The readings I did this week were Chapter One of Raceball and Chapter Two of “Baseball, the Lost Cause, and the New South in Richmond, Virginia.” Overall, I felt that the two texts showed completely different ideas of how Baseball impacted the respective communities. For Cuba as seen in Raceball, baseball served as an opportunity for different communities to come together in a way never seen before. This is best exemplified in a statement about the legendary run of Afro-Cuban José Méndez that said, “Méndez’s deification ran counter to the vicious attacks on black rights, including the suppression of Afro-Cuban religious practices, mounted by the U.S. military and elements of the Cuban elite during the occupation.” This shows the power that Baseball held over the Cuban community that transcended racial tensions that existed at the time: a power that allowed Afro-Cubans to be seen and celebrated in such a difficult time for them. This unprecedented show makes it clear that the impact of sports on society can go much beyond that of just entertainment and into the realm of activism. This sort of togetherness we see in Cuba runs contrary to the dividedness we see presented in Richmond with the article “Baseball, the Lost Cause, and the New South in Richmond, Virginia.” This division is best seen in the article’s discussion of the behavior of African-American fans at Richmond baseball games. During this time, segregation was beginning to take its place in society and thus black fans were forced to watch away from the grandstand and had to stand along the fence. As a result, the article said that African Americans would “‘always hurrah for the visiting club. They yell with delight when the hoe club gets a set-back’”. This sort of hilarious trashing of what was supposed to be their hometown team shows how much the Richmond community alienated the black community in general. The fact that Baseball didn’t provide a form of refuge as it did in Cuba shows how strong racism was in the Southern United States and the remnants of the racist Confederate South. It is also interesting as it shows how black fans used their presence at these games as a form of rebellion and push-back against the Jim Crow era. Overall, these two readings really showed off the different ways that communities were able to use the power of Baseball to either bring together or exclude members of their community.
