… this column exists for only one purpose and that is to answer your questions on Negro League baseball history. To that end, I need your help … if you are reading this column and enjoy it and want it to continue and you don’t already know everything about Negro League history … then please submit a question on any aspect of Negro League history. Your questions are the lifeblood of Shadow Ball—they shape where we go next.
How Fast Was Cool Papa Bell?
Faster than the speed of light
Faster than Jimmie Lyons, prime v prime
He could cover 100 yards in about 10 seconds
He was, and remains, the fastest baseball player ever
Phil Durnitz of Albuquerque, New Mexico, submitted the question, and I will do my best to answer it. Only one of the multiple‑choice options can be definitively shown to be correct — but each deserves examination.
A. Faster than the speed of light
Satchel Paige was fond of telling this story about his longtime roommate, Cool Papa Bell. In John Holway’s Voices from the Great Black Baseball Leagues (1975), Paige is quoted as saying:
“That man was so fast he could turn out the light and jump in bed before the room got dark.”
Taken literally, Paige is suggesting Bell outran light itself. We’ll file that away for now — in the category of tall tales, but glorious ones.
B. Faster than Jimmie Lyons
In the same Holway interview, Bell recounts one of the stories that helped build his reputation:
“(In 1922 or ’23) Jimmie Lyons was supposed to be the fastest man in the (Negro) League(s)… Rube Foster wanted us to race… So we went out and raced, and I beat Jimmie Lyons… I just ran off from Jimmie Lyons. That’s when I got my reputation.”
Lyons was extremely fast, and beating him was no small feat. But context matters: in 1922–23 Bell was 19 or 20 years old, while Lyons was 32 or 33. It shows Bell was faster than an older Lyons — not necessarily faster than Lyons in his prime.
Bell’s interview continues with stories of scoring from first on bunts, scoring from second on fly balls, and even being “faster than Jesse Owens,” based on the oft‑repeated claim that Bell circled the bases (120 yards) in 12 seconds flat. Holway adds the famous but misleading line that Bell “scored from second on a ground ball to win the 1934 All‑Star Game, 1–0.” The ball, in fact, was hit past the infield and into the outfield for a single. Bell’s recollections are wonderful, but they are unabashed braggadocio.
C. He could run 100 yards in about 10 seconds
We can estimate Bell’s straight‑line speed using his recorded “round‑the‑bases” times. Four such times appear in the historical record:
Shadow Ball Player Speed
Even allowing for exaggeration, all four numbers are spectacularly fast. Paige’s story is entertaining; the 12‑second legend would still be a world record in 2026. But even the slowest verified number — 13.6 seconds, on a wet track, in December 1933, at age 30 — is extraordinary.
For comparison, the fastest Statcast‑measured modern time is Byron Buxton’s 13.85 seconds. A hand‑timed 13.6 and a fully automated 13.85 are essentially identical.
Thus, the record shows Bell was capable of roughly a 10‑second 100‑yard dash at a time when the world record stood at 9.5.
D. He was, and remains, the fastest baseball player ever
Here we enter the realm of opinion — but informed opinion. Using rate statistics from Seamheads (runs scored minus home runs, triples, and stolen bases, prorated per plate appearance), I rank the greatest Negro League speedsters as follows:
Oscar Charleston
Willard Brown
Cool Papa Bell
Bullet Rogan
Jimmie Lyons
Rap Dixon
Hurley McNair
George Shively
Turkey Stearnes
Cristóbal Torriente
Henry Milton, Sam Jethroe, and Doc Dudley would appear here as well but lack sufficient plate appearances to qualify.
Charleston and Bell stand out for combining elite speed with long careers. Bell finishing in the top three of this methodology confirms he was one of the fastest runners in Negro League history. Whether he was the fastest is debatable — Milton, Jethroe, Lyons, Shively, and several Hall of Famers could all stake a claim.
Conclusion
The correct answer is C.
Cool Papa Bell would have been a consistent 10‑flat or better 100‑yard runner at a time when the fastest sprinters in the world were posting 9.6, 9.5, and 9.4. Bell was exactly as fast as legend suggests — and unquestionably one of the fastest players ever to play the game.
Thanks to authors John Holway and Scott Simkus for their excellent work, to Satch and Cool for their stories, and to Mr. Durnitz for his question.
Last Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
Q: What was Atlanta’s most prolific Negro League franchise (in terms of years in the league)? A: The Atlanta Black Crackers — provided by Will Clark of Hackensack, NJ.
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Questions of the Week
In 1937, Monte Irvin joined the Newark Eagles under an assumed name — what was it? In 1942, Larry Doby joined the Newark Eagles under an assumed name — what was it?
Ted Knorr
Ted Knorr is a respected Negro League baseball historian, a longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s Negro League Committee, and the founder of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference as well as several Negro League Commemorative Nights in central Pennsylvania.
Beyond his research and organizing work, Ted is frequently invited to speak at sporting events, community programs, family gatherings, and educational forums, where he brings Negro League history to life. His deep knowledge of the players, teams, and cultural impact of Black baseball has made him a trusted voice for audiences who want to understand the legacy and significance of the Negro Leagues.
Send questions or Significa answers to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033.
Truth Seekers Journal thrives because of readers like you. Join us in sustaining independent voices.
Valeria Howard Cunningham’s Power 50 honor reflects her leadership in preserving Black Western heritage, expanding the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, and creating generational opportunities through cultural stewardship.
By Milton Kirby | Washington, D.C. | September 4, 2026
When Valeria Howard Cunningham was recognized as one of the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. 2026 Power 50 Women of Influence, she was being honored for more than the title she holds.
For Cunningham, president and CEO of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, the recognition represented something else: responsibility.
“Being named a U.S. Black Chambers Power 50 Woman of Influence is both a tremendous honor and a humbling reminder of the responsibility that comes with leadership,” Cunningham told The Truth Seekers Journal.
That responsibility will soon bring Cunningham back to the Washington, D.C., area.
The return offers a fitting connection between recognition and responsibility: Washington celebrated Cunningham’s influence. In Upper Marlboro, audiences will see the institution she leads in motion.
That responsibility did not begin when she assumed the top leadership role.
Cunningham helped build the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo alongside her husband, founder Lu Vason, becoming deeply involved in both its business operations and cultural mission. After Vason’s death in 2015, she stepped into the lead role, assuming full responsibility for protecting the institution while guiding it into a new era.
She inherited the responsibility for an institution she had already helped shape.
What followed was the challenge of preserving its history, expanding its reach and ultimately defining what the organization would become under her leadership.
Taking the Reins
Vason founded the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo in 1984 after recognizing how rarely the contributions of Black cowboys and cowgirls were reflected in popular portrayals of the American West.
His answer was to create a rodeo where Black competitors could showcase their skills while audiences learned about a history many had never been taught.
Cunningham was part of building that vision.
She understood the business of the rodeo, its relationships and the cultural purpose behind it. But after Vason’s death, the responsibility changed.
The decisions were now hers.
So was the future.
She faced questions about whether the organization could survive the death of its founder and whether she could carry it forward.
Cunningham did more than keep it alive.
The national tour continued. Corporate and community partnerships were strengthened. Educational and cultural programming expanded. The organization developed initiatives connecting Black Western heritage with music, health, youth development and community engagement.
Today, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo describes itself as the world’s only touring African American rodeo association. In 2026, it is celebrating its 42nd year while continuing to present Black cowboys and cowgirls before audiences around the country.
That transition from helping build the institution to becoming the person responsible for its direction reshaped Cunningham’s understanding of leadership.
“Success isn’t measured by the titles you hold,” Cunningham told TSJ.
Her measure is what happens because someone held the position: the lives affected, opportunities created and doors opened for others.
That philosophy helps explain why the Power 50 recognition carries significance beyond another honor for Cunningham.
Preserving History by Keeping It Alive
The U.S. Black Chambers’ Power 50 Women of Influence recognizes women whose leadership contributes to economic growth, social progress and generational impact.
Cunningham’s work touches all three, but perhaps nowhere is her influence clearer than in cultural preservation.
The American cowboy occupies an almost mythical place in the nation’s history. Yet the image created by generations of movies and television often left Black cowboys outside the frame.
They were never outside the history.
Black men worked as cowboys, ranch hands, horsemen and cattle drivers across the West after the Civil War. Their contributions helped build the cattle industry and Western communities, even as popular culture largely failed to tell their stories.
The Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo challenges that omission every time it enters an arena.
History there is not presented behind glass.
It rides through the gate.
Young people can see Black cowboys and cowgirls competing in real time while encountering a Western history that includes people who look like them.
For Cunningham, that connection between past and future is essential.
Her work is not only about preserving history but ensuring that Black communities participate in telling it.
That means introducing another generation to the people whose contributions might otherwise disappear from public memory.
Creating Something for the Next Generation
Cunningham’s leadership has also extended well beyond the rodeo arena.
Through the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo Foundation, the broader mission includes scholarships, mentorship, educational programming, community engagement and youth development.
