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As there is no means of commenting on the questions/concerns raised in the poll of the week, I thought that I would post, here. RE: the lack of young Black males’ interest in baseball: interest in many areas of life requires intentional exposure and encouragement. Young black males of the past 3 decades have received little, if any, of either vis a vis baseball in the U.S. It is not a ‘glamour’ sport. Who’s taking boys to games, explaining the nuances of the sport, telling them about the Negro leagues? This has zero to do with white folks; this is on us. As a proud Baltimore native, I rode multiple buses late on summer nights from Memorial Stadium with my parents, after getting bleacher splinters in my derriere; there were 3 of us children– not all boys. At home, the game was on the radio in the basement workroom as well as the 2nd floor sewing room.
As a community we need to re-think our sterotypes, paradigms, and urban myths. The current ones are not serving our children well. While racism is alive and well in the USA, it is not the single-source cause of the ills that we all too conveniently characterize it to be.
I probably know you. I am Paul Evans who lives in Baltimore. I am a writer who used to work for the AFRO AND THE SUN. I can relate to everything you said. Reading the book by Sam Lacy would help black boys and girls understand more about the past and what Jackie Robinson endured for the sake of his people and all Americans. If you send me your e-mail address, I will send you a copy of an article I wrote for the AFRO that addresses some of what you say.