On Saturday, August 28, University of Illinois Press author Charles Martin will be interviewed about his new book Benching Jim Crow: The Rise and Fall of the Color Line in Southern College Sports, 1890-1980 by host Bill Littlefield on NPR’s syndicated sports program Only a Game.

Mr. Littlefield has posted a passionate book review on the show’s site.

“Benching Jim Crow is a powerful indictment of a racist system, much of which has been dismantled by law, social pressure, and the belated recognition by southern coaches and athletic directors that recruiting white athletes exclusively would doom their universities to teams that might aspire to mediocrity on their most optimistic days. But the book is also a reminder of the extent to which people can hate and fear those who differ from them in terms of skin color, language, or national origin.”