Among its programs is Rodeo for Kidz Sake, which introduces young people to Black Western history while giving them an opportunity to experience the rodeo and see Black cowboys and cowgirls in the arena.
The Foundation’s work reflects a basic principle running through Cunningham’s approach to leadership: influence has little value if it ends with the person who possesses it.
That same philosophy can be seen in the organization’s expanding cultural reach.
Under Cunningham’s leadership, BPIR has developed initiatives connecting Black Western heritage with music, including programs that create opportunities for emerging Black country artists and broaden the cultural experience surrounding the rodeo.
Health initiatives, youth programs and community partnerships have further extended the organization beyond competition.
The rodeo remains the centerpiece.
But the institution surrounding it has grown.
That growth changes how Cunningham’s Power 50 recognition can be viewed.
The honor places her among accomplished women from business, media, entertainment, finance, public service and other fields.
But Cunningham’s path is unusual.
Her platform is a rodeo.
Her classroom can be an arena.
And the history she is working to preserve includes people who helped build America but were largely absent from the version of the West generations of Americans encountered in popular culture.
That gives Cunningham’s leadership both a cultural and generational dimension.
The goal is not simply for audiences to remember Bill Pickett or Lu Vason.
It is for young people to understand that there is a history preceding them, and a place for them in the history still being written.
From Stewardship to Leadership
When Cunningham assumed full responsibility for the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo after Vason’s death, it would have been easy to describe her role simply as preserving her husband’s legacy.
More than a decade later, that description is incomplete.
Cunningham had already helped build the institution.
What came afterward required leadership of her own.
She had to lead competitors, families, sponsors and audiences through a transition after the death of the organization’s founder. She had to protect the history at the center of the rodeo while positioning BPIR for another generation.
She also had to decide where the organization could go next.
The continued national tour is one measure of that work.
The expansion of corporate and community partnerships is another.
So are the scholarships, mentorship programs, educational initiatives, youth development efforts and cultural programming that have widened BPIR’s influence beyond the arena.
Its ability to introduce new audiences to Black Western culture may be the most visible measure of all.
But Cunningham appears to measure her impact differently.
Not by titles.
Not simply by recognition.
But by what remains after the recognition is over.
That may explain why she described being named a Power 50 Woman of Influence as both an honor and a responsibility.
The award recognizes what she has already accomplished.
The responsibility concerns what she does next.
For Cunningham, that means continuing to tell a history too important to lose, creating opportunities for those coming behind her and ensuring that the institution she helped build is strong enough for another generation to inherit.
That work will continue Sept. 18 and 19 in Upper Marlboro, where the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo National Championship Finals will bring Black cowboys and cowgirls from across the country to The Show Place Arena for three performances and competition for more than $200,000 in cash and prizes.
The U.S. Black Chambers 2026 Power 50 Women of Influence honors Black women whose leadership, entrepreneurship and impact are shaping business and communities nationwide.
By Milton Kirby | Washington, D.C. |August 30, 2026
Inside The Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., accomplished Black women from across the country gathered Monday, July 13th to be recognized for their influence.
They were executives and entrepreneurs, filmmakers and advocates, corporate leaders and community builders. Their professions differed, as did the paths that brought them into the room.
But throughout the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. 2026 Power 50 Women of Influence luncheon, conversations kept returning to a larger question: What makes someone influential?
Nicole Parker had a straightforward answer.
“How you give, how you serve, how you show up.”
Parker, a member of the inaugural Power 50 class, was describing qualities behind an annual recognition of Black women whose leadership and impact extend across business, government, healthcare, finance, entertainment, technology, nonprofit leadership and other sectors.
Some of the women honored have names recognized far beyond their industries. Others have spent years doing consequential work with considerably less public attention.
That distinction is part of why the Power 50 exists.
Looking Beyond Familiar Names
Tiffany Murphy, who works with the Power 50 program, said its beginnings grew partly from noticing who was, and was not, receiving recognition.
“We realized the same Black female executives were getting recognized, but there were so many that were doing wonderful things,” Murphy said. “And that’s what essentially became the Power 50.”
The response to the program suggests just how many women fit that description.
Murphy said USBC received nearly 1,000 nominations for the 2026 class.
Organizers then faced the difficult task of narrowing that pool to the women who would receive the annual recognition. Despite the Power 50 name, Murphy acknowledged that organizers have found it difficult to limit the final class to exactly 50.
The number of nominations points to something larger than an awards program. There is no shortage of Black women leading companies, building organizations, influencing industries and serving communities. The challenge is making sure more of that work is seen.
Murphy believes the program itself is beginning to reach another stage.
“I think this is the first year it’s really kind of did its own thing,” Murphy said. “We’re five years in. It’s getting buzz. People are learning more about it.”
The 2026 class included women from a broad range of professions and experiences.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs, former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, was named Global Trailblazer of the Year. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett was named Woman of the Year.
Isaacs made history in 2013 when she became the first African American to serve as president of the Academy. She now serves as founding director of the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University.
But national name recognition is not what defines a Power 50 honoree.
The class also includes women building businesses, creating nonprofits, opening professional pathways and working in communities where their names may never regularly appear in national headlines.
“How You Give, How You Serve, How You Show Up”
Parker has watched the Power 50 develop from its early years.
A small-business owner and USBC board member, she returned for the 2026 luncheon as a previous honoree supporting a new class of women.
“The Power 50 is just about women leading the movement, from women entrepreneurs to C-suite executives in all industries,” Parker said.
Asked what goes into identifying a Woman of Influence, Parker did not begin with titles, money or celebrity.
“They look at community,” she said. “They look at the impacts that you’ve done in your industry or in the community, how you give, how you serve, how you show up.”
Inside the luncheon, those qualities took different forms.
For one woman, influence meant turning a missing pathway into an opportunity for others.
For another, it meant recognizing the collective economic and creative power of Black women.
And for another, being honored for decades of work became a reminder that there was still more to do.
Creating the Opportunity She Once Needed
Agnes Moss knows what it is like to search for a professional pathway and not find one.
Moss, founder and president of the National Black Movie Association, once dreamed of working in film.
Agness Moss – Photo by Milton Kirby
While attending North Carolina Central University, she could see successful Black filmmakers such as Spike Lee and John Singleton. What she could not see was a clear path from college into a sustainable career in the industry.
“We didn’t have social media, so there was no direct path to get to a viable career in the film industry,” Moss said.
Her professional journey eventually took her into news, education, public relations and other fields. Still, the desire to tell stories through film remained.
Years later, Moss began asking herself what might have changed her own journey.
“How could my trajectory have been different?” she recalled. “What did I need?”
The answer helped shape the National Black Movie Association, a nonprofit that champions Black stories, promotes equity in film education and works to connect aspiring filmmakers, including students at historically Black colleges and universities, with opportunities in the industry.
Moss summarized the evolution of that work in one sentence.
“We used to advocate for opportunities in the film industry, but now we create them.”
Her experience offered one answer to the question of what influence can accomplish.
It can make sure someone coming behind you does not encounter the same closed door.
Kyra Hardwick – Photo by Milton Kirby
“We’re All Impact Makers”
Kyra Rénel Hardwick saw another kind of power in bringing accomplished Black women together.
Hardwick, founder of The Kyra Company, works with small businesses and corporations on operations and business development.
“Black women coming together and being honored for being amazing is top tier,” Hardwick said. “But the fact that we know we’re all impact makers is what makes this amazing.”
For Hardwick, the significance was not simply that individual women were receiving awards. It was what their collective presence represented.
“You get us in the same room and all this good energy, regardless of what our economic status is, regardless of what our economy is saying, we are innovators. We’re creators.”
The room represented women who had accumulated experience, relationships, resources and influence in different corners of American life.
Bringing them together created the possibility that individual influence could become collective impact.
Beth Powell – photo by Milton Kirby
Recognition Without Arrival
Beth Powell offered perhaps the clearest example of why recognition matters even to someone who has already accomplished much.
Powell is a Boeing 737 captain with American Airlines, as well as an author, emerging filmmaker and longtime community advocate.
She described being selected for the Power 50 as “incredible, humbling and, at the same time, inspirational.”
Her reaction also illustrated Parker’s earlier description of the qualities behind the recognition.
Powell said her community work spans more than 26 years. Yet when she looked around the gathering, she did not describe herself as someone who had arrived.
She saw women she admired.
“I see the vision, and that they believe in me, and that I will be like my heroes and sheroes someday,” Powell said.
It was a striking observation from a woman who had already been selected to stand among those she admired.
Recognition can acknowledge a body of work. But it can also tell recipients that others see something in them that they may still be working to see fully in themselves.
For Powell, selection to the Power 50 did not sound like an endpoint.
It sounded like another reason to keep going.
The Work That Remains
The Power 50 luncheon was built around recognition, but the conversations surrounding it repeatedly returned to responsibility.
Murphy talked about women whose work deserved to be seen.
Parker talked about giving, serving and showing up.
Moss talked about creating opportunities.
Hardwick talked about impact.
And Powell talked about work.
Together, their voices offered a definition of influence considerably broader than a job title or a place on an annual list.
