[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 508 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 508

 Recognizing the teams and players of Negro League Baseball for their 
achievements, dedication, sacrifices, and contributions to baseball and 
                              the Nation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2012

  Mr. Blunt (for himself, Mrs. McCaskill, and Mr. Nelson of Florida) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the teams and players of Negro League Baseball for their 
achievements, dedication, sacrifices, and contributions to baseball and 
                              the Nation.

Whereas, prior to 1947, Major League Baseball excluded African Americans from 
        playing professional baseball, but could not suppress their desire to 
        play the sport;
Whereas African Americans began organizing their own professional baseball teams 
        in 1885;
Whereas, between 1920 and 1960, African Americans organized 6 separate baseball 
        leagues, known collectively as the Negro Leagues;
Whereas the Negro Leagues included exceptionally talented athletes who played 
        baseball at the sport's highest level;
Whereas, on May 20, 1920, the first Negro League, the Negro National League, 
        played its first game;
Whereas, prior to the inclusion of African Americans in Major League Baseball, 
        the Negro Leagues and their players were extraordinarily successful and 
        popular throughout the United States;
Whereas the skills and abilities of players in the Negro Leagues contributed to 
        the realization by Major League Baseball of the need to integrate 
        African Americans into the sport;
Whereas Major League Baseball was not fully integrated until July 1959;
Whereas the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, was founded 
        in 1990, to honor those who played in the Negro Leagues as a result of 
        segregation in the United States;
Whereas the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is the only public museum in the 
        Nation that exists for the exclusive purpose of interpreting the 
        experiences of players in the Negro Leagues from 1920 through 1960;
Whereas there remains a need to preserve evidence of the honor, courage, 
        sacrifice, and triumph in the face of segregation that African Americans 
        displayed while playing in the Negro Leagues;
Whereas the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum seeks to educate a diverse audience 
        through its comprehensive collection of historical materials, important 
        artifacts, and oral histories of the players in the Negro Leagues, as 
        well as inform the public on the impact of segregation on the lives of 
        those African-American players and their fans; and
Whereas the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, through its invaluable resources, 
        presents a great opportunity to teach children and others by providing 
        on-site visits, traveling exhibits, classroom curriculum, distance 
        learning, and other educational initiatives: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the teams and players of Negro League Baseball 
        for their achievements, dedication, sacrifices, and 
        contributions to baseball and the Nation;
            (2) supports the designation of the Negro Leagues Baseball 
        Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, as ``America's National Negro 
        Leagues Baseball Museum'', including the museum's future and 
        expanded exhibits, collections library, archives, artifacts, 
        and education programs;
            (3) commends the efforts of the Negro Leagues Baseball 
        Museum to recognize and preserve the history of the Negro 
        Leagues and the impact of segregation on the Nation;
            (4) recognizes that the continued collection, preservation, 
        and interpretation of the historical objects and other 
        materials at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum enhances the 
        knowledge and understanding of the experience of African 
        Americans during segregation;
            (5) calls on every American to join in celebrating the 
        Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and its mission of preserving and 
        interpreting the legacy of the Negro Leagues; and
            (6) encourages present and future generations of Americans 
        to understand the important issues surrounding the Negro 
        Leagues, the role of the Negro Leagues in shaping Major League 
        Baseball and the Nation, and how the sacrifices of Negro League 
        players helped establish baseball as a national pastime of the 
        United States.
                                 <all>