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Events & Classes > Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience

Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience

The Pittsburgh Crawfords in front of their team bus at Greenlee Field, Pittsburgh, 1935 - Courtesy of National Baseball Hall of Fame Library Pittsburgh Crawfords

Location, time

About the exhibit

Baseball is one of America's central institutions, and it has long reflected the complicated and painful history of race in the United States. Pride and Passion tells the story of black baseball players over the past century and a half. The exhibition also looks at the origins of the sport and the history of baseball and race relations in Oregon.

Visit North Portland Library to view related exhibition materials.

Opening Day: Exhibition Reception

Saturday, December 3, 3-5 p.m.

Listen to Dr. Lewis' talk

Step up to the plate and join us for the exhibition opening celebration. The festivities will kick off with an introduction by Dr. Thabiti Lewis. Enjoy your favorite baseball tunes performed by Portland jazz duo Barry Glick and Jim Putman, participate in a baseball trivia contest to win fun prizes, and enjoy stadium-style snacks while perusing the exhibition. Come dressed representing your favorite baseball team and have your picture taken with the giant library card!

Dr. Thabiti Lewis is an Associate Professor of English at Washington State University Vancouver and author of the book Ballers of the New School: Race and Sports in America. He has published widely in the areas of African American literature, African American Studies, and race in sports.

Pride and Passion: The African-American Baseball Experience, a traveling exhibition for libraries, was organized by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York, and the American Library Association Public Programs Office, Chicago. The traveling exhibition has been made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.

The traveling exhibition is based on an exhibition of the same name on permanent display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Local support provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities fund of The Library Foundation.

The Library Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, American Library Association logos