Baseball The Lost Sport of Black America

In 1947, one of the most important events in American History occured. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to cross the color barrier and play professional in the Major Leagues. Many historians will tell you that Mr. Robinson was not the best black ball player, he was simply the most “ready” to deal with the scrutiny that was sure to follow this courageous act.

In 1975, as many as 27% of all MLB players were black. Today that number is at about 8%, down from 16% just a decade or so ago. What happened? Why are fewer and fewer African Americans playing the game of baseball? The same sport that was dominated, by Jackie Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Doc Gooden and others is now a shadow of itself to this generation. Do we blame this generations lack of attention span on what some would call a “slow and arduous” game? Or maybe its basketball and footballs stars like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Michael Vick & Lebron James demanding urban kids attention. Or is it the business decision made by MLB to use their recruiting resources in 3rd World countries instead of the urban centers like New York, LA and Chicago?

This week we will have Former Major League Pitcher Wayne Gomes (First Round Draft pick Philadelphia Phillies ’93) of the Virginia Baseball Academy (http://www.virginiabaseballacademy.com/). Also we will have James Ammons, Jr. Former FAMU Rattler and front office employee of the ATL Braves, Tampa Rays, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates. We will dig into this topic with two guy who have loved baseball all their lives and are doing their part to keep baseball alive among the youth.

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Are Civil Rights and Greek Organizations still relevant?

by Miguel Lloyd

Its 2011 and depending on who you ask, minorities and poor people are in the worse shape they have been for over 100 years.
Unemployment is over 15% for minorities, wages are not comparable across the races or genders, and the rich have become the super rich, gladly leaving the rest of the world behind. Right now, it as much a state of class warfare as it is still an issue of racism.

Well if we rewind about 60 years their were civil rights organiztions all over the south fighting for the rights of black people. Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, National Urban League, National Council of Negro Women, Alphas, Omegas, AKAs and of course the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are just a few of the organizations that were instrumental in fighting for the rights that many Americans enjoy today. Civil rights advocates are doing less marching and more tweeting to get their message out. They are lobbying for more jobs in major media to fight for the rights of their constituents. But is it effective? What are the roles of todays minority civic and social organizations? Are they really still working to improve the lives of the people who need them most, or are they just glorified social clubs that do little to serve the communities from which they were born. Are todays civil rights and greek organizations still relevant?

Join us this week and every week for this conversation.

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