Here's the
link to one of the most extensive threads on this topic. As you will see from the posts, this question touches on critical questions of American society and culture. Until the mid-sixties, when Cisero Murphy was first allowed to compete in major tournaments, the question was a simple academic one: African-American players didn't play in any version of a pro tour because they weren't permitted. In the decades since then, the issue has become more complex, just as all issues of race have become more complex and nuanced since the removal of legal and obvious barriers to participation in various aspects of American society.
I argue that there are three major factors that contribute to the lack of a significant African-American presence on the tournament circuit: economics, lack of role models/exposure to attract younger players, and the desire to maintain anonymity. First, let's discuss economics and anonymity, because they are related. It is an accepted truism that in order to make a living playing tournament pool one has to be among the top 10-15 players in the world. For everyone else, action (such as exists) is the only way to earn enough money to survive, and even that as any road player will tell you, is an
extremely iffy proposition. As a result, an athletically talented youngster in the black community is going to gravitate to those sports where there is a chance to earn a living and where there is an already established pathway and examples to follow. Thus, the talent pool for the development of pro-level players becomes extremely limited.
For those who do get into the game, there are a number of factors that lead them to the gambling/road circuit rather than the tournament trail. Ongoing residential segregation is one of those factors. Despite decades of civil rights and equal opportunity legislation, the fact remains that the vast majority of working class African-Americans live in predominantly black communities. As such, a young Black player will most likely go to a black poolroom in his/her community and will learn the pool culture that dominates in that room. For the most part, the pool culture that he will learn is one that is heavily weighted towards money, as opposed to tournament play, and one will find that there is only limited interaction with the 'tournament culture'.
Another factor which discourages tournament participation for African Americans is one which I have not seen discussed in the forums before but which, from my limited experience, plays a large role. It is the increased difficulty that Black players have in maintaining anonymity. For obvious reasons, Black players present at a tournament stand out and are easy to identify. I played in one BCA Amateur 9-ball tournament in Minnesota back in 2000 or so and found that Willie Munson and I were two of the VERY few African-Americans present out of the hundreds of participants. So needless to say, there was no sneaking up on ANYBODY once I had been there for a day. Everybody soon knew about "the tall Black kid with the glasses", and had I planned to hit the road after that tournament instead of returning home to the Virgin Islands, I would have most likely found that news of my existence would follow me to any pool hotbeds that I would have visited. My experience traveling to places like NYC and Orlando have only confirmed this belief about the difficulty that Black players have in maintaining anonymity. As such, if I were living in the States and was intent on maximizing my income potential playing pool, I would avoid tournaments like the plague!
This brings us to the last question--that of culture, examples and precedent. To use an example that most are familiar with, it is well known that since the advent of Tiger Woods, we can see many more Black folk playing golf on courses around the country than we have ever seen before. We see a similar phenomenon in tennis with the Williams sisters. Simply put, public success breeds emulation and imitation. If we accept that one of the reasons for the dearth of young American male players is the lack of television exposure for men's tournaments, then that applies double for African-Americans. It is safe to say that no African-American under the age of fifty has EVER seen an African-American play professional pool on television. As such, none but the true cognoscenti are even aware that a Cliff Joyner even exists, and they may never have heard the name Cisero Murphy. As such young African-Americans have no role models in the sport that they can identify with. Consider what pool would be in the Philippines without Efren Reyes, Jose Parica or Francisco Bustamante. There would be a ton of strong players, no doubt, but it is doubtful that there would be such a level of professional participation without the groundwork that was laid by the "Leader of the Invasion" and the "Magician".
Well, there's my two cents to hopefully get the ball rolling again on what is always a timely and thought-provoking discussion.
Peace,
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