Events › Past Is Prologue: The Kansas City Monarchs and America’s National Pastime

The history of Negro Leagues baseball in America mirrors the racial strife experienced by Blacks in society. The Negro Leagues was plagued by discrimination, racism and inequity, while its athletes were celebrated for their resiliency, professionalism and athleticism. 2020 marked two major milestones for baseball: the Negro Leagues celebrated its 100th anniversary and Major League Baseball merged statistics of these Black players with those of the Major League. 

This talk sheds new light on this sports history and the history of baseball in Kansas. Kansas City’s Negro Leagues team, the Monarchs, barnstormed across Kansas and the region to play more than 400 games between 1920 and 1957 against local towns.

Presented by Phil Dixon, a historian and cofounder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Registration is required.

This program will be hosted using the meeting software Zoom. A Johnson County Library staff member will contact registrants via email the day before the meeting with instructions on how to access the Zoom meeting. You do not need to download any software or create an account.

For inquiries about accessibility and accommodations, please contact us at ask@jocolibrary.org or 913-826-4600 at least two weeks before the event.