Jim Brown: Black athlete, Black self-help, and Black capitalism

Łukasz Muniowski
University of Szczecin, Poland

Jim Brown is regarded as one of the greatest running backs in the history of American football, but his NFL championship and three MVP awards pale in comparison to his achievements and influence off the field. The same applies to his acting career, which includes roles in The Dirty Dozen (1967), 100 Rifles (1969) and Any Given Sunday (1999). As a civil rights activist, Brown set the bar for future athletes when it came to standing up for the issues dear to them. Fondly remembered for his participation in the Ali Draft Summit alongside other prominent African American athletes, Brown used his public persona, celebrity and recognizability to back up the Negro Industrial and Economic Union (NIEU) – in 1968 renamed to the Black Economic Union (BEU) – and help fellow Black Americans by advancing their economic situation in the confines of capitalism.

Robert A. Bennett posits Brown at the beginning of the narrative, as he formed the organization in 1966 to battle numerous issues plaguing his community. Bennett divides his book into, barring an introduction and an epilogue, five chapters, starting with Brown, the standard and the departure point for athlete activists. The NIEU focused on solving the financial issues of African Americans, providing them with the tools to “help themselves” (p. 15). Brown could have donated money, but instead he chose to challenge the existing social structures and race relations, first in Cleveland, where he played professional football, and eventually in other cities, through the organization’s program of uplifting those wronged by racism. Economically Brown was not promising anything new, instead, he was deeply engulfed in the market logic of capitalism, stressing inclusion instead of coming up with alternatives for what was occurring on local and global markets. NIEU encouraged African Americans to “embrace self-help, pride, and self-respect” (p. 24).

Because of his relationship with NOI, in 1965 Ali signed with Main Bout, which was Jim Brown’s management company, holding ties with NOI as well. In the eyes of white Americans, the company represented the country’s progressive side and potential for change, with African Americans taking on more responsible positions.

Chapter Two discusses the Ali Draft Summit, which was initially presented by the white media as more established Black athletes – like Brown or Bill Russell – trying to convince Muhammad Ali to join the Army and take on a representative role, assuming that Ali was afraid of risking his life in Vietnam and not standing up for something bigger than himself. The focus of this part of the book is on Cassius Clay’s process of embracing the beliefs of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and siding with the organization despite the risk of legal and financial consequences. Because of his relationship with NOI, in 1965 Ali signed with Main Bout, which was Jim Brown’s management company, holding ties with NOI as well. In the eyes of white Americans, the company represented the country’s progressive side and potential for change, with African Americans taking on more responsible positions. This perspective however ignored less privileged minorities, who did not have the opportunities to build themselves up in the eyes of white Americans through athletic feats, which were stereotypically considered to be Black Americans’ means of liberation.

Chapter Three discusses how NIEU/BEU brought forth change for Black athletes, while Chapter Four, “In the Community,” showcases how through Black celebrities the organization was able to reach those worse off and encourage the development of Black businesses. The NIEU was able to grow, branching out from Brown’s stomping grounds of Cleveland and Los Angeles to Kansas City, Missouri, Washington, DC, Oakland and New York, while also changing its name to BEU in order to stress the importance of “Black identity,” serving as basis for Black capitalism – the prevalent economic identity of the BEU, motivated by Brown’s close relationship with president Richard Nixon, who “defined Black Power as Black capitalism” (p. 103). The structures were in no way encouraging development, as many professional athletes, regardless of their race, had to get jobs in the offseason just to survive. And yet, even those most recognizable, who also tended to be the highest earners, were expected to uphold the system which it would take decades to transform from oppressive to beneficial and liberating.

How that worked in practice is presented in Chapter Five, where the author tackles the story of the Kansas City chapter, its development and its challenges on the example of Curtis McClinton, who spent seven seasons on the Chiefs, winning three AFL championships and one Super Bowl as a running back. The Chiefs were “the first pro sports team with a majority Black squad” (p. 141) and McClinton was a part of that history-making roster. He then went on to have a successful career as a businessman, which can be attributed to his work ethic, but also to his status in the region, both of which he used to open doors for other African Americans. While not as widely known and remembered as Brown, McClinton post-sports career is truly representative of the possibilities provided by the BEU.

Bennett’s thoroughly researched book points out the main paradox of integration. As white Americans were the ones with most wealth, they eventually invested in inherently Black businesses, as well as took over most Black consumers who now “had more options for services and goods” (p. 156) and no longer had to rely solely on Black-owned businesses, leading to their downfall. The BEU did help the African American community, but only to a certain extent, as “Black capitalism,” by definition, suggests that there is a different capitalism in existence, one that is not, well… Black. Hence, by entering a field set up by whites, they were not necessarily doomed to fail, but there were certain limitations put upon the development of Black businesses and businessmen. The author is on the fence when it comes to evaluating the BEU on the whole, but not when it comes to its legacy and the legacies of its main actors, who laid the groundwork for generations of civil rights activists, the latest example being Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick’s deal with Nike is a prime example of Black capitalism – a Black athlete prospering on a whites-dominated field, bringing forth change for the individual, but not the whole community.

Copyright © Łukasz Muniowski 2026