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#phstmu This semester I will be taking a dive into a topic and sharing its history as a part of my Public History class. The topic I have decided to explore is the Negro League. Over the course of the semester, I am aiming to bring light to the people behind the creation of 1/10
the Negro League, what the Negro League meant for the black community, societal views at the time, highlight key players from the time who lead to the integration of the Negro League, provide information about ballparks used by Negro League teams and explore major events that2/10
took place during this time frame. Although baseball is commonly known as America's pastime it is was not always accepted for all Americans to enjoy this game on the same field. In the 1860s baseball was first played under an organization. At the time black athletes were 3/10
welcome. However, the introduction of Jim Crow laws in 1865 after the abolishment of slavery and the segregationist attitude in many regions of the United States lead to owners organizing a "gentleman's agreement" to remove black players from their teams. 4/10
Black players decided to form their own teams to compete against each other. The Chicago American Giants were one of these teams and an extremely talented team at that. They would play against the Chicago Cubs and Whitesox in exhibition games. These games were watched by the 5/10
public however the ticket agencies and owners of the ballparks were white and would control the revenue collected from the games. The owners and players wouldn't dispute the unequal payment because they feared losing venue to play in as well as feared other injustices 6/10
experienced at the time. The Giants would often times beat the Cubs or the White sox but based on the colour of their skin rather than the quality of their play the owners and managers would still not allow the players to join the organization or make a fair wage. 7/10
It was for this reason that on February 13th 1920, Andrew "Rube" Foster, manager of the American Chicago Giants met with the owners of other black baseball teams to create the National Negro League. Rubes idea for the league was to provide equal earnings to black players 8/10
and create something sustainable for the black community to be able to enjoy. With " We are the ship, all else is the sea" as their slogan and 7 teams in the US the NNL was created. The NNL stood as a step forward and big opportunity for the black community and even though 9/10
they were still faced with deeply rooted segregation and Jim Crow laws. Next week I plan to talk about the life of Andrew "Rube" Foster more and the points in his life leading up to the creation of the NNL. 10/10