Influence meant having enough experience to create a pathway for someone else.
Enough visibility to bring attention to work that matters.
Enough access to open a door.
And enough humility to recognize that receiving an honor does not mean the work is finished.
Powell returned to that idea as she reflected on what the gathering represented.
“We’re celebrating tenacity,” she said. “We’re celebrating the work. We’re celebrating the work within the community I’ve done over 26 years, and there is work that still remains to be done.”
For an event honoring some of the nation’s influential Black women, it was a fitting reminder of what the Power 50 recognition can mean.
Not merely reaching the room. But remembering who still needs a door opened.
Truth Seekers Journal thrives because of readers like you. Join us in sustaining independent voices.
This column exists for one reason: to answer your questions about Negro League baseball history. To fulfill that mission, we need your help.
If you read and enjoy this column, want it to continue, and haven’t already mastered every corner of Negro League history, we invite you to send us your questions. Your questions are the lifeblood of Shadow Ball—they determine where we go next—from players and teams to memorable games, historic events, and everything in between.
By submitting a question, you help shape the future direction of this column. Your participation is both important and greatly appreciated. In many ways, the continued existence of Shadow Ball depends on readers like you.
Joe Pomrenke, Harrisburg, PA posted: “I’d like to learn more about the famous 1933 East-West Classic.” Accordingly, today’s Shadowball column will endeavor to satisfy Joe’s curiosity/interest. Much of my knowledge on this subject comes from the research/writings of Lyle Spatz, Larry Lester, and Bob Lemoine. Lastly, I need to thank former APBA Game Company President Fritz Light, current President John Herson, and the late Negro League historian James A. Riley.
Major League Baseball hosted its initial all-star game on July 6, 1933, in Chicago’s Comiskey Park very much in conjunction with the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. It was that international fair’s desire to incorporate some sort of athletic event into international exposition that sparked the imagination of Chicago Tribune Sports Editor Arch Ward. Due to his flamboyant promotional style Ward was known as ‘the Cecil B. DeMille of Sports”. In addition to the Major League Baseball All-Star game, Mr. Ward was instrumental in the creation of Golden Glove boxing (1928), the annual College All Star Football Game (1934), the initial professional World Basketball Tournament (1939), the All-American Football Conference (1946), as well as lesser events such as speed skating competitions, bowling tournaments and charity horse racing events.
The MLB game attracted a bigger crowd than the Negro League game but that was not always the case as Negro League attendance topped 40,000 on 8 separate occasions and outdrawing the Majors on several instances.
Willie Foster is the only pitcher to hurl a complete game in any all-star game on either side of the color line
Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Mule Suttles hit the first HR in each of these inaugural events
Finally, 21 Hall of Fame players, two Hall of Fame managers, and two Hall of Fame umpires appeared in the July 6th NL/AL matchup. In contrast, only 12 Hall of Fame players (including East Manager Pop Lloyd appeared in the Negro League game underscoring my recurring theme of all Shadow ball articles – in order to properly represent the history of the National Pastime prior to 1947 the National Baseball Hall of Fame must induct more Negro League players. A good starting point would be the five Negro Leaguers that appeared in the September 10 game that have been on one or more Hall of Fame ballots and appeared in this first game: Rap Dixon, Dick Lundy, Fats Jenkins, Alex Radclif, and Vic Harris.
To finish this topic, utilizing the computer version – Baseball for Windows – of the APBA Major League Baseball Game I simulated several hundred All Star games between Major League Hall of Fame teams circa 1933 versus a team of Negro League Hall of Famers from that same era. The below line score provides some detail of a representative game that, in my imagination, took place in the afterglow of the July 6 and September 10th game. Of the 600 games that I simulated — the traditional Major League team won 301 times (50.2%) but was outscored by 72 runs over the 600-game schedule. In other words, the level of talent was identical on both sides of the color line just as I believe it actually was during baseball’s segregated era (1876-1946).
October 8, 1933
123 456 789 RHE
NeL 300 011 020 713 0 LP –William Bell
MLB 000 322 02 9 12 0 WP –Carl Hubbell
HR Gibson, NeL, Gehrig, Foxx, Klein
Attendance: 32, 634, 734 imagined
The Negro League out hit the traditional Majors 13 to 12 but left 7 baserunners on base whereas the trads left only 3
Rap Dixon threw out the Fordham Flash – Frankie Frisch – at home for the last out in the 8th.
The two squads hit for combined .262 batting average over the 600 simulated games … Babe Ruth out homered Josh Gibson 132 (34 per 154g) to 104 (27 per 154g)
Cool Papa Bell led the way with 28 steals beating out Oscar Charleston, 18, and Rap Dixon, 15.
Satchel Paige won the most games 73 and posted the highest winning percentage 55% while leading the way in shutouts 8 and strike outs 903
Readers can expect to see more use of the APBA/BBW simulator in upcoming articles.
Last Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
Who was Jackie Robinson’s Manager on April 15, 1947? No one offered at this query … it was Burt Shotton who led the Dodgers to pennants in ’47 and ’49.
Ted Knorr
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
What was the name of Atlanta’s most prolific franchise (in terms of years in the league) in the Negro Leagues?
Ted Knorr is a Negro League baseball historian, longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s Negro League Committee, and founder of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference and several local Negro League Commemorative Nights in central Pennsylvania. You can send questions for Knorr on Negro League topics as well as your answers to the week’s Significa question to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com or Shadow Ball, 3904 N Druid Hills Rd, Ste 179, Decatur, GA 30033
BronzeLens opened with Love, Patrick: Nothing is Impossible, introducing a new generation to fashion pioneer Patrick Kelly’s extraordinary journey from Mississippi to Paris.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 22, 2026
Opening night of the BronzeLens Film Festival belonged to Patrick Kelly.
His phone had been buzzing with messages from people telling him they could not make it.
After helping bring the story of the Mississippi-born fashion designer to the screen, Horne found himself confronting one of a filmmaker’s most basic opening-night fears.
Would anybody show up?
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” Horne said later. “You get nervous about these things, because, like, is anybody going to come?”
He got his answer when he arrived at the Tara Atlanta Theatre.
The house was packed.
“And then when you come, you realize the most important people in your life that needed to support this film on this day are here,” Horne said.
They came for opening night of the 17th annual BronzeLens Film Festival and the world premiere of Love, Patrick: Nothing is Impossible, a documentary about a Black designer from Mississippi whose journey took him from the American South to the highest levels of Paris fashion. BronzeLens listed the film as its 6:45 p.m. opening-night world premiere. (BronzeLens Atlanta Film Festival, Inc)
Before the film began, BronzeLens founder and executive producer Kathleen Bertrand welcomed the audience and introduced Jason Gregory, interim director of programming.
Festival organizers had encouraged opening-night guests to arrive “Runway Ready,” and many accepted the invitation. Before the theater lights dimmed, the Tara lobby had become a fashion showcase of its own, a fitting prelude to a film about a designer who believed clothes should bring joy.
But by the time the film ended and the conversation inside the theater began, opening night had become about something larger than a movie premiere.
It was about remembering Patrick Kelly.
And for some people in the audience, it was about discovering him for the first time.
From Mississippi to Paris
Patrick Kelly grew up in Mississippi surrounded by women who helped shape both his personality and his fashion.
His grandmother, Ethel Rainey, was especially influential.
She gave him old copies of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar when he was a child. She took him to Black Baptist church, where Kelly noticed the women dressed from head to toe in their Sunday best.
Even one of Kelly’s most recognizable design signatures had roots in his Mississippi childhood.
His grandmother mended his shirts with mismatched buttons.
Kelly moved to Atlanta in 1974, where he volunteered to design window displays for Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Atlanta became another stop on a journey that eventually took him to New York and then Paris. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
New York proved difficult.
Paris changed everything.
Kelly moved to France in late 1979. His skinny, body-conscious dresses decorated with colorful buttons eventually attracted the attention of French Elle, which featured his first commercial collection in February 1985. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
His designs were bold, playful and unmistakably his.
Buttons became a signature.
So did bright colors, bows, body-hugging dresses and humor.
Kelly’s runways featured Black models and women whose bodies did not always conform to the narrow image traditionally associated with high fashion.
He was not merely putting Black models on a runway.
He was putting a broader vision of Black beauty there.
Then came history.
In 1988, Kelly became thefirst American and first Black designer voted into the prestigious Chambre Syndicale du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode. His admission was sponsored by Pierre Bergé, cofounder of Yves Saint Laurent, and designer Sonia Rykiel. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
For a Black man from Mississippi, it was an extraordinary ascent.
More than three decades later, his clothes remain in museum collections and have been the subject of major exhibitions. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
Yet his name is unfamiliar to many Americans.
That contradiction sits near the heart of Love, Patrick.
“I Had No Knowledge of Patrick Kelly”
Stephanie Proctor Johnson, an executive producer of the documentary and operations manager for the Horne Brothers, made a striking admission after the premiere.
“I had no knowledge of Patrick Kelly,” she said.
Johnson said she first learned about him when the film project came to the Horne Brothers.
