The white pro wrestling villain who beat the crap out of Jim Crow

[TomSea]

The white pro wrestling villain who beat the crap out of Jim Crow

Not all heroes wear capes. In fact, some wear shiny spandex underwear and don a signature white streak in their hair.

Such was the case with professional wrestler “Sputnik” Monroe, who used civil disobedience and market incentives to desegregate wrestling in the Jim Crow South.

The grand tradition

Professional wrestling is deeply rooted in Southern culture. Before televisions became a commodity that most Americans could afford, people had to find unplugged ways of keeping each other entertained.

For those whose economic situations did not permit weekends spent out at the theater or dining in upscale restaurants, local wrestling was the place to be. Every weekend, auditoriums would transform into wrestling venues with big rings in the center and folding chairs placed around for spectators.

In the days of segregation, these seats were reserved for “white” audience members, while everyone else had to sit in the tiny upper balcony in a section nicknamed “the crow’s nest.”

The heel becomes the hero

Before wrestling became the television sensation it is today, every region of the country had its own territory with its own cast of loud characters and dramatic stories.

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