How the Negro Leagues Changed the Game….and America Too!

Join CMCH and our guest Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, to learn about baseball and civil rights. The discussion will provide an overview of the history of the Negro Leagues and its great stars. It will also shed light on how America’s unsung baseball heroes (including longtime Connectican Jackie Robinson) would help usher in the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.

Suggested donation: $6 for CMCH members, $10 for non-members. Event will be streamed live on Crowdcast. You can register here. Questions? Email Natalie Belanger, Adult Programs Manager, at [email protected].

About our Speaker

Bob Kendrick was named President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in March 2011. Founded in 1990, the NLBM is the world’s only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its profound impact on the social advancement of America.

Kendrick’s appointment as President marked a celebrated return to the NLBM after a 13-month departure. He became the museum’s first Director of Marketing in 1998 and was named Vice President of Marketing in 2009 before accepting the post as Executive Director of the National Sports Center for the Disabled-Kansas City in 2010.

Kendrick began his association with the NLBM as a volunteer during his 10-year newspaper career with The Kansas City Star. Kendrick has been responsible for the creation of several signature museum educational programs and events including the Hall of Game which annually honors former Major League Baseball greats who played the game in the spirit and signature style of the Negro Leagues.

And while he doesn’t fashion himself to be a historian, Kendrick has become one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race and diversity. He has been a contributing writer for “Ebony Magazine” and the national Urban League’s “Opportunity Magazine.”

Image: courtesy Bob Kendrick and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum