Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day amid DEI crackdown
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - April 15 is “Jackie Robinson Day” across Major League Baseball. Every player wears Robinson’s No. 42 on their jersey as a tribute to the player who broke pro sports’ color barrier.
But this year, Jackie Robinson Day feels different amid a political shift. Last month, the Department of Defense erroneously removed – and then restored – an article about Robinson’s military career on its website. The move was made as part of an effort to purge DEI ideology from the federal government.
“There is always this opportunity, the way the tone and tenor is in our society, that puts this history at-risk of being lost,” said Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President, Bob Kendrick.
Kendrick is the long-time president of the NLBM and has worked to keep it open for decades. He says the best way to honor Robinson’s legacy is to keep Jackie’s story – and Negro Leagues history – alive.
“Please continue to support these cultural institutions because without them we will lose this piece of history,” said Kendrick. “The story here is what emerged out of segregation. It’s a wonderful story of triumph and conquest. ‘You won’t let me play with you in the major leagues? Then I will create a league of my own.’ There is something very American about that spirit.”
This year, Major League Baseball removed references to diversity on its careers webpage to comply with President Trump’s executive orders on DEI. Kendrick thinks the mission of the NLBM is more important now than ever before.
“There is so much good to be shared when we learn about each other. What I find to be so true, the more we learn about each other, the more we figure out we’ve got far more in common than we do differences,” Kendrick said. “What the Negro Leagues teaches us is very simple: In this country, in this land of opportunity, if you dare to dream and you believe in yourself, you can do or be anything you want to be.”
If you’d like to visit the NLBM, it’s open every day of the week except Monday. You can find more information here.
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