TOPIC 7.15: Comparison, Contextualization, and Review of 1890-1945

The Negro Leagues: Joy, Perseverance, & Pride in Black Spaces

Unit 7: Learning Objective o: Compare the relative significance of the major events of the 20th century in shaping American identity.

Objective: Students will contextualize the major events in Black baseball in the border time and space of US history as well as conceptualizing Black joy and perseverance through a period of declining civil rights.          

This Concept in an Antiracist classroom:

“There was a lot wrong with the world, but we weren’t sad men. We had the time of our lives. I told them that for 50 years. They heard, but they didn’t listen. They listened, but they didn’t hear.” - Buck O'Neil, Negro League ballplayer for the Kansas City Monarchs

Historian Dr. James Loewen describes the period 1890-1945 as the “nadir” for race relations in the United States. Understanding the absolute disregard of Constitutional rights of Black citizens during this time period undercuts the racist mythology that somehow the Civil War solved America’s racial disparities (our students continue to hear, “yeah but, slavery ended 150 years ago” as an online rebuttal to antiracist efforts). When reviewing the period 1890-1945, these failures of democracy should be evident to our students.

Still within this context, students should also be exposed to the powerful resilience and joy that continued to be prevalent in Black spaces. These sources highlight the pleasure and pride that baseball brought to Black communities. Students will also gain a more nuanced view of integration as the story of Jackie Robinson’s triumphant breakthrough to the Major Leagues meant both joy and loss in Black communities.

Finally, the letters written by ball players Willie Wells and “Superman” Pennington will provide needed balance to textbook propaganda about the “Greatest Generation.” These letters will also provide historical context to our students about the voices of protest from Black athletes.

Notes

This skills based lesson is meant to be a review of period the 1890-1945 as well as practice for the skill of contextualization. It will integrate major themes in Black history into the broader story of US history between the end of the Civil War and the end of WW2. Students should have completed their study of WW2 and be preparing for the unit assessment.

This lesson was inspired by a conversation with the amazing Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro League Museum. Special thanks to Joe Schmidt from the New York City Department of Education who brought together some amazing Black baseball resources on his Twitter feed.

The story of Black baseball and teach our students a lot about American history in the early 20th century. There are too many fascinating stories to fit in one lesson, therefore, this lesson comes in 2 versions. The standard version can be taught in a 60 minute period if the teacher takes a couple of shortcuts with the introduction essay and the teacher example document. The standard version could easily fill a 90 minute block or two 60 minute class periods.

The extended version is the exact same lesson, it just has more documents.