Even after becoming involved, she said the filmmaking team had to learn the magnitude of what Kelly had accomplished.
“I don’t think as a designer, none of us realized the essence of what he had done,” she said.
That experience was reflected in the audience.
Some people at the Tara knew Kelly’s story.
Yolanda Durbin was one of them.
Durbin attended fashion school after Kelly’s death and remembers professors discussing him.
“I’m glad he is getting the notoriety that he deserves,” she said.
Others were meeting Patrick Kelly for the first time.
That raises an uncomfortable question.
How does an American designer become the first American and first Black designer voted into one of the most important organizations in French fashion, attract international attention and work with some of the world’s most recognizable models, yet become unfamiliar to another generation?
Love, Patrick does not merely celebrate Kelly’s success.
It attempts to put his name back into circulation.
Bringing Patrick Kelly’s Story to the Screen
The Patrick Kelly project had been developing for years.
Johnson said executive producers Ray Cornelius and Jessica Manning met with Ryon Horne in early 2025. By that summer, the larger Horne Brothers team had committed to the production.
The filmmakers traveled to Paris, following Kelly’s path and speaking with people connected to his life and work.
The project also had an important connection to Kelly himself through Bjorn Guil Amelan, Kelly’s former life and business partner. The Philadelphia Museum of Art identifies Amelan and Bill T. Jones as the donors behind a promised gift of approximately 80 Kelly ensembles featured in its Runway of Love retrospective. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
Making the documentary required the kind of resourcefulness familiar to independent filmmakers.
“We did it on a bootstrap,” Johnson said.
For Latrisha Horne, Ryon’s wife, the project meant watching a familiar transformation at home.
When Ryon becomes immersed in a film, she said, he goes into “work mode.”
“He works in the studio and we may not see him months at a time because he’s so dedicated to the project,” she said.
Latrisha traveled to Paris during production and, for the first time, watched her husband working on location.
“I was like a little kid,” she recalled.
Now that the film has premiered, she wants its reach to grow.
“It needs to get on Netflix or a streaming platform so that more people can be exposed,” she said. “It needs to be seen by so many people.”
The Smile
For all the history contained in the documentary, one characteristic of Patrick Kelly repeatedly commanded attention.
His smile.
It turns out the smile was also part of his design philosophy.
Kelly often expressed a simple goal: he wanted his clothes to make people smile. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
His life was hardly free from struggle.
Kelly grew up in Mississippi during the 1950s and 1960s. He later navigated race as a Black man in the international fashion industry. His career required leaving the United States before he found his greatest professional success.
And his life ended during the devastation of the AIDS epidemic.
Yet on screen, Kelly repeatedly smiled.
Johnson noticed it.
So did Dr. Courtney A. Hammonds, who participated in the documentary.
Kelly’s personality, Johnson said, seemed “contagious.”
She remembered another sentiment expressed by Kelly in the film:
“I just want to have fun.”
The joy was reflected in his clothes.
Kelly used bright colors, buttons, bows and humor. He brought his Southern roots into Paris fashion and mixed them with influences from Black culture, fashion history and the club scenes of New York and Paris. (Philadelphia Museum of Art)
Hammonds saw something larger in Kelly’s smile.
“The smile can transcend everything,” Hammonds said.
More Than a Documentary
For Hammonds, Love, Patrick is ultimately about storytelling.
Hammonds credited the Horne Brothers, Manning, Cornelius and the larger production team with bringing together people who could contribute different pieces to Kelly’s story.
But Hammonds also challenged the audience to think about what happens after a story has been recovered.
“We can excavate a story, but now it’s up to the next generation to do something with that,” Hammonds said.
That may be one of the central questions Love, Patrick leaves behind.
What do people do once they know?
Hammonds believes Kelly’s story can resonate even with people who had never heard his name.
He was a Southerner.
He came from a small Mississippi city.
And he reached one of the biggest stages imaginable in his profession.
“We have a cousin in Vicksburg,” Hammonds said. “We have a cousin in Alabama. We have a cousin in Atlanta.”
Kelly’s journey, in that sense, becomes more than fashion history.
It becomes a story about possibility.
Hammonds suggested there is still much more for audiences to discover.
“Patrick Kelly is more than a monolith,” Hammonds said. “He’s really an encyclopedia that’s yet to be read.”
Why BronzeLens Matters
That story found an appropriate stage at BronzeLens.
Founded in 2009, the nonprofit festival is dedicated to promoting Atlanta as a film center for people of color, showcasing films created by people of color and providing networking opportunities to develop future filmmakers. BronzeLens is also an Oscar-qualifying festival in the short-film category. (BronzeLens Atlanta Film Festival, Inc)
Atlanta-based filmmaker Adelin Gasana sees the festival as more than a screening opportunity.
Gasana, whose documentary Brannu was also screening during the festival, said this is his third year participating in BronzeLens. He said the experience has helped him learn about film marketing, meet people and see strong independent films.
That kind of infrastructure matters at a time when independent filmmakers increasingly must find creative ways to finance, market and distribute their work.
Gasana particularly welcomed BronzeLens’ expanded emphasis on Georgia filmmakers this year.
For him, local filmmaking does not necessarily mean telling small stories.
His own documentary examines land, agriculture, development pressure and questions about what happens when competing visions of progress collide.
Love, Patrick likewise stretches far beyond Atlanta.
But its connections to the city run deep.
Kelly spent formative years here before Paris. The Horne Brothers are Atlanta filmmakers. And now Atlanta has hosted the documentary’s world premiere.
The result is a story that can travel internationally while remaining rooted in the South.
“Nothing Is Impossible”
The title of the documentary carries its own story.
Patrick Kelly is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Ninety years after Jesse Owens won four gold medals in Berlin, his triumphs and treatment at home reveal a powerful American contradiction.
On August 9, 1936, Jesse Owens completed one of the greatest performances in Olympic history. What happened before Berlin made him a champion. What happened afterward tells a larger American story.
Ninety years ago, on August 9, 1936, Jesse Owens stepped onto the track inside Berlin’s Olympic Stadium for one final race.
He had already won three gold medals.
The 100 meters.
The long jump.
The 200 meters.
Now came the 4×100-meter relay.
Owens joined Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper and Frank Wykoff on the American team. They crossed the finish line in 39.8 seconds, setting a world record and giving Owens his fourth gold medal of the 1936 Olympic Games.
Four events.
Four gold medals.
All accomplished by a 22-year-old Black American competing in Nazi Germany.
Owens became the most successful athlete of the Berlin Games and the first American track and field athlete to win four gold medals at a single Olympics. His feat would not be matched in the same four events until Carl Lewis accomplished it at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
But 90 years later, Jesse Owens deserves to be remembered for more than what happened during those seven remarkable days in Berlin.
His story began in a sharecropping family in Alabama. It carried him through segregation, poverty and discrimination. It took him to Ohio State University, where he became one of the greatest college athletes in history while being denied some of the basic privileges available to his white teammates.
Then it took him to Berlin, where his performance offered a powerful answer to Adolf Hitler’s theories of racial superiority.
And finally, it brought him home to an America that celebrated his victories while still denying him equality.
That part of the story deserves remembering, too.
Jesse Owens – Photo courtesy of Britannica
From Alabama to Cleveland
James Cleveland Owens was born September 12, 1913, in Oakville, Alabama. He was the youngest of 10 children and the grandson of an enslaved person.
His father was a sharecropper.
When Owens was nine years old, his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Great Migration, the movement of millions of Black Americans out of the rural South in search of greater opportunity elsewhere.
He arrived in Cleveland known as “J.C.”
According to the familiar story, when a teacher asked his name, Owens answered “J.C.” His Southern accent led her to believe he had said “Jesse.”
The name stayed with him for the rest of his life.
So did something else that was becoming increasingly clear.
Jesse Owens could run.
Coach Charles Riley recognized the youngster’s talent and helped develop it. Because Owens worked after school, Riley allowed him to practice before school.
By high school, Owens was becoming a national sensation.
At the 1933 National High School Championships, he tied the world record in the 100-yard dash at 9.4 seconds and established a national high school record in the 220-yard dash.
Colleges noticed.
Owens eventually chose Ohio State University.
The Buckeye Bullet
At Ohio State, Owens became known as the “Buckeye Bullet.”
His performances were extraordinary.
He won eight individual NCAA championships, four in 1935 and four in 1936. During his 1936 season, Owens reportedly won all 42 events he entered.
But athletic greatness did not erase race.
Owens received no athletic scholarship. He worked several jobs to support himself and his family while attending school and training.
He operated an elevator at night. He waited tables. He worked in library stacks. He pumped gas. He also served as a page at the Ohio Statehouse.
And although he competed for Ohio State, Owens could not live on campus with white athletes.
When the team traveled, segregation followed him. He sometimes had to order food rather than eat with his teammates and stay in hotels that accepted Black guests.
The contradiction was already taking shape.
Ohio State could put Jesse Owens in its uniform.
It could depend upon his speed to win championships.
But the racial customs of the time still determined where he could sleep and eat.
