Separate but unequal

By Martenzie Johnson

During the 1940s, World War II shipped many men away from their homes, families, and friends in the United States.  Black and white soldiers joined together to defeat Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, effectively ending the genocide that plagued Germany for nearly a decade.

But back home a racial injustice was still dividing a nation that had just fought for freedom and against the threat of tyranny.  Back home blacks and whites could not even play baseball side by side.

My trip to the Negro League Baseball Museum on June 2 opened my eyes even more to the blatant hypocrisy that took place across this nation.

Black athletes, activists, and even journalists, fought throughout the 1800s and early 1900s to play “America’s Game” and were then forced to create their own league just to have the ability to put on a jersey and cleats.

Though early players like Moses Fleetwood Walker were allowed to participate in professional baseball in the late 19^th century, racism and segregation quickly demoted them back to what was considered their proper place.

Fast forward about 50 years and Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the Major Leagues when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945.

But what struck me the most was how the United States—which has a history of going to war to stand up for freedom—could send young black men to fight with whites in the military, but separated the comrades when they returned to American soil.

Over 700 black soldiers died during World War II, including one Negro leagues player, but Negro leagues were operative until 1960, almost 15 years after the war ended.

The Negro league's demise was a double-edged sword for civil rights, in that it led to the recruitment of more black players in the Major Leagues but also erased an important staple of African-American history.

Walking through the halls of the Negro leagues provided a reminder of where this country has been, where it is, and where it is headed.  Though all sorts of barriers have been broken since Robinson slipped on his No. 45 jersey, there are still so many left to hurdle today.