Amid Juneteenth Celebrations, DMV Area Honors Black Baseball Legacy
In the heart of baseball season and amid Juneteenth celebrations across the nation, the DMV area honored the contributions of Black baseball players— from the Negro Leagues to today.
Longtime sports reporter Mark Gray of MLB Bro hosted a panel to discuss Black baseball— both past and present— at Prince George’s Community College on June 14. Panelists included Washington Nationals minority owner Paxton Baker, Negro League Legends Hall of Fame (NLLHOF) founder Dwayne Renal Sims, “Around the Diamond” host Marvin Jackson, and Richard Elliott, a contributing writer with The Washington Informer (who authored this story).
While panelists discussed everything from the Negro Leagues to today, one of the central questions at hand was: What can be done to get the rising generation of Black youth to play, watch, and celebrate baseball as an American pastime?
“When I was young, we played and we watched the games,” said Jackson. “We’ve lost some of that.”
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Posters for pitcher Satchel Paige and catcher Josh Gibson, both of whom have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame while Gibson holds the all-time home run record (Richard D. Elliott/The Washington Informer)
” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?fit=300%2C225&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?fit=780%2C585&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=780%2C585&ssl=1″ alt=”Posters for pitcher Satchel Paige and catcher Josh Gibson, both of whom have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame while Gibson holds the all-time home run record (Richard D. Elliott/The Washington Informer)” class=”wp-image-1232352″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=300%2C225&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=150%2C113&ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=768%2C576&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=800%2C600&ssl=1 800w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=600%2C450&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=200%2C150&ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=780%2C585&ssl=1 780w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?resize=706%2C530&ssl=1 706w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/www.washingtoninformer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-129-1024×768.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px”>
Black Americans are a dwindling percentage of MLB players, accounting for roughly six percent of Opening Day roster slots.
Panelists and the audience alike cited a variety of contributing factors to the low numbers of African American players, including: the high costs to play amateur baseball, the lack of baseball infrastructure in Black communities, a new focus on international drafting, and MLB’s service time requirements to become a professional.
Baker discussed the unique ownership path that the Nationals have had, with a historic amount of minority owners.
“We were excited to bring baseball back to this region,” Baker said during the panel. “If the team had been in Portland or Las Vegas, we wouldn’t have had the same opportunities for minority business and ownership.”
Sims, a historian and archivist of the Colored League, noted the early economics of Black baseball kept communities employed and entertained during the lowest parts of the Great Depression.
“We had Black owners, Black promoters, we even created the All-Star Game,” he said.
Nationals Host Juneteenth Celebration
The Washington Nationals celebrated Juneteenth on June 18, with the Inaugural Negro Leagues Legacy Panel, highlighting legendary player Josh Gibson, ahead of a home game against the Colorado Rockies, in which they lost 3-1.
The June 18 panel featured D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Director Thennie Freeman, National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) Senior Sports Curator Dr. Damion Thomas, and Josh Gibson Foundation Director Sean L. Gibson, great-grandson of the organization’s namesake.
“Josh Gibson is one of the greatest baseball players of all time,” said Sean Gibson, before giving credit to a Hall of Fame owner and player who largely shaped the Negro Leagues. “If it wasn’t for Rube Foster, there wouldn’t have been a Josh Gibson or a Satchel Paige.”
Attendees of the game were given bobbleheads of Gibson, the Hall of Fame catcher, who has now been lauded by Major League Baseball as a holder of numerous career and single season records, most notably the career home run record.
Sims of the NLLHOF cited the late player as both a power hitter and a defensive juggernaut behind the plate.
“Josh Gibson was a gifted talent that made an impact once he took the field,” Sims said. “He excelled as a home run hitter offensively, but he also was a strong catcher defensively. You had to think about coming into home plate with caution.”
While Jackie Robinson has been celebrated for being the first Black major leaguer since the 19th century, Gibson, according to his great-grandson, is one of many unsung heroes who is now receiving due.
“Major League Baseball hadn’t done anything yet,” the great-grandson said, expressing pride in the work being done to preserve and honor his ancestor. “I always considered my great grandfather and other Negro League players as major league player.”
Thomas acknowledged a hard reality of mid-century baseball: that the best baseball players often didn’t face the best competition.
“Was Babe Ruth the best? We’ll never know, because he didn’t square up against Satchel Paige,” he said to great applause.
Freeman noted that Negro Leagues players often had to make do with the bare minimum, and excelled nonetheless.
“There was a no-excuses mentality,” she said.
Former Negro Leagues player Sam Allen, who was greeted by panelists and the audience with a warm, robust applause, spoke on the microphone after the panel and noted some of the earliest groundbreakers who haven’t been given their due recognition.
“Ernie Bankhead, Willard Brown and Hank Thompson who played with the St. Louis Browns,” said Allen, praising his peers. “Brown was the first African American to hit a home run in the American League, they called him Home Run Brown.”