Then came May 25, 1935.
Perhaps the Greatest 45 Minutes in Sports
Owens arrived at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with an injured back after falling down a flight of stairs.
He was not certain he could compete.
Owens reportedly persuaded his coach to let him try the 100-yard dash as a test.
He ran it in 9.4 seconds, tying the world record.
He kept going.
Over roughly the next 45 minutes, Owens set records in event after event.
He broke the world record in the long jump with a leap of 26 feet, 8 1/4 inches. He set records in the 220-yard dash and the 220-yard low hurdles.
His performances in the longer races also bettered the corresponding metric records.
His long jump world record would stand for 25 years.
What Owens accomplished that afternoon has often been described as one of the greatest single-day performances in sports history.
He had proven himself ready for the Olympic Games.
The setting awaiting him would make those Olympics unlike almost any before or since.
Berlin
The 1936 Summer Olympics opened in Berlin under the rule of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The Nazi government intended the Games to showcase a powerful Germany before an international audience.
Race was impossible to separate from that presentation.
Nazi ideology promoted the supposed racial superiority of Aryan people while persecuting Jews and other groups the regime considered inferior.
Into that environment walked Jesse Owens.
On August 3, he won the 100 meters in 10.3 seconds.
On August 4, Owens won the long jump with a leap of 26 feet, 5 inches.
On August 5, he captured the 200 meters in 20.7 seconds.
Then, on August 9, Owens and his teammates won the 4×100-meter relay in a world-record 39.8 seconds.
Owens had entered four events.
He won four gold medals.
The symbolism was impossible to ignore.
A Black American had become the dominant athlete at an Olympic Games hosted by a regime preaching racial hierarchy.
Yet one part of the story commonly told about Berlin deserves a closer examination.
What Really Happened With Hitler?
Generations of Americans learned that Hitler personally refused to shake Jesse Owens’ hand after the Black athlete defeated Germany’s competitors.
The historical record is more complicated.
Early in the Olympics, Hitler congratulated selected winners. Olympic officials then told him he would have to greet every medalist or none of them.
Hitler chose not to greet medalists.
Owens himself later disputed the simple version of the story that Hitler had personally singled him out for a snub. He recalled Hitler waving toward him and said he waved back.
None of that changes the racial ideology of Nazi Germany or the significance of Owens’ victories.
But it does change where Owens himself placed responsibility when discussing how he had been treated.
His most pointed complaint was not about Hitler.
It was about his own president.
“It Was Our President Who Snubbed Me”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt never received Jesse Owens at the White House following his four Olympic victories.
He did not send Owens a congratulatory telegram.
And Owens remembered.
Later that year, while speaking at a Republican political event, he said:
“Hitler didn’t snub me. It was our president who snubbed me.”
Owens added that the president had not even sent him a telegram.
The statement becomes even more significant when viewed against records preserved by the National Archives.
While Owens was still competing in Berlin, Americans were already writing to Roosevelt about how the returning Olympians should be treated.
The Rev. Ernest Hall of Cleveland specifically urged Roosevelt to officially receive the successful Olympic competitors upon their return without regard to their race or color.
The White House did not do so.
Owens was not the only Black American representing the country in Berlin. Eighteen Black athletes competed for the United States during the 1936 Olympics.
None received the kind of presidential reception that might seem routine for American Olympic heroes today.
Why Roosevelt made that decision has been debated for decades.
It came during an election year. Roosevelt’s political coalition included growing numbers of Black voters in Northern cities while also relying heavily on powerful white Southern Democrats. Many of those Southern politicians defended segregation and opposed federal action on civil rights.
Those political realities are part of the historical record.
So is another fact.
The president of the United States had an opportunity to publicly receive Jesse Owens and the other Black Olympians.
People asked him to do it.
He did not.
Readers can decide for themselves what that meant.
Celebrated on Broadway, Segregated at the Hotel
America did celebrate Owens when he returned.
New York City welcomed him with a ticker-tape parade through Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes.
Crowds cheered.
The young man from Oakville, Alabama, had returned home as one of the most famous athletes in the world.
Then came a reminder of the America to which he had returned.
A reception was held in Owens’ honor at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
Yet the guest of honor was reportedly not permitted to enter through the hotel’s main entrance.
Owens had to use a freight elevator to reach the reception honoring him.
The scene almost requires no commentary.
A Black man could represent the United States before the world.
He could win four Olympic gold medals.
He could stand beneath the American flag while the national anthem played.
He could receive a parade down Broadway.
But he still could not necessarily walk through the front door.
Four Gold Medals Could Not Feed a Family
Olympic fame did not make Owens wealthy.
The modern world of multimillion-dollar shoe contracts, television advertising and corporate sponsorships did not exist for athletes in 1936.
For Black athletes, opportunities were more limited still.
Owens’ competitive career also ended quickly after Berlin. After leaving a demanding European exhibition tour, he lost his amateur eligibility.
He had a wife and children to support.
So Jesse Owens worked.
Over the years, he held jobs, promoted sporting events and operated businesses. At times he participated in exhibition races against motorcycles, automobiles and even horses.
People later questioned why one of history’s greatest runners would race a horse for money.
Owens had an answer.
He had four gold medals.
But, as he explained, you could not eat them.
The remark captured another side of American sports history.
The nation could cheer a Black champion without necessarily creating a path for that champion to turn accomplishment into economic security.
More Than an Athlete
But reducing Jesse Owens’ post-Olympic life to struggle would also be incomplete.
He built another life.
Owens became a businessman, public speaker, corporate representative and advocate for young people.
His work as a playground director in Cleveland helped begin a lifelong commitment to youth. After moving to Chicago, he continued working with organizations serving young people, including the Chicago Boys’ Club.
In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower enlisted Owens as a goodwill ambassador. He traveled overseas promoting sports and representing the United States.
Owens eventually became a highly sought-after speaker, addressing schools, churches, civic groups, business organizations and young people.
The man once denied equal treatment while representing America increasingly became one of America’s representatives to the world.
Official recognition eventually followed.
The White House, Four Decades Later
On August 5, 1976, President Gerald Ford presented Jesse Owens with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Forty years had passed since Berlin.
In 1979, Owens returned to the White House again, where President Jimmy Carter honored him as a Living Legend.
The recognition arrived late in Owens’ life.
He died from lung cancer on March 31, 1980, in Tucson, Arizona.
He was 66.
After his death, Carter remembered Owens as far more than a runner. He described him as a symbol of the struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry.
Ten years later, Owens was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
His name now appears on schools, roads, parks and athletic facilities.
USA Track & Field’s annual award honoring leading athletes bears the Jesse Owens name.
And the Jesse Owens Foundation continues the family’s work of helping young people develop their talents, broaden their horizons and reach their potential.
Four Gold Medals, Two Americas
It would be easy to end Jesse Owens’ story in Berlin.
Four races.
Four gold medals.
A Black athlete standing victorious in Adolf Hitler’s Germany.
That story is inspiring.
It is also incomplete.
Jesse Owens’ life asks us to remember what happened before Berlin and what happened when he returned home.
He grew up in a sharecropping family.
He became one of America’s greatest college athletes without receiving an athletic scholarship.
He represented a university whose racial customs prevented him from living with his teammates.
He represented the United States in Germany and became the greatest athlete of the Olympic Games.
He returned to a ticker-tape parade but still encountered segregation.
And despite four gold medals, the president of the country he represented never invited him to the White House.
Those are facts.
Why America could celebrate Jesse Owens abroad while denying him equality at home is a larger question.
Ninety years later, perhaps we do not need to answer it for our readers.
Perhaps Jesse Owens’ life provides enough evidence for them to answer it themselves.
On August 9, 1936, Owens crossed his final Olympic finish line and secured his fourth gold medal.
Ninety years later, we remember the speed.
We remember the records.
We remember the medals.
But we should also remember the man.
Jesse Owens did more than run against a stopwatch.
He ran through barriers that his country had placed before him.
And history is still catching up.
Support open, independent journalism. Your contribution helps us tell the stories that matter most.
This column exists for one reason: to answer your questions about Negro League baseball history. To fulfill that mission, we need your help.
If you read and enjoy this column, want it to continue, and haven’t already mastered every corner of Negro League history, we invite you to send us your questions. Your questions are the lifeblood of Shadow Ball—they determine where we go next—from players and teams to memorable games, historic events, and everything in between.
By submitting a question, you help shape the future direction of this column. Your participation is both important and greatly appreciated. In many ways, the continued existence of Shadow Ball depends on readers like you.
This week’s query is submitted by reader George Schuyler, Topeka, KS, which “Major” Negro League lasted the longest?
Let me begin with, thank you George … I very much appreciate this question, I don’t think – even I – can get this one wrong. Here are the seven leagues (and spans) designated as “major” by Major League Baseball on December 16, 2020:
LEAGUE SPAN YEARS
Negro National League 1 1920-1931 12
Eastern Colored League 1923-1928 6
American Negro League 1929 1
Negro Southern League 1932 1
East-West League 1932 1
Negro National League 2 1933-1948 16
Negro American League 1937-1948 12
The list answers the question – the 2nd Negro National League, founded by Gus Greenlee, January 1933, lasted longer than any other Major Negro League and stands behind only the National and American League (now in its 151st season) and the American League (in its 126th season) among all thirteen leagues designated as Major.
