As a Black man and longtime baseball fan, Black America's increasing abandonment of baseball has gotten more troubling by the year, to the point that it's now become kind of shameful IMO... When you consider ALL those battles that were fought just to prove we belonged on the same playing field as ANY player, to see today's lack of Black fan intrest and participation is plain and simply tragic. From a high of over 27% in 1975, todays Black-American representation in the Major Leagues is an anemic 8.4% - and dropping like a rock! As we approach the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson re-breaking of the color line in Major League Baseball - this Sunday, April 15th - I can only imagine what he would say if he were alive today to see us virtually disappearing from the game he fought so hard to get us into! What happened to the Black fans and players? `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Why America's Pastime Is Losing Its Identity http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=5026 African Americans In College Baseball http://www.thes****tjournal.org/2007Journal/Vol10-No2/Butts07.asp What's being done about it? ````````````````````````````````````` MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/community/urban_youth.jsp The Torii Hunter Project http://www.toriihunter48.com/ --- Three of the most recent acclaimed books on the lasting legacy of Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and others Carrying Jackie's Torch: The Players Who Integrated Baseball-and America http://www.amazon.com/Carrying-Jackies-Torch-Integrated-Baseball/dp/1556526393/sr=8-1/qid=1172763672/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-2416608-0015031?ie=UTF8&s=books After Jackie: Pride, Prejudice, and Baseball's Forgotten Heroes - An Oral History http://www.amazon.com/After-Jackie-Prejudice-Baseballs-Forgotten/dp/1933060182/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4821716-7626410?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1175612589&sr=1-1 Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Day-Jackie-Robinsons-Season/dp/0743294602/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5685695-9861741?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176233553&sr=8-1 In the end it all starts with becoming a fan of the game; that's where players come from... we've lost that along the way.
