Pay The Tab #18 - It's Time for Negro Leagues Reparations
The World Series starts tomorrow. That means it’s time for some serious baseball watching… and high time for Major League Baseball to make reparations for its racist past.
Quick quiz: What do these baseball legends have in common?
All are in the MLB Hall of Fame. And all played in the segregated Negro Leagues before baseball finally started to integrate in the 1940s and 50s.
Most of us know almost nothing about the Negro Leagues. If anything, we’re told they were a low-level, rag-tag operation not nearly at the level of white baseball.
Turns out the opposite is true. Negro League play was at a higher level than white baseball - and it featured tons of game-changing innovations that brought baseball into the modern era. The story of the Negro Leagues isn’t just baseball history; it’s American history. Complete with the bitter specter of Jim Crow segregation, along with the joyful expression of Black creativity and excellence.
But the white team owners banned Black players from MLB for over 60 years, forcing them to earn a small fraction of white players’ salaries.
The baseball industry, now a multi-billion dollar giant, never made amends for this atrocity. It’s high time for some payback.
We have two incredible guests to help us make the case:
Bill Greason, 100, the oldest surviving Negro Leagues player, shares stories from his days as a star in the Negro Leagues, a mentor to Willie Mays, the first Black pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, and one of the first Black U.S. Marines.
Larry Lester, the foremost Negro Leagues historian, tells us about his epic research over more than 40 years, busting racist myths about Black baseball, and shining a light on all the innovations the Negro Leagues brought to Major League Baseball.
Then we break out the calculators and tally up the actual TAB that is owed to pay back the families of the former Negro League players for all their lost income. It’s a big number - but easily payable by today’s billionaire owners.
Come on baseball, what are you waiting for? The clock is ticking to do the right thing and settle the score. It’s time to play ball!
Coming soon: William Darity and Kirsten Mullen
Dr. William Darity Jr. and Kirsten Mullen are the leading reparations experts in the U.S. We’re thrilled to bring you our riveting talk where they break down why reparations are necessary, how much cash is owed - and how the U.S. government can pay the tab without breaking the bank. Stay tuned for an episode you won’t want to miss!
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Peace,
Tony & Adam
