The Queen's Gambit: Race, Gender, and Feminist Reclamation of Athletic Histories

The Queen of Basketball is a film based on the life of Lusia (Lucy) Mae Harris Stewart, a champion of US women's university basketball credited with changing the face of the sport in the 1970s. The imagery of the film shows a Delta State University, a Mississippi community, and a nation that supported Lucy's remarkable talent. At the same time, Confederate flags flew, there were no professional women's teams for her to play on after graduation, and as a woman coach, her opportunities were limited. This film provides a queen's gambit - a ‘move’ that opens up discussions about race, gender and the importance of feminist reclamations of sport histories. In this paper we share a revised panel conversation from March 7, 2023 on the role of sport in shifting social ideas of what is possible, tolerable, and celebrated; the importance of storytelling about women in sport; and how we might expect (or demand) sport to change in the future - all from the perspective of four intellectual 'queens' in Canada: sport sociologist Janelle Joseph, sport journalist Shireen Ahmed, and sport historian Ornella Nzindukiyimana, in conversation with moderator and community and sport researcher Sarah Barnes.