Redemption: A Colorful Legacy, A Bright Future

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.