FREE EVENT

Bring your lunch

Drinks and desserts will be provided!!

Black History Month Celebration

Lunch & Learn

2020 marked two major milestones for baseball: the Negro Leagues celebrated their 100th anniversary and Major League Baseball merged statistics of these African American players with those of the major league. The history of Negro League baseball in America mirrors the racial strife experienced by African Americans in society. It was plagued by discrimination, racism, and inequity, while its athletes were celebrated for their resiliency, professionalism, and athleticism. The Kansas City Monarchs barnstormed across Kansas and the region to play more than 400 games between 1920 and 1957 against local towns. This talk sheds new light on this sports history and the history of baseball in Kansas.

Phil S. Dixon a co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City also formally worked as Assistance Director of Public Relations for the Kansas City Royals. In 2020 Dixon was honored by the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York to select players for the Early Baseball Era ballot. He is the author of nine books about baseball, including biographies about Wilber “Bullet” Rogan and John “Buck” O’Neil. In the course of his research, he has interviewed over 500 former Negro League players and family members.

“The Kansas City Monarchs and America’s National Pastime” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau, featuring humanities-based presentations designed to share stories that inspire, spark conversations that inform, and generate insights that strengthen civic engagement.

For more information about “The Kansas City Monarchs” contact the Gordon Parks Museum at

(620) 223-2700 ext. 5850 or visit http://www.gordonparkscenter.org/.