Shadow Ball Significa Questions for the past two issues
July 21 Significa “What former Memphis Red Sox player worked at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis after his retirement from baseball?” was incorrectly reported last issue as not having been answered by anyone … turns out that Kevin Johnson, Broken Arrow, OK, submitted the correct answer, Nat Rogers, just minutes after the issue dropped. Sorry about that KJOK.
July 28 Significa “What pitcher won the last Negro League World Series game?” also provided some controversy. A reader offered Wilmer Fields, as the winner, which is confirmed as such at Retrosheet Negro League game files. However, there is no box score but there as a line score showing that R.T. Walker pitched 9 innings before being relieved in the bottom of the 10thwith his team – after a four spot in the top of the 10th– up by four. Further, in Irv Goldfarb’s SABR biography of R.T. Walker he states that Walker “was awarded the victory.” My current reading of MLB rule 10.19 a, b indicates to me that Walker is the winner having pitched 9 innings and being relieved with the lead. In addition, I asked a local Minor League official scorer and he told me that he would credit the win to Walker. Finally, it turns out that the 10.19 rule that is currently in effect was not in effect in 1948 Major League Baseball let alone the Negro National or American Leagues. Prior to 1950 victories were awarded by the official scorer and usually in accordance with today’s current rules.
Ted Knorr
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
Who was Jackie Robinson’s Manager on April 15, 1947?Send your answer, along with your comments/questions about the Negro Leagues, to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com
or mail them to:
Shadow Ball 3904 N. Druid Hills Road
Suite 179 Decatur, GA 30033
Ted Knorr is a Negro League baseball historian, longtime member of the Society for American Baseball Research’s Negro League Committee, and founder of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference and several local Negro League Commemorative Nights in central Pennsylvania.
Support open, independent journalism. Your contribution helps us tell the stories that matter most.
Black farmers across the South confront climate change, shifting growing seasons, drought, flooding and rising costs while fighting to protect land and livelihoods.
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | August 8, 2026
This reporting was made possible thanks to a grant from Grist.
For generations, farming required knowing the land and learning the seasons.
Farmers knew when the ground was usually ready. They knew when to plant, when rain normally came, when temperatures should begin to fall and how much grass cattle could expect from a pasture.
Weather was never completely predictable. Farming has always required risk.
But Black farmers interviewed across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia describe something different happening now.
The old assumptions are becoming less dependable.
They describe warmer temperatures, shifting planting dates, drought, intense rainfall, flooding, unexpected freezes and changing growing conditions. Some have altered what they plant. Others have changed when they plant. Cattle producers are watching pastures and hay supplies more carefully. Crop farmers are investing in irrigation, drainage, high tunnels and soil conservation.
And sometimes, after making all those adjustments, they still lose the crop.
Taken together, their experiences reveal something larger than a collection of bad weather events.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Southeast Climate Hub describes agriculture in the region as operating under “increasing weather variability.” The Hub identifies drought, heat stress, excessive moisture and changing pest pressures among the risks confronting Southeastern producers.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency similarly identifies changing temperature and precipitation patterns, changes in extreme weather and shifts in growing seasons among the evidence of a changing climate.
For the farmers visited, those scientific descriptions have practical meanings.
Climate change is a decision about whether to put seed in the ground.
It is a field planted twice.
It is a pasture without enough grass.
It is hay that has to be purchased.
It is soil washed away by heavy rain.
It is produce that never reaches market.
And for Black farmers, those pressures are landing on top of a much older struggle over land, capital and survival in American agriculture.
The Calendar Is Moving
Bobby Wilson has spent decades working in Georgia agriculture.
Long before Metro Atlanta Urban Farm took root in College Park, Wilson spent years in agricultural extension, learning how to help farmers succeed. Today, he and his wife, Margarett, are reshaping five acres into an urban agricultural campus, producing food, training families, and cultivating a new generation of growers.
The farm grows more than two dozen crops across warm and cool seasons and is Certified Naturally Grown.
Wilson has watched something fundamental change over the course of his agricultural career.
The planting calendar.
Dates farmers once regarded as relatively safe are no longer necessarily the dates they use today. Warmer conditions can tempt a farmer to plant earlier, creating the possibility of getting produce to market ahead of competitors.
But warmth in early spring does not guarantee that winter is finished.
A late cold snap can turn that advantage into a loss.
USDA says growing seasons are changing as temperatures rise. Earlier spring conditions and later first frosts can lengthen growing periods, but earlier plant development can also leave crops vulnerable when damaging cold arrives after growth has begun.
That is the contradiction farmers are learning to manage.
Dennis Dahmer Sr. has confronted it in Mississippi.
An unexpected freeze damaged sugarcane on his farm, forcing him to reconsider when he should plant.
But changing a planting date after one bad season does not eliminate the risk.
Next year may be different.
That uncertainty is becoming part of farming itself.
In New Orleans, Ashley Webb and her husband, Andres Barcelo-Sanchez, have learned a similar lesson.
They operate Barcelo Gardens in the Ninth Ward, where what began as a community garden grew into an urban farm, farmers market and fresh-produce operation serving an area with limited access to fresh food.
Webb teaches gardening according to growing zones and seasons, but New Orleans presents another complication: the city’s heat-island effect can create conditions different from surrounding areas.
The couple also learned quickly that crops they had grown in Los Angeles did not necessarily perform the same way in Louisiana. Corn and carrots struggled. They adjusted, turning toward crops including okra, long beans, cucumbers and hot peppers.
Adaptation began with paying attention.
Crate of vegetable from the Barcelo Gardens – Photo by Milton Kirby
Too Little Water. Then Too Much.
Water may be the clearest example of the contradictions farmers described.
Harry McCoy raises cattle at McCoy Ranch in Pell City, Alabama.
When rainfall declines, pasture suffers.
Cattle still have to eat.
When the pasture no longer supplies enough grass, it must be replaced with purchased feed or hay, turning a weather problem into an economic one.
Anson County, North Carolina, cattle farmer Keith Crawford understands that equation.
Crawford raises Black Angus and Hereford-cross cattle. He has watched the availability and cost of hay become a critical issue for livestock producers.
Crawford cuts hay and watches weather forecasts closely because producing feed requires its own set of weather calculations. Hay needs the right window for cutting, drying and baling. Rain arriving at the wrong time can damage what a farmer has already spent time and money producing.
Crawford described neighboring cattle producers selling animals when hay became difficult or too expensive to obtain.
For a cattle farmer, drought doesn’t just strike once. It can strike two or even three times. It begins with shrinking ponds and water sources, leaving livestock without reliable drinking water. Then it hits again when pastures wither, forcing farmers to buy hay or feed at inflated prices and driving up the cost of keeping cattle alive. By the time the third blow lands, through reduced weight and lower market value, the damage is already deep.
USDA’s Southeast Climate Hub notes that climate conditions can weaken both pasture and feed resources, pushing feed costs higher. Heat stress can also reduce livestock productivity.
Shawn Harris, a cattle farmer in Rockmart, Georgia, has built a sophisticated underground maze of pipes to keep water flowing to his herd when the pond runs low, a climate adaptation strategy born from necessity.
But several hundred miles away, other farmers are confronting the opposite problem.
Too much water.
At Belle’s Barn & Garden in Mississippi, the Rev. D’Andre Miles described periods of dry conditions followed by intense rainfall.
When large amounts of rain fall quickly, the water does not always soak gently into the soil.
It moves.
And when it moves, soil can move with it.
Miles’ approach is to work with the landscape. Vegetation around vulnerable areas can slow water and help hold soil in place rather than leaving the ground exposed.
That philosophy reflects Belle’s broader approach to agriculture: working with natural systems instead of constantly trying to overpower them.
Jesse Buie of Ole Brook Organics in Brookhaven, Mississippi, has also had to think carefully about water.
Buie has more than three decades of farming experience and grows certified organic vegetables, melons, ginger, turmeric, wheatgrass and microgreens.
Heavy rain can saturate growing areas and threaten crops.
His response has included changing how growing areas are configured so water can move more effectively through the farm.
USDA’s research helps explain how both stories can be true at once.
The Southeast can experience substantial rainfall and still suffer drought. Rainfall variability, heat and increased water loss through evaporation and plants can produce dry conditions, while rainfall concentrated into fewer, heavier events can create flooding and runoff.
For farmers, the question is not simply how much rain falls.
It is when it falls, where it falls and how quickly it arrives.
Foot Print Farm vegetables – Photo by Milton Kirby
When One Planting Becomes Two
Few interviews illustrate the economics of climate risk more clearly than Kara Boyd’s.
Boyd Farms operates about 1,500 acres across three farms in Virginia, giving this investigation a view of climate pressures on a substantially larger Black farming operation.
Boyd described having to replant roughly 200 to 300 acres after conditions contributed to poor germination.
