III 112th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 508 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

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.