[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 131 (Friday, August 3, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE MAMIE JOHNSON LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 3, 2018

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in honoring the Mamie Johnson Little League 
for winning the District of Columbia's Little League championship title 
on July 24, 2018. Only three years since its inception, Mamie Johnson 
is the first all-African American team to win the Little League 
championship title in the annual tournament's 31 years in the District.
  Mamie Johnson won the title game against Capitol Hill Little League, 
and will move on to compete in the regional tournament, in Bristol, 
Connecticut, with their sights on the Little League World Series.
  Keith Barnes, president of the Mamie Johnson Little League, founded 
the league just four years ago in Ward 7, here in the District of 
Columbia. He named the team after Mamie ``Peanut'' Johnson, the first 
female pitcher in the Negro Leagues, who lived and died in D.C. Johnson 
herself was present to see her namesake Little League make it to the 
finals in last year's tournament. This year's championship game was 
played at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, located in 
Fort Dupont. One of the reasons the District had no teams east of the 
Anacostia River is there was no place to play until recently. The land 
for the Academy was secured through a federal land transfer from the 
National Park Service to the District in 2010--an effort in which I was 
proud to play an essential role.
  In 2017, Major League Baseball's opening-day rosters had the lowest 
percentage of black players since 1958. In 2018, that number of 7.1 
percent increased to 7.8 percent, or 68 African Americans. This modest 
increase has been attributed to youth programs such as the Academy's 
``YBA Play'' program.
  At a time when African American participation in America's favorite 
pastime has been declining, the Mamie Johnson Little League presents a 
different future for baseball. They have already been an inspiration to 
kids in the District and have reintroduced an appetite for the sport in 
young children.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
honoring the Mamie Johnson Little League for their win in the 
District's Little League championship and for making tournament history 
as the first all-African American team to take the title.

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