[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6113-H6114]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LEGACY OF MINNIE FORBES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Ms. Scholten) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. SCHOLTEN. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to recognize the life and 
career

[[Page H6114]]

of one of my incredible constituents, Minnie Forbes, the last living 
owner of a Negro League baseball team, the Detroit Stars.
  Minnie Forbes was born in 1932 in Mississippi and eventually found 
her home in Grand Rapids with her uncle, Ted Rasberry, a player in the 
Negro Leagues. Her uncle taught her to play softball. As a young teen, 
she played on the Grand Rapids' Cook's Brown Dolls softball team.
  Minnie found her true love for the game working behind the scenes in 
team management. By 18, Minnie was a secretary for her uncle and his 
multiple baseball teams--the Grand Rapids Black Sox, the Detroit Stars, 
and the Kansas City Monarchs.
  Then, at just 24, she became the owner of the Detroit Stars. Minnie 
was shocked but felt prepared to take over the team, and thus became 
one of the few women ever to own a Negro League baseball team.
  As an owner of the Detroit Stars, Minnie endured racism and prejudice 
toward herself and her players, especially while traveling for games. 
Players were often forced to sleep and eat on the bus, as the 
restaurants and hotels refused to accommodate and even feed Black 
Americans. Sometimes they were even chased out of town.
  The players and Minnie persevered through strife and their love of 
the game. The ripple effects of that persistence echoed through the 
civil rights movement.
  Minnie and her contemporaries made strides in changing American 
culture through sport. We are forever indebted for their sacrifices in 
pursuing a more equal and equitable future for all.
  I am proud to step up to the plate to commend Minnie for her 
extraordinary legacy, a legacy that continues to live on in Grand 
Rapids, Michigan, in the Ted Rasberry Youth League, where I have had 
the honor of serving as a volunteer coach.

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