I love when irony and history collide.
My son and his teammates are preparing to play in the Dixie
Youth Baseball World Series in Laurel, Mississippi. Until last year, I had
never heard of Dixie Youth. In other towns – and even in Lebanon – we had
participated in both the Little League and Cal Ripken baseball organizations.
So when we transitioned into DYB, I just assumed it was an alternative to the
other youth baseball programs. My curiosity eventually got the best of me, and
I started researching the history of Dixie Youth. Turns out, the history of
Dixie Youth is, well, less than colorful.
Not everyone in America thought the official integration of
Little League Baseball was a good thing. That was particularly true of those
who thought their light-skinned sons might lose in championship tournaments to
darker-skinned counterparts. So, in 1955, a group of teams in South Carolina
left Little League and formed the all-white Little Boys Baseball. In just a few
years, the league changed its name to Dixie Youth Baseball, choosing the
Confederate Battle Flag as the background for their official logo.
DYB grew quickly in the Deep South in the racially-charged
late 1950s and 1960s, evidence of the distaste that many whites had for
integration. Thankfully, Dixie Youth would eventually change the “rules” of
their organization, allowing players of all ethnicities – and even girls – to play
baseball together. Legendary athletes Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson came up
through Dixie Youth teams.
Today, almost a
half-million kids throughout 11 states play Dixie Youth baseball with no
knowledge of the actions and attitudes that stain its past. My son’s team is
made up of 12 young men ages 11-12; one-third of that team is made up of minorities
– three boys are from an African-American background, one is the child of
Mexican immigrants. None of those boys could have played in DYB in the early
days. Yet, in just a few days, they will be facing the Team Texas in the
opening round of the Dixie Youth World Series.
The irony doesn’t end there, however. Just last week our
boys received a very special invitation. Sunday July 31 marks the annual
gathering celebrating the legendary Lebanon Clowns. You may not recognize their
name, but they are an important piece of the tapestry of baseball history. You
see, the ranks of professional baseball were as closed to minority players as
Dixie Youth Baseball. So black players formed their own professional baseball
organizations, with the two largest eventually known as the Negro National League and the Negro American League. Enter the Lebanon
Clowns, a team of players based out of Lebanon, Tennessee who were as talented
as any others, but not allowed to play in the white-only MLB. The Negro League
had amazing athletes who travelled the country in cities that would allow them
to play, staying in the few establishments that were not closed to blacks.
Still recognized are names like Satchel Paige, Roy Campanella, the all-time
home run king Josh Gibson, and even Jack Roosevelt Robinson (who would break
the color barrier in big league ball).
The surviving members and families of the Lebanon Clowns
have invited the Lebanon All Stars to join them Sunday at their reunion for a
meet-and-greet and to be recognized for their achievements. Do you see the
irony? A fully-integrated Dixie Youth Baseball team joining in an event
celebrating stars from the Negro League…what a glorious tribute to where we’ve
been and where we’ve come.
At a time when so much attention is being given to
division and racism, I rejoice that our boys’ lives can transcend the color of
their skin. I am thankful that black boys and white boys and Asian boys and
Mexican boys can find unity in doing what they love…playing baseball – TOGETHER.
I think the World Series will be an amazing experience. But I hope one day they
can appreciate just as much their time with the Lebanon Clowns, and all that is
represented by this meeting. Maybe, in some way, this day is about REDEMPTION, about taking something not-so-good and redeeming it into something better. Isn't that sort of what God does with all of us? This meeting and the present circumstances around it need not be focused on the negative elements of history. That doesn't mean there isn't meaning in the history; rather, we are given the opportunity to redeem a shameful piece of our past.
History is NOT bound to repeat itself; there is hope for the world into which these boys are leading us.
History is NOT bound to repeat itself; there is hope for the world into which these boys are leading us.
