A Conversation on Race Part III: Baseball: The Color Barrier

The third installment of the series “A Conversation on Race” will feature the President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Bob Kendrick, Scout for the New York Yankees Darryl Monroe, and will be moderated by Senior Associate Director of the Institute, Dr. Barbara W. Ballard.

“Since the founding of the first professional baseball league in this country, racism has been a persistent problem,” said Director Bill Lacy. “For the third episode of ‘A Conversation on Race,’ we will discuss the color barrier in baseball and the courageous men who broke through. Bob Kendrick is the ideal guest to explore this topic and we look forward to what will be a fascinating and insightful evening.”

The program will explore the factors that made Major League Baseball a flashpoint for civil rights in 1947, more than a decade before the marches and rallies of the 1960s. The event streams the day before Jackie Robinson Day, in which all Major League Baseball players wear jerseys with his number “42.” This program will discuss the man who became the focus of a nation as he walked on the field as the first professional black athlete in the U.S. to shatter the color barrier.

Bob Kendrick was named President of the NLBM in March of 2011. Kendrick has been responsible for the creation of several signature museum educational programs and events including the Hall of Game, which annually honors former MLB greats who played the game in the spirit and signature style of the Negro Leagues. Kendrick has become one of the leading authorities on the topic of Negro Leagues Baseball history and its connection to issues relating to sports, race, and diversity.

Darryl Monroe graduated from Lawrence High School in 1990 and went on to play baseball at KU from 1991-1994 where he was a member of the 1993 College World Series team. He was drafted in the 9th round by the Detroit Tigers in 1994 and played 4 years of minor league baseball with the Tigers and the Independent Minor Leagues. Monroe started scouting with the Montreal Expos in 1998, then worked in the scouting department and the player development department with the Atlanta Braves for 4 years starting in 2000. He has been working in the scouting department with the New York Yankees from 2007 till the present.