NMAAHC Collections Search

Sign about the integration of the Detroit Tigers

Created by: Unidentified
Subject of: Rogell, William George, American, 1904 - 2003; Ozzie Virgil, Sr., Dominican American, born 1932; Detroit Tigers, American, founded 1894

Medium: paint on paper on cardboard
Dimensions: H x W: 27 3/4 x 20 in. (70.5 x 50.8 cm)

Type: posters

Place depicted: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America

Date: 1958

Description: A large red and black hand-painted sign on paper mounted to a large piece of cardboard, with the message: [Mr. Rogell The Tigers Arent All White Anymore!].

Topic: African American; Activism; Baseball; Civil rights; Politics (Practical); Race relations; Segregation; United States--History--1953-1961

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2012.46.28

Restrictions & Rights: Public domain

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Memorabilia and Ephemera-Political and Activist Ephemera
Exhibition: Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 052

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

First base used in Inaugural Civil Rights Game

Used by: Major League Baseball, American, founded 1869
Manufactured by: Schutt Sports, American

Medium: rubber
Dimensions: H x W x D: 3 1/8 × 15 × 15 in., 6 lb. (7.9 × 38.1 × 38.1 cm, 2.7 kg)

Type: ball game equipment

Place used: Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America

Date: 2006; used 2007

Description: Square first base baseball base used in the 2007 inaugural Major League Baseball [MLB] Civil Rights baseball game. Top of base has printed design featuring an illustration of three fists grabbing a bat. Next to the design, black type reads, [CIVIL / RIGHTS / GAME]. Text that reads: [Original Hollywood Base/ Jack Corbett / Schutt Sports] is impressed over the design and black text. The MLB logo is both in ink and impressed on the top of the base. Four rectangular plaques appear on the sides of the base. Two of the sides feature plaques that have the MLB logo next to white type that reads, [CIVIL RIGHTS GAME]. One of the other sides has red type that reads, [St. Louis] in the style of the St. Louis Cardinals logo. The last side reads in red type, [Cleveland] in the style of the Cleveland Indians logo. Handwritten in black on bottom edge of the base is: [1ST B / SET B]. A sticker is near the black handwriting. There is also a stamp in red that reads: [Nov 28 2006]. There is dirt on all over the base.

Topic: African American; Baseball; Civil rights

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number: 2014.256.2

Restrictions & Rights: No Known Copyright Restrictions

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification: Tools and Equipment-Sports and Recreational
Exhibition: Sports: Leveling the Playing Field
On View: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 052

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

William “Bill” Russell Oral History Interview

Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
Interview of: Bill Russell, American, born 1934
Interviewed by: Branch, Taylor, American, born 1947
Subject of: University of San Francisco, American, founded 1855; National Basketball Association, American, founded 1946; Boston Celtics, American, founded 1946; Major League Baseball, American, founded 1869; Boston Red Sox, American, founded 1901

Medium: digital
Dimensions: Duration: 03:07:25

Type: video recordings; oral histories; digital media - born digital

Place collected: Seattle, King County, Washington, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted: Louisiana, United States, North and Central America; Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States, North and Central America; San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America; Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date: May 12, 2013

Description: The oral history consists of eleven digital files: 2011.174.88.1a, 2011.174.88.1b, 2011.174.88.1c, 2011.174.88.1d, 2011.174.88.1e, 2011.174.88.1f, 2011.174.88.1g, 2011.174.88.1h, 2011.174.88.1i, 2011.174.88.1j, and 2011.174.88.1k.; Basketball player William "Bill" Russell remembers his childhood in Louisiana and Oakland, California, in the 1940s. After winning two Final Fours with the University of San Francisco, he won an Olympic gold medal and an NBA championship playing for the Boston Celtics, one of thirteen Russell would win, including eight in a row. Russell had a difficult relationship with the sports media in Boston, but a better one with his Celtics teammates. He defends the organization as progressive on racial matters (as opposed to the Red Sox) and describes a post-retirement reconciliation with Boston that resulted in considerable Red Sox support for his mentoring organization and a statue of him, erected in 2013.; LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0088

Topic: African American; Activism; American West; Athletes; Baseball; Basketball; Civil rights; Education; Olympics; Race relations; Social reform; United States--History--1933-1945; United States--History--1945-1953; United States--History--1953-1961; United States--History--1961-1969; United States--History--1969-2001; United States--History--2001-

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Object number: 2011.174.88.1a-k

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title: Civil Rights History Project
Classification: Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

William S. Leventhal Oral History Interview

Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
Interview of: Leventhal, William S., American, born 1946
Interviewed by: Cline, David P. Ph. D., American, born 1969
Subject of: University of California, Los Angeles, American, founded 1919; Summer Community Organization and Political Education, American, founded 1965; Major League Baseball, American, founded 1869; Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968

Medium: digital
Dimensions: Duration: 03:02:18

Type: video recordings; oral histories; digital media - born digital

Place collected: El Segundo, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America; Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America; Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America; Americus, Sumter County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America

Date: April 13, 2013

Description: The oral history consists of eight digital files: 2011.174.82.1a, 2011.174.82.1b, 2011.174.82.1c, 2011.174.82.1d, 2011.174.82.1e, 2011.174.82.1f, 2011.174.82.1g, and 2011.174.82.1h.; Willy Siegel Leventhal discusses his childhood in California, his experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1960s, and his involvement in the Summer Community Organization and Political Education Project (SCOPE). Leventhal describes what it was like to be a Jewish child in a mostly Catholic community and how his childhood experiences informed his later activism and identity. Baseball was especially important to him, as he witnessed the first Jewish and African American ballplayers desegregate the Major Leagues. Leventhal became active in SCOPE during his first year at UCLA, after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited campus to recruit students. Leventhal describes the SCOPE training in Atlanta, and he shares his memories of living and working in Macon and Americus, Georgia.; LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0082

Topic: African American; Activism; American South; American West; Associations and institutions; Baseball; Civil rights; Education; Religion; Social reform; United States--History--1961-1969

Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Object number: 2011.174.82.1a-h

See more items in: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Collection title: Civil Rights History Project
Classification: Media Arts-Film and Video

Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Sign about the integration of the Detroit Tigers

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Sign about the integration of the Detroit Tigers

First base used in Inaugural Civil Rights Game

William “Bill” Russell Oral History Interview

William S. Leventhal Oral History Interview