[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 26, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4639-S4640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 508--RECOGNIZING THE TEAMS AND PLAYERS OF NEGRO 
  LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, DEDICATION, SACRIFICES, AND 
                CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASEBALL AND THE NATION

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

                              S. Res. 508

       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

[[Page S4640]]

     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.

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