6-13-10
June 14, 2010
Today we began at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. What a great experience. Baseball is intertwined with U.S. history and the visit was educational. One of the things this tour reminded me of is the civil-rights role that baseball players (and other athletes) have played in our history. As ambassadors of good will, Americans saw that African Americans share the same goals, aspirations, and athletic capabilities of all Americans.
Learning about the Baseball Hall of Fame website, distance learning opportunities and lesson plans was exceptional. I hope to use the Civil Rights Exhibit and the Viva Baseball exhibit together in my U.S. History classes. The Civil Rights exhibit was very powerful and meaning to me. Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother, and Bud Fowler were some Civil Rights leaders I did not know about, but will now hopefully mention (and put in the African-American Civil Rights timeline I made to go over with my students).
Jackie Robinson’s picture in his military uniform was also important. I have a picture of Jackie Robinson on my classroom wall in the Civil Right’s area of my room, but I would now like to put this picture with the other.
Two artifacts of Robinson’s hatemail were also heart-wrenching, as were several mentionings (by other players) about the hate Robinson had to endure to change the United States.
Pop Lloyd was someone I did not know about and I found it telling that he was called “the Black Honus Wagner” and that Honus Wagner said it was a privilege to be compared to the ballplayer.
John Henry “Pop” Lloyd
Honus Wagner
The Diamond Dreams Exhibit will influence the way I teach woman’s rights. These athletes furthered the cause of equal rights and their roles cannot be diminished. This tour will help me to remember to include women baseball players when I discuss the Woman’s Suffrage Movement.
The Viva Baseball Exhibit about Latin-America’s contribution to the sport was interrelated and I hope to mention some of the things I learned, including Jose Mendez from Cuba) in the Chicano Civil Rights timeline I made to go over with my students. That some Latin Americans played in the Negro National League because the color of their skin (while lighter-skinned Latin Americans did not have to…) reaffirms what I teach about the stupidity of dividing the single human species into these arbitrary divisions of “race.” It was also telling that African-American ball players from the U.S. were “treated like kings” in many Latin-American countries. Further, I found the oral accounts from Tony Perez, Orlando Cepeda, and Rod Carew, about obstacles in the U.S. overcome by Latin-American ball players very important. Finally, the exhibits reminded me to put Jim Thorpe into the Native-American Civil Rights timeline I made to go over with my students.
I must end by saying that seeing Joe DiMaggio’s locker and equipment, Mickey Mantle’s jersey, a bat used by Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig’s glove, the Babe Ruth Room, the Hank Aaron Room, and learning about Satchel Paige’s “jump ball,” “hesitation pitch,” “midnight creeper” pitch, and “trouble ball” were awesome (one player remarked that his fastball would seem to come right out of his shoe).
Satchel Paige
The Fenimore Art Museum was more interesting and educational than I thought it would be. The Native-American Exhibit will help my teaching. Seeing a quiver, case, and bow made by Geronimo was both amazing and sad. Amazing because it was made by the hands of Geronimo, and sad because he made it to be sold at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair after he had already been captured and subdued.
A dagger from the Tlingit people in Alaska was also interesting, as it still had blood stains on it.
The Magnum Photo Exhibit was very influential. Many of the photos were hard to view (especially the war pictures for me…), but I will mention some that moved me: Gandhi’s Funeral, 1948, Mothers of Naples Lament their Sons, Naples, Italy, 1943, D-Day Landing, Normandy, France, June 6, 1944, A Woman is Rescued from her Home Wrecked by a V-1 Bomb, London, England, 1943, and especially: A Gestapo Informer Impersonating a Refugee in a Displaced Persons’ Camp is Exposed, Dessau, Germany, 1945, Women Training Northeast of Tehran, Iran, 1986, and West Bank, Israel, 1967. Finally, North Carolina- the picture of “colored” and “white” drinking fountains during Separate but Unequal, was important to me. I have the picture on my classroom wall, yet did not know where it came from.
For photos see:
www.magnumphotos.com
www.eastmanhouse.org
I also listed the WWII pictures as very moving for me. The D Day landing was especially powerful.
I also thought the Magnum Photos were very powerful.
This collection of black and white photographs was outstanding! Perhaps the simplicity of this form show contrasts more readily and reaches straight for the heart. I never really thought of that before. We are not distracted by superfulous color and can process the message. You’ve got some great ideas for your classroom.
I liked how you tie in baseball and civil rights.It was a shame people went through this especially in sports. Keep up the good work..
Ray, so often we hear of the military contributions of other players like Ted Williams, but why do we not hear of Robinson’s service? Is it because his breaking the color barrier overshadows everything else so strongly? It would be interesting to research how that military experience helped or hindered him in his baseball experience.
Paul
I don’t know why one rarely hears about Jackie Robinson’s military service. you could be cirrect that breaking the “color” barrier overshadows his service. I don’t know if his military service helped or hindered him in his baseball experiences. I do k now that many African Americans, Native Americans, Chicanos, Asian Americans, etc. served their country with distinction in all of our wars (going back to the revolution- most have never heard of the Spaniard Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid- who, with his own money, helped to defeat a British fleet in the American Revolution [the town Galveston is named for him], yet all have learned about the French Marquis de LaFayette…) and many were denied burial in military cemeteries and military honors.
Finally, I have time to comment! I do know a bit about Jackie Robinson’s military service–in which he was almost court martialed for standing up for his rights (I think there is a movie about it called “The Courtmartial of Jackie Robinson”). Something else I learned through a book called “Opening Day”, is that the other players on the Dodgers never really were that welcoming to him, which is not how the storytellers have sold it to us–in fact, the story in “Teammates” (which we read in fourth grade) may never have actually happened! The truth is, Robinson was even more isolated than we realize, and yet he overcame it all. There is so much to admire about his handling of the challenges presented to him.
Thank you for the information Cody. I hope to work with you iin the future.