The Friday before we ventured to the museum, our class watched 42. If you are from KC, then you might remember that the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum actually hosted the 2013 premier of the movie about the life story of Jackie Robinson and his history-making signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey.
This movie was a powerful adaptation, that I am sure only scratches the surface of the torment that Jackie really had to endure. While I could go into all the reasons this movie was fantastic and how everyone (even if you hate baseball) should see it, I'll spare you. See it, make your kids watch it, and I promise you'll want to cry, throw something and cheer all within the short two hours.
So back to the original topic... The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. If you live in Kansas City and you've never been, then you have no idea what you are missing. Founded in 1990, it opened in it's permanent home in the iconic 18th & Vine District in 1997. I first experienced the museum in the summer of 2006 at the Rhythm and Ribs Festival. I was lucky enough to return a few times over the next few years for events through my job at The Chamber of Commerce. Each time I would go through each museum (baseball and jazz) to see what different piece of info I could take away.
This most recent visit however will go down as one of my favorite. Our class was lucky enough to have Bob Kendrick, CEO of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (photo below, center) serve as a surprise tour guide. It was extremely generous of him to give up his free time on a Saturday to show us all around! He was a wealth of information about the museum and the Negro Leagues, and other museum attendees tagged along with our group just to hear his insights.
Very cool to say the least, so if you haven't been to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, make sure you check it out!
Very cool to say the least, so if you haven't been to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, make sure you check it out!
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