WHAT: Media open house for exhibition “Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia” and traveling display
“Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of the Negro Baseball Leagues”
WHEN: Tuesday, May 20; 11 a.m.
WHERE: Historical Society of Washington, D.C., map room
801 K St. N.W., at Mount Vernon Square
WHO: Gail Lowe, senior historian and exhibition co-curator,
Anacostia Community Museum
William Keyes, local collector of black baseball memorabilia
Lowe will provide an overview and tour of “Separate and Unequaled,” for which she served as co-curator with the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. The exhibition chronicles and celebrates the history of African Americans in baseball in the nation’s capital during segregation and features artifacts, documents, photographs and the original oil paintings of artist Kadir Nelson, which are replicated in his book “We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball.” Keyes, an 87-year-old baseball memorabilia collector based in Annapolis, Md., will talk about his personal experiences with the Negro League teams growing up in the district near Griffith Stadium, the home of the Washington Homestead Grays. Several objects loaned by Keyes will be displayed in the exhibition.
The traveling exhibit “Discover Greatness: An Illustrated History of the Negro Baseball Leagues” provides a national perspective on early black involvement in baseball. Both exhibitions are on view from May 18 through Oct. 5 at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. HSW is a collaborator in the presentation of the black baseball exhibitions. For more information, call (202) 633-1000.
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