Preparing the Students
A. Background
For almost 100 years, African-American players
were prevented from playing Major League
Baseball simply because of their skin color.
In order to play the game, they formed their
own teams – known collectively as the Negro
leagues. The heyday of the Negro leagues was
from the 1920s through the late 1940s when
Jackie Robinson broke the modern-day color
barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. The
Negro leagues continued until 1960 when
Baseball became completely integrated. Negro
league players endured what some considered
adverse conditions in order to play the game
they loved.
B. Vocabulary
Abolish
Activist
Barnstorm
Civil Rights
Color Barrier
Contract
Courage
Demise
Discrimination
Expansion
Integration
Integrity
Jim Crow laws
Negro leagues
Perseverance
Prejudice
Racism
Rookie
Segregation
Slavery
C.
Suggested Pre-Program Activities
1) In
the Multi-Media Gallery of the Hall of Fame Web
site (baseballhalloffame.org) find
photographs of Moses Fleetwood Walker, Leroy
“Satchel” Paige, Josh Gibson, Effa Manley, Rube
Foster, James “Cool Papa” Bell, Walter “Buck”
Leonard, Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson. If
possible, print each photograph and identify one
fact about each person. (NOTE: This activity
is particularly important prior to a
videoconference).
2) Read
aloud the short book, “Teammates,” by Peter
Golenbock. Discuss as a class the significance
of the relationship between Jackie Robinson and
Pee Wee Reese. Examine this relationship from
the author’s perspective by viewing an online
interview at
looseleafbookcompany.com/archives/0112/tr2.html.
3) Organize
students into literature circles to read the
books: “The Story of Jackie Robinson: Bravest
Man in Baseball,” by Margaret Davidson;
“Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson” by
Barry Denenberg; “Determination: The Story of
Jackie Robinson,” by Deborah Woodworth; or “In
the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson” by
Bette Bao Lord. After each chapter, groups
should discuss what they learned and felt, as
well as key vocabulary terms, and figurative or
descriptive language. Students should record
individual perceptions in a daily journal.
4) Have
students write a paragraph or story about the
Negro leagues using vocabulary terms from this
lesson.
5)
Using the Hall of Fame’s
Web site, analyze primary source documents
pertaining to the Negro leagues, such as
newspaper articles, cartoons, photographs and
correspondence. Identify key quotes, phrases,
language or images that consistently reflect the
history of this era. Sample activity pages are
available online at
baseballhalloffame.org.
6)
Establish the time period by having students
create a timeline connecting historical
milestones of the early 1900s through 1950,
including: World War I, the gradual advent of
improved transportation and communication,
passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920
(giving women the right to vote), the Great
Depression, World War II and Jackie Robinson’s
breaking baseball’s color barrier.
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