In Playing to the End, Steve Bialostok immerses readers in the vibrant world of the card room at Denver's Hiawatha Davis Jr. Recreation Center, where a group of older Black men gather to play dominoes, exchange playful banter known as "talking shit," and cultivate a space of belonging. More than just a game, their gatherings are acts of Black placemaking - resisting cultural erasure, gentrification, and societal marginalization while fostering joy, resilience, and community. Through five years of ethnographic study, Bialostok reveals how these men transform the card room into a sanctuary of identity and defiance, where humor and camaraderie become tools of self-determination. As they navigate the pressures of a changing neighborhood, their interactions affirm the power of play, talk, and collective memory in sustaining Black spaces. Playing to the End is a compelling testament to the significance of these gatherings and the ongoing struggle for autonomy, cultural affirmation, and social connection in an inequitable world.
Steve Bialostok is a professor of anthropology at the University of Wyoming. He is the coeditor of Education and the Risk Society: Theories, Discourse, and Risk Identities in Education Contexts.
List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Notes on Transcription 1. Beginnings 2. Denver's History of Racism and Segregation 3. Charles Hall 4. Northeast Park Hill and the Struggle to Maintain Black Place 5. Robert Taylor 6. Birth and Evolution of a Black Social and Cultural Nexus 7. Herman Carr 8. Talking Shit inside the Card Room 9. Buford Yarborough 10. The Business of Intimacy 11. D-Ray Edwards 12. Endings Notes Bibliography Index
"At times deeply heartfelt, and yet relentless in its defense of the Black space these elders allowed the author to temporarily occupy, Playing to the End offers a touching tribute and a careful analysis of what Black men relegated to the card room at a Denver recreation center can accomplish through deceptively casual ritual talk surrounding the game of dominoes."-Jennifer Roth-Gordon, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona and author of Race and the Brazilian Body: Blackness, Whiteness, and Everyday Language in Rio de Janeiro "The end only comes when there is no memory, no record, and no one who misses it. Steve Bialostok's Playing to the End brings you into a sacred and safe space of the Black card table. He takes you into domino slapping and joyful card table talk. Bialostok respectfully witnesses the history of Black lives in Denver."-Ray Black, associate professor of African American studies at Colorado State University "Through careful research Playing to the End connects older Black men with the social areas and issues that have prevailed throughout American history and in so doing has creatively added new understanding to the human condition."-MartIn SAnchez-Jankowski, professor of sociology and chair of the Center for Ethnographic Research at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Cracks in the Pavement: Social Change and Resilience in Poor Neighborhoods