Consider what that means economically.
The farmer pays for seed.
The farmer pays for fuel.
The farmer pays for equipment.
The farmer pays for labor.
The crop goes into the ground.
Then enough of it fails to emerge.
The farmer starts again.
But the second planting does not merely repeat the first expense. It also begins later, potentially shortening the crop’s growing window and affecting eventual yield.
Crop insurance can soften the loss.
It does not necessarily erase it.
USDA’s Southeast Climate Hub says changes in the timing and amount of precipitation can contribute to short-term crop failures and longer-term declines in production. Higher temperatures can also reduce yields, while climate variability can expose crops to damaging temperature fluctuations.
Boyd’s experience turns those scientific findings into a balance-sheet problem.
A failed planting has a price.
Metro Atlanta Urban Farm – Photo by Milton Kirby
The Same Storm Does Not Mean the Same Loss
Boyd’s operation also exposes one of the central questions in this investigation.
Climate does not distinguish between a Black farmer and a white farmer.
But farmers do not encounter climate risk with equal resources.
A large operation may have more acreage over which to spread costs, greater access to equipment, stronger cash flow and more ability to absorb a failed field.
For a small farmer, one failed crop can represent a much larger percentage of annual production.
Boyd described that difference vividly, saying an event that feels like a relatively small storm to a large operation can feel like a hurricane and an earthquake to a smaller Black farmer.
That is where a climate story becomes an economic story.
And where an economic story becomes a story about history.
A Crisis Built on an Older Loss
Black farmers did not enter today’s climate challenges on equal footing.
In 1920, USDA recorded more than 925,000 Black farm operators, representing roughly 14 percent of the nation’s farmers.
What followed was one of the most dramatic agricultural declines in American history.
Over subsequent generations, Black farmers lost millions of acres of farmland while the number of Black farmers fell sharply.
A USDA historical review, Black Farmers in America, 1865-2000, documents the racial discrimination and social and institutional barriers that restricted Black farmers’ ability to acquire land, operate independently and retain farms.
Discriminatory lending was part of that history.
So were foreclosures, unequal access to agricultural institutions and land passed between generations without clear title.
The consequences of that history remain part of today’s agricultural landscape. In a 2026 policy resolution, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators noted that Black farmers held more than 16 million acres of farmland in 1910, but just 4.7 million acres by 2017, a loss of more than 70 percent of Black-owned agricultural land.
The resolution identifies discriminatory lending, unequal access to credit and crop insurance, exclusion from grant opportunities and inequities in agricultural subsidies and assistance as continuing barriers facing Black farmers. NBCSL called on Congress, state legislatures and USDA to expand access to grants and loans, strengthen civil rights enforcement, provide legal assistance to protect inherited farmland and invest in food infrastructure and markets that can help Black producers remain economically viable.
Heirs’ property remains part of the discussion today.
When land passes to multiple descendants without a will or clear title, ownership can become fragmented. That can make property vulnerable and complicate efforts to borrow against the land or participate in programs requiring proof of control.
But Boyd cautions against making heirs’ property the entire story.
From her perspective, access to capital, participation in federal crop insurance and the ability to navigate agricultural programs can be equally important, if not more important, to the survival of Black farms.
Her argument adds an important complication.
The problem is not simply whether Black families own land.
It is whether they possess the financial tools needed to keep farming it.
Foot Print Farms – Photo by Milton Kirby
Who Can Afford to Adapt?
Dennis Dahmer knows irrigation could help protect crops during dry periods.
But knowing what would help and being able to justify the investment are different things.
For a farmer working a relatively small number of acres, a major irrigation system may never generate enough additional farm income to recover its cost.
For a producer farming hundreds or thousands of acres, the same investment can produce an entirely different calculation.
That exposes one of the most important climate-justice questions raised by this reporting.
Adaptation costs money.
Irrigation costs money.
Wells cost money.
High tunnels cost money.
Drainage costs money.
Replacing seed costs money.
Buying hay costs money.
Even participation in crop insurance requires farmers to understand the system, maintain records, meet reporting requirements and pay premiums.
Boyd said those requirements can become barriers for smaller producers unfamiliar with federal crop insurance or reluctant to enter a system they may not trust.
That distrust did not emerge from nowhere.
It exists against the historical record of discrimination Black farmers experienced within American agricultural institutions.
Learning to Work the System
Dr. Cindy Ayers-Elliott has taken a different approach.
At Foot Print Farms in Jackson, Mississippi, Ayers-Elliott operates a 68-acre farm producing specialty crops, vegetables and livestock while using agriculture as a tool for community and economic development.
Her farm trains young people and adults.
It also works with USDA and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Ayers-Elliott believes farmers must learn how the system works.
That means obtaining a USDA farm number, understanding conservation programs, keeping records and identifying resources that can help pay for infrastructure or improve production.
Her farm uses adaptation and conservation tools that include irrigation and protected growing. But her larger contribution may be education.
A federal program is of little value to a farmer who does not know it exists, does not understand the paperwork or cannot determine whether the farm qualifies.
That gap between the existence of assistance and the ability to access it remains one of the central policy questions raised by this investigation.
One proposal before Congress attempts to address some of those structural barriers.
The Black Farmers and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Increased Market Share Act, introduced in the U.S. House by the late Georgia Rep. David Scott and other lawmakers, would create a USDA grant program supporting food hubs designed to increase market access for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The legislation would authorize $100 million for the program in fiscal year 2026, with grants available for infrastructure, processing, storage, transportation, equipment and marketing. Recipients would not be required to provide federal matching funds.
The bill would also direct USDA to prioritize purchases from socially disadvantaged producers for domestic food assistance programs and strengthen accountability for discrimination and other civil rights violations within the department.
The legislation does not solve the climate problem confronting farmers. But it speaks directly to another question raised repeatedly during this reporting: whether farmers already absorbing greater weather risk will have the capital, markets, infrastructure and institutional support necessary to adapt.
Rev. D’Andre Miles – Bells Barn & Garden – Photo by Milton Kirby
Building Resilience From the Ground Up
The farmers interviewed are not waiting passively for someone to rescue them.
They are experimenting.
They are adapting.
And in many cases, the techniques they are using mirror practices recommended by USDA.
At Metro Atlanta Urban Farm, Wilson emphasizes the soil itself.
Cover crops, compost and organic matter help restore nutrients and improve the ground rather than simply extracting from it season after season.
At Belle’s Barn & Garden, Miles emphasizes natural systems and protecting the landscape.
At Ole Brook Organics, Buie adapts drainage and production methods to conditions on his particular farm.
At Foot Print Farms, Ayers-Elliott combines infrastructure, conservation and education.
Ricky Davis, founder of Sowing Seeds Farms in Bessemer, Alabama, incorporates water conservation, controlled growing systems and agricultural education into the operation.
The operation was established not simply to grow food but to create a community gathering place for farmers and entrepreneurs, promote economic development and teach healthier and more sustainable ways of living.
USDA identifies many of the same approaches, including cover crops, conservation tillage, efficient irrigation, improved soil-water retention, erosion control and water-management infrastructure.
The important lesson is that adaptation is not one machine, one crop or one federal program.
It is local.
What works on one farm may not work five miles away.
Boyd sees that even across her own acreage. Rain can fall on one section of a farm while missing another.
A county line cannot tell a farmer whether enough rain fell on a particular field.
The land itself decides.
When Farming Is the Paycheck
At Fountain Heights Farms in the Birmingham area, climate risk carries another dimension.
Farming is not supplemental income.
It is the livelihood.
That distinction matters.
Many small farmers maintain outside employment because the farm alone cannot consistently support the household. Fountain Heights does not have that secondary income cushion.
A lost crop is therefore not merely a disappointing harvest.
It is lost household income.
The operation also exists within a larger community food system, making affordability and access part of the farm’s mission.
That means climate pressure can travel beyond the property line.
When a community farm produces less food, the people depending on that farm can feel the loss too.
Climate Change Does Not Stop at the Farm Gate
Barcelo Gardens demonstrates that connection particularly clearly.
Webb and Barcelo-Sanchez began growing food after realizing their Ninth Ward neighborhood lacked convenient access to fresh produce.
Their garden eventually grew into a market that also obtains food from other producers.
Among them is Jubilee Justice, a Black-led agricultural organization based near Alexandria, Louisiana, that works on sustainable farming practices.
Ricky Davis – Sowing Seeds Farm – Photo by Milton Kirby
That creates a chain.
A farmer loses a crop.
A market has less produce.
A neighborhood already lacking grocery options has fewer sources of fresh food.
The climate event may happen in a field miles away.
Its consequences arrive in the city.
The same principle applies elsewhere in this investigation.
Metro Atlanta Urban Farm teaches families how to produce food.
Foot Print Farms trains future farmers and entrepreneurs.
Sowing Seeds combines food production with community education.
Fountain Heights works to keep food available and affordable.
These operations are more than businesses occupying acreage.
They are pieces of community infrastructure.
Protecting the farm can therefore mean protecting more than the farmer.
