This Black History Month coincides with an exciting milestone in the development of the Baltimore Black Sox Baseball Team Memorial: the community outreach and engagement phase.
The Baltimore Black Sox were a professional Negro League baseball team from 1913 to 1936, and in 1923 they became one of the original six teams to form the Eastern Colored League. They won the American Negro League Championship in 1929 – a season in which they won over 70% of their games.
The memorial project’s goal is to commemorate the legacy of the Baltimore Black Sox Negro League Baseball team and “celebrate the resilience of diverse communities in Baltimore,” reads the press release announcing the new phase.
Parks & People (P&P) and South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP) are soliciting feedback through an online survey, hoping to hear from residents, community leaders, and local neighborhood associations about community priorities before the design concept takes place. P&P’s project management team is attending local community meetings in person and online to publicize the survey and get as much input as possible from stakeholders.
The community engagement strategy includes collaborating with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) so that the memorial is rooted in educational research and authentic storytelling. This new phase includes the launch of the first such partnership. Students at Coppin State University can participate in a paid, credited program in which they research Black Sox players and team owners.
“This is an amazing opportunity for our students. We are delighted to partner with Parks & People to advance our History Program’s commitment to developing and training future Public Historians and Museum Professionals,” said Dr. Teisha Dupree-Wilson, history professor at Coppin State University.
“The Baltimore Black Sox Memorial will be a prominent feature along a new African American Heritage Trail, symbolizing the indelible legacy of the Baltimore Black Sox and their profound influence on the city’s African American history and baseball culture,” reads the release. The trail is part of the Reimagine Middle Branch Plan’s framework for Equitable Development. The framework calls for celebrating and paying tribute to African American culture by creating a heritage district.
The Reimagine Middle Branch plan is a collaboration between the City of Baltimore, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, and Parks & People, expert consultants, stakeholders, HBCU faculty and students, and Baltimoreans.
People interested in getting involved with the Baltimore Black Sox Baseball Team Memorial can contact the project team via email through this link.
To take the survey, click this link.
