past exhibits

the national pastime in black and white, the Negro baseball leagues

April 6 - August 27, 2006

The Negro Baseball Leagues, 1867–1955, tells the fascinating story of the Negro leagues during segregation. The exhibition’s 60 photographs and selection of rare artifacts acquaint visitors with great athletes who were good enough but prevented from playing in the major leagues. These athletes didn’t wait for the door to “organized” baseball to open; they formed their own teams and leagues and played the game with as much enthusiasm as their white counterparts. The Negro leagues provided a venue for black ballplayers prior to the desegregation of major league baseball and the civil rights landmark cases of the 1950s and 1960s.

The exhibition examines this and other social aspects of the Negro leagues along with the community roles of teams and players, the importance of weekly black newspapers, and barnstorming.

sampling of works presented