Factors compelling this shift in athlete activists’ focus and approaches have to do not only with the urgency of meeting the challenges involved, but with the inevitable dissipation and denunciation in the perceived legitimacy and constructiveness of continuing protests in the sports arena.
Access the paper by clicking here.
In closing,
it is my pleasure to inform scholars associated with idrottsforum.org and relevant professional associations of this opportunity. I’ve seen the lectures and talked with producer Jonathan Hock and Harry Edwards about their commitment to this project. I see the Last Lectures as a useful starting point for discussing activism and social change related to sports in today’s world.
