We are the ship: the story of Negro League Baseball.

We are the ship: the story of Negro League Baseball. There are many tales in the history of baseball. Some, even aboutthe founding of baseball itself. It's widely believed that baseballwas invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, N.Y., in the mid 1800s. According to Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of We Are theShip: The Story of Negro League Baseball (Hyperion, 2008), however,"That is just another tall tale, 'cause no one really knowsfor sure." But one thing is certain: Soon after that, baseball was played justabout everywhere in this country, by all sorts of people, includingAfrican Americans. Ultimately, teams were organized and then they becameprofessional. The origins of Negro League baseball can be traced as far back asthe post-Civil War period, all the way to 1947, when the great JackieRobinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and helped propel the team toa National League pennant. In this first year of major league baseball,he also earned the honor of National League Rookie of the Year. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From the mid-19th century through the mid-20th century,professional baseball was segregated, forcing African Americans to formtheir own teams and leagues. In the late 1900s there were more than 200black independent teams throughout the country. By the 1920s, black baseball had become the most popularentertainment for urban African Americans. The Negro National League wasformed in 1920 with eight teams from the Midwest, followed by theformation of the Negro Southern League and the Eastern Colored League. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The history of Negro League Baseball, along with paintedillustrations, entitled We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro LeagueBaseball, with text and paintings by Kadir Nelson, was published in2008. Nelson spent seven years researching, writing and creating the artto document the long and involved history of Negro League Baseball. He interviewed former players, traveled to museums, studied oldphotographs, and collected baseball memorabilia, uniforms and sportsequipment to put himself into the shoes of a former Negro League player,and to re-create an authentic depiction of life in the Negro Leagues.The author dedicated this and, by extension, the exhibition, to thepreservation of the history of the Negro Baseball Leagues. The book and the exhibition present the history of the NegroLeagues, a story of gifted athletes and determined owners; of racialdiscrimination and international sportsmanship; of fortunes won andlost; of triumphs and defeats on and off the field. It is also a mirror of the social and political history of blackAmerica in the first half of the 20th century. But most of all,according to Nelson, "...the story of the Negro Leagues is abouthundreds of unsung heroes who overcame segregation, hatred, terribleconditions, and low pay to do the one thing they loved more thananything else in the world: play ball." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The New York Times praised We Are the Ship: The Story of NegroLeague Baseball as one of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of2008. Kadir Nelson was also named the 2009 Coretta Scott King Book AwardRecipient. Nelson is the award-winning illustrator of several children'sbooks, including Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom byCarole Boston Weatherford (Hyperion, 2006), Ellington Was Not a Streetby Ntozake Shange (Simon & Schuster, 2004), and Just the Two of Usby Will Smith (Scholastic, 2005), among others. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We Are the Ship is the first book he has both authored andillustrated. The paintings used in the book as illustrations are now thesubject of a traveling exhibition of the same title. The exhibition,containing 33 paintings and 13 sketches, originated in 2009 and willtravel to museums across America through 2013. The exhibition, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro LeagueBaseball, was developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services,an exhibition tour development company in Kansas City, Mo. ITINERARY June 5-July 31,2011 Lubbock, Texas Aug. 21-Oct. 16, 2011 Fort Wayne, Ind. Nov. 6, 2011-Jan. 8, 2012 Miami, Fla. Feb. 7-June 10, 2012 Amherst, Mass. July 1-Aug. 26, 2012 Pittsburgh, Penn. Feb. 3-March 31, 2013 Martinsville, Va. HISTORY THROUGH ART From ancient times to the present, artists have observed anddocumented civilizations, religions society, individuals and importantevents in a variety of media. The history of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome is visuallydocumented in sculptures, reliefs, mosaics, paintings and architecture.Medieval cathedrals--through sculptures and stained-glasswindows--visually tell the stories from the Bible. Impressive paintings document kings, emperors, presidents, heroesand even everyday people at work and play. In modern times,photographers capture images of wars, disasters, politics, sports andcelebrations for almost instantaneous reproduction in print, televisionor the Internet. Kadir Nelson is connected to this long lineage of visual reporting.His painted illustrations, based on years of research, document NegroLeague Baseball. Some images are based on visual evidence; others areinterpretations drawn from a variety of documents. Thisauthor/illustrator has created a visual history that will inform currentand future generations of an important historical aspect of Americanlife. It's a story that deserves to be documented and needs to betold.-M.M.J. Mark M. Johnson is Director of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts,Montgomery, Ala., and serves on the Arts & Activities EditorialAdvisory Board. * All paintings by Kadir Nelson.