A production of Miles Educational Film Productions, Inc. and WNET/New York, Black Champions is a three-part documentary of the historic achievements by black athletes in 20^th century America. From the early 1900s in Galveston, Texas, home of boxer Jack Johnson, to the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Black Champions brings to life the skills, challenges, and triumphs of not only those black athletes whose achievements are well-known, but those whose names are less familiar. Featured athletes include Arthur Ashe, Evelyn Ashford, Jim Brown, Alice Coachman-Davis, Angelo Dundee, Lee Elder, Curt Flood, William “Pop” Gates, Althea Gibson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Jacobs, William Johnson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Sydney Llewellyn, Earl Monroe, Archie Moore, Edwin Moses, Floyd Patterson, Eulace Peacock, Oscar Robertson, Mack Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, John Thompson, Peter Westbrook, and John Woodruff.

Part one of Black Champions, “Who Will Wear the Crown?,” examines early black participation in sports, focusing on the athletic departments of segregated black colleges during the first half of the century. Featured athletes include Josh Gibson, James Bell, Leroy Paige, Ralph Metcalfe, Ed Tolan, Cornelius Johnson, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Fritz Pollard, Paul Robeson. Interviewed athletes include Jim Jacobs, Eulace Peacock, Mack Robinson, and John Woodruff.

Part two of Black Champions, “New Times: The Integration of American Sports,” explores black pioneers who became superstars in the white sports arena. Interviewed athletes include Jim Brown, Alice Coachman-Davis, Wilma Rudolph, Archie Moore, Floyd Patterson, Althea Gibson, Sydney Llewellyn, Oscar Robertson, and Mack Robinson.