About
In June, MLB will host a game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL. In its 114-year history, the field has seen everything from segregated baseball, a women's suffrage event, a Klan rally and the first integrated sports team in Alabama. Host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with historians, former Negro Leaguers and more to explore how Birmingham's civil rights story played out at America's oldest ballpark.
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Episodes(5)
Introducing the American Storytelling collection
What does it mean to be an American? There’s no one way. At NPR, we think of the American identity as a story - one that's always being rewritten by the people who live it. The American Storytelling collection gathers stories from local stations across the NPR Network - from small town struggles, to
Extra Innings: Roy Wood Jr. reflects on Road to Rickwood
What does a comedian know about baseball? And what can America's oldest pro ballpark teach us about the Civil Rights movement? In the days leading up to the MLB game at Rickwood Field on June 20, Road to Rickwood host Roy Wood Jr. sat down with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe. They discussed growing up playing
Rebuilding Black Baseball
Birmingham is about to host a Major League game at Rickwood Field as a tribute to the Negro Leagues. But that doesn't come without its challenges. On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. goes back to Birmingham to explore some of the obstacles that prevent more Black youth from taking up America's pastim
Don't Fight Back
In 1964, the Birmingham Barons become Alabama's first integrated sports team. This is 17 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues. What took so long? Today, we hear how baseball helps desegregate America's most segregated city. Roy Wood Jr. takes us back to 1960s Birmingham, when non
Church Pews and Bleachers
The 1940s are the heyday for Black baseball in Alabama, the peak of the Negro Leagues – starring a high schooler named Willie Mays. But when the Major Leagues integrate, Black teams everywhere start to fold. On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with surviving players from the Birmingham Black B