A01=Steve Bialostok
African American history
African American studies
aging services
aging studies
anthropology
anti-Blackness
Author_Steve Bialostok
Black geographies
Black history
Black resistance
Black studies
Category=JBSL
Category=JBSL1
Category=JHMC
Category=NHK
Category=NHTB
Category=WQH
Colorado history
communication
cultural erasure
Cultural geography
Denver history
Denver recreation center
displacement
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
ethnic studies
ethnography
generational racism
gentrification
gerontology
linguistics
placemaking
political science
race
racial injustice
sociology
Product details
- ISBN 9781496244710
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 01 Jan 2026
- Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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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.
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.
