Before You Can Say Jackie Robinson: Black Baseball in America in the Era of the Color Line

Black professional baseball originated in the 1880s and reached an end shortly after Hall of Fame ball-player Jackie Robinson’s entry into the Major Leagues. This moving and informative program celebrates that history, and gives back to great ballplayers, so often overlooked, some of the acclaim that they so deserved It locates this story into the larger Black and white world of which the Negro Leagues were a part. Selections from a documentary, produced by noted baseball historian Lawrence Hogan, lets players that Hogan was close to, speak about their playing days and their great love for the game. A special feature of this program has poet and playwright Kevin Kane presenting his original poem, “Breaking the Line with the Mudville Nine,” a Negro League update to that iconic American poem, “Casey at the Bat.”