The C. O. W. S. Mário Filho's The Black Man in Brazilian Soccer Part 3 #PELÉ

The Katherine Massey Book Club @ The C.O.W.S. hosts the 3rd study session on Mário Filho's 1947 The Black Man in Brazilian Soccer, translated to English by Jack A. Draper III. Brazilian football (soccer) legend Pelé died near the end of 2022 at the age of 82. The only player to win 3 World Cup Championships and voted "Athlete of the 20th Century" according to many White journalists and historians, Pelé is classified as black and was born in 1940, a measly 52 years after Brazil abolished formal enslavement of black people in 1888. Racists didn't even allow black people to play football/soccer in Brazil for many decades. We'll learn about the System of White Supremacy in South America and one of the greatest athletes of any sport. Listeners should be mindful that Brazil just endured riots and violent protests after a contentious presidential election. The scene was eerily similar to the 2021 mayhem on January 6th in Washington, D.C. Former President Jair Bolsonaro is being investigated for instigating the conflict. During last week's installment, we heard continued insistence from Filho that skin color became less prominent with time and the "democratization" of Brazil and football/soccer. This has to be a willful lie because Filho also describes how young black boys were only allowed on the smaller ball clubs and the "affluent" White clubs relocated to the "suburbs." We also heard how Catholic priests demanded that Brazilian children play soccer. Gus strongly suspects the "ball game" was a ruse to rape children. Importantly, the author describes the soccer balls used as being large and constructed of tough, black ox leather. The children called the ball "HAIRY" because of the stubborn ox hairs that wouldn't turn loose. 20th century journalists felt squeamish about writing the word "ball" when covering the football matches. The homoerotic qualities of the book and 20th century Brazilian culture are equally profound. #Rio WhiteBallGames #TheCOWS13 INVEST in The COWS – http://paypal.me/TheCOWS Cash App: https://cash.app/$TheCOWS CALL IN NUMBER: 605.313.5164 CODE 564943# #Interracial