Baseball, Civil Rights, and Diversity

If you know me personally, you know that I love baseball. People often make fun of me for my dedication to the sport, but I just tell them it takes a superior mind to appreciate the finer points of baseball.

Recently I read the book Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by Dave Maraniss. I had the privilege of watching the Great One play in person when I was very young, and he was at the end of his career (but still phenomenal). However, I had no idea what he had to face in the South just because of the color of his skin. Even though he was from Puerto Rico, he faced the same discrimination that the American Blacks did. I'm sort of ashamed that I wasn't aware of that, but that part of his life did happen before I was born, and I grew up in the North, where things like that were not as likely to happen.

This weekend I saw part of a compelling documentary about the Negro Leagues called "Pride and Perseverance" on the MLB Network. Pittsburgh has a great tradition with the Negro Leagues since it had two of the best teams--the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays. Therefore, whenever I go to a game at PNC Park, I see reminders of those players, such as this display at one of the entrances.

No sport is so woven into the fabric of our country as baseball. Sure it's not as popular now as the NFL and the NBA, but it's still an important part of our culture. Because of that, we can follow American history as we follow the history of baseball. Just as I learned about the prejudice in the deep South in the 50's and 60's from reading the Clemente book, your students can learn about Civil Rights and Diversity by visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame site.

The site offers many prepared lessons, but two that I find appropriate for February are Civil Rights: Before You Could Say "Jackie Robinson," and Cultural Diversity: Diversity in the Dugout.

Even if you think baseball is the most boring thing on Earth (and you're permitted to think incorrectly at times), I hope you will find these lessons helpful as we study the history of African Americans this month.