FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Historian Milton S. Katz, whose biography Breaking Through: John B. McLendon, Basketball Legend and Civil Rights Pioneer was published by the University of Arkansas Press in the fall of 2007, is featured prominently in the ESPN two-part, four-hour documentary Black Magic. Directed by Dan Klores (Crazy Love), it chronicles the Civil Rights Movement from the perspectives of players and coaches at historically black colleges and universities before integration.

John McLendon was one of those coaches. He remains a legend at historically black North Carolina Central and Tennessee State, where he coached during the 1940s and 1950s. His career later took him to Cleveland, where he became the first black coach of an integrated professional team (the American Basketball League’s Cleveland Pipers) and the first black coach at a predominately white college (Cleveland State). Eventually he went on to become the first black coach in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Larry Malley, director of the University of Arkansas Press, said that Breaking Through is one of the press’s stable of books exploring sports as a vehicle for social change. “It was gratifying to see the trailer for the movie, with its juxtaposition of scenes portraying civil rights and black athletes from the 1930s, 40s, and 50s,” Malley said. “As with Katz’s biography of Coach McLendon, the movie tells the story of sports and civil rights going hand in hand. To see this notion brought to life in a film that taps one of our authors is rewarding for the University of Arkansas Press and for all of those who remember John McLendon and others who accomplished great things during this period. Their example of persevering in difficult circumstances is as relevant today as it was 60 years ago.”

Black Magic, co-produced by former NBA star Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, is narrated by Wynton Marsalis and Samuel L. Jackson. Part 1 will be aired March 16, immediately following ESPN’s NCAA basketball tournament selection show, and Part 2 on March 17, both at 9 p.m ET, without commercial interruption.

For more information about the book, see: http://www.uapress.com/titles/fa07/katz.html. For more information on the movie, see: http://espnblackmagic.secondthought.com/.