Hank Aaron and Race in America | WBUR and NPR

TODAY IS THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010

Thursday, April 8, 2004 at 11:00 AM EDT

Hank Aaron and Race in America

The ordeal Hank Aaron went through in 1973 and 1974 as he chased Babe Ruth went far beyond one man’s desire to beat another’s record. He received threats and intimidation on a daily basis and was forced to gain police protection; FBI agents shadowed his children.

Aaron chased Ruth’s record during, a time of Watergate and Vietnam, an era when some whites were incensed that a black man might actually beat the record of a legendary sports icon.

Guests:

Tom Stanton, author of “Hank Aaron and The Home Run that Changed America”

Sandy Tolan, author of ” Me and Hank: A Boy & His Hero, Twenty-five Years Later”

Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.

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