Science Catches Up With What Farmers See
The experiences documented across these farms are consistent with risks identified by the USDA Southeast Climate Hub.
When I described the farmers’ observations to Dr. Mac Callaham Jr., director of the Hub, including warmer conditions, changing growing seasons, flooding and precipitation problems, his initial response was direct.
“Yeah, absolutely.”
Callaham pointed specifically to shifting growing seasons, variability in precipitation and increasing temperatures among the issues agricultural producers are confronting.
His program’s public materials go further.
The Southeast Climate Hub says farmers and land managers are dealing with drought, heat stress, excessive moisture, changing pest pressures and increasing weather variability.
Its crop research warns that changes in temperature and the timing and amount of precipitation can affect yields and contribute to crop failure.
Its livestock research identifies heat stress and changes in pasture and feed resources as risks to producers.
Its growing-season research describes earlier spring conditions, later frosts and the possibility that earlier plant development can leave crops exposed to damaging cold.
The science does not mean every failed crop, flooded field or expensive roll of hay can individually be blamed on climate change.
Weather still varies naturally.
But taken across regions and over time, the conditions farmers described fit a larger pattern agricultural scientists are already studying.
Callaham also acknowledged that the language surrounding the federal government’s work has changed.
He said his program previously focused more explicitly on climate literacy and climate education, but priorities shift between presidential administrations.
The current emphasis, he said, remains on helping farmers, forest landowners and grazing-land managers improve productivity and resilience to risk.
The terminology may change.
The farmer still has to plant.
Mother Nature Has the Final Say
Kara Boyd summed up the limits of adaptation in a few words.
“We’re trying to adapt to Mother Nature,” she said. “But she has the final say.”
That may be the central truth running through every farm visited.
Farmers can move planting dates.
They can build high tunnels.
They can improve drainage.
They can install irrigation.
They can rebuild soil.
They can capture rainwater.
They can buy crop insurance.
They can change crops.
They can study forecasts.
They can learn government programs.
But none of those decisions gives them control over the weather.
For Black farmers, the question is not whether they know how to adapt.
They have been adapting for generations.
The harder question is how many additional costs, failed plantings, droughts, floods, freezes and changing seasons a farmer can absorb before adaptation is no longer enough.
Across the South, the farmers interviewed are still planting.
Still raising cattle.
Still rebuilding soil.
Still feeding communities.
Still teaching the next generation.
But they are doing so while some of the seasonal assumptions inherited from previous generations become less dependable.
Climate change is altering the conditions under which they farm.
History has shaped the resources they have available to respond.
The future of Black farming may depend on whether the institutions surrounding these farmers can adapt as quickly as the farmers themselves already have.
Support open, independent journalism. Your contribution helps us tell the stories that matter most.
This column exists for only one purpose: that is to answer your questions on Negro League baseball history. To that end, we need your help … if you are reading this column, enjoy it, want it to continue, and do not already know everything about Negro League history … then please submit a question on any aspect of Negro League history. Your questions are the lifeblood of Shadow Ball—they shape where we go next … players, teams, events, and more – and, in so doing, you will direct where this column goes moving forward. Your participation is important and appreciated. The very existence of this column depends on you. Submit your questions to shadowball@truthseekersjournal.com.
Given the level of talent in the Negro Leagues and so few slots opened in the major leagues, why and when did the Negro League collapse? Elston Hoskins, Saint Charles, Missouri
Before getting to the “why and when” I want to recognize the astute preamble to your query which correctly notes that the available, unfettered by recognized contracts, talent of Negro League represented the greatest source of talent in the history of the game. Simultaneously, with 15 franchises in opposition to the thought of integration in this moment of time due to racism, ignorance, poor judgement or whatever rationale one wants to invent the process of bringing talent of color to the Majors was painfully slow despite a demonstrated high reward as the below illustration shows:
One would think such slow movement from the Negro Leagues would postpone, as Mr. Hoskins’ question implies, the inevitable collapse, sic, of the Negro Leagues. The reality was that Negro League baseball fans for several reasons – racial pride, quality of play, media attention (and lack thereof) – almost immediately began an exodus from a viable entertainment source and major African American business to the American and National Leagues
I think the “Why” has been covered. For me, the “When” is simultaneous with Jackie Robinson’s final exit from the Kansas City Monarch locker room in August 1945. However, with no players of color on Major League rosters in 1946 I count that year as the last where the Negro Leagues should be considered major.’. Major League itself is a little more forgiving in its definition, by edict on December 16, 2020, of Major Leagues includes the Negro National and Negro American League through 1948. The Society for American Baseball Research extends its Major league imprimatur through the 1950 season. All three of us (MLB, SABR and myself) recognize that the Negro Leagues specifically the Negro American League sputter on, descending in quality and quantity until 1960 or ’61.
Last Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
Which former Memphis Red Sox player worked in various roles at the Peabody Hotel after his baseball career ended? Nat Rogers, himself a veteran of over twenty years at the highest level of baseball permitted, hit .305 with an OPS+ of 111 and better than average fielding percentage and range factor in all three outfield positions, who must be considered a solid Major League outfielder. After his playing days were over, he worked in various capacities at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis and was as much a favorite with that clientele as with baseball fans. No reader submitted a guess so this week’s question, hopefully, will be a bit more inviting.
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
Ted Knorr
Which pitcher won the last “Major League” Negro League World Series game? Send your answer, along with your comments/questions about the Negro Leagues, to
The stage in Atlanta will introduce only one new regional champion, but the story of Soul Country Music Star stretches far beyond a single performance or a single city.
Across the country, artists are stepping onto stages with different voices, different life experiences, and different reasons for making music. Some are seasoned performers. Others are chasing opportunities they have spent years praying for. All share a belief that country music has room for stories that have too often gone unheard.
Three artists have already secured their places in the Soul Country Music Star Finals, scheduled for October 31 in Los Angeles. Brenda Guy earned her victory in the Fort Worth-Dallas Regional. Silas Reed captured the Memphis Regional title. Glenn Stanton advanced by winning the Los Angeles Regional. Their journeys through the competition are complete, at least for now, as they wait for the remaining regional champions to join them on the national stage.
The spotlight now turns to Atlanta.
On August 1, at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, five artists will compete for the chance to become the next regional champion and earn a coveted spot in the Los Angeles finals and Festival. The competition is part of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo’s Soul Country Rodeo Experience.
OG NARD, Angela Roundtree, Da’Rell Sims Jr., Reggie Stacy, and Jacqueline Merrill each bring distinct musical styles, backgrounds, and aspirations. Yet, after speaking with each of them, one thing became remarkably clear.
This competition is about far more than selecting the next winner.
It is about discovering artists who are redefining what Soul country music can be.
Some draw from gospel traditions that first shaped their voices in church pews. Others blend country with Southern soul, hip-hop, Americana, or contemporary storytelling. Some speak openly about grief, redemption, and perseverance. Others see music as a bridge connecting generations, cultures, and communities.
Together, they represent a movement that is steadily expanding both the sound and the story of country music.
As the road to Los Angeles continues, The Truth Seekers Journal spoke with three regional winners from Memphis, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Los Angeles who have already secured their places in the finals, as well as the five Atlanta regional contestants preparing for their opportunity. Their conversations reveal not only why they sing, but also what they hope their music will leave behind long after the final note fades.
More than a competition, Soul Country Music Star has become a window into the next generation of Black Soul Country artists, each carrying a unique story to the stage.
More Than a Singing Competition
For more than four decades, the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo (BPIR) has celebrated the often overlooked history and legacy of Black cowboys and cowgirls, preserving a chapter of the American West that many people never learned in school. Alongside the excitement of rodeo competition, the organization has steadily expanded its cultural programming to showcase the music, traditions, and creative voices that have long been part of that heritage.
One of its newest and fastest growing programs is Soul Country Music Star.
Far more than a traditional talent competition, Soul Country Music Star provides emerging performers with a national platform to showcase their artistry before live audiences while introducing new voices to one of America’s oldest musical traditions. Regional competitions are held across the country, with each winner advancing to the national finals and festival, where one artist will ultimately earn the title of Soul Country Music Star, a $10,000 cash prize and a chance to tour with the BPIR in 2027.
This year’s journey has already produced regional winners in Memphis, Dallas–Fort Worth, and Los Angeles. Atlanta will select its finalist on August 1, followed by the final regional competition on September 19 at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The four out of state regional winners will then travel to Los Angeles for the Soul Country Music Festival & National Finals, taking place October 31 and November 1 at the Autry Museum of the American West in Griffith Park.
The competition is also helping reshape public perceptions of country music.
For generations, Black artists have played a foundational role in the evolution of country music, from its earliest influences rooted in gospel, blues, and folk traditions to today’s expanding blend of Southern Soul, Americana, and contemporary country. Yet many of those contributions have remained underrecognized.
The artists participating in Soul Country Music Star are helping change that narrative.
Some arrive with decades of performing experience. Others are taking their first major step onto a national stage. Their musical styles differ widely, but each brings an authentic perspective shaped by family, faith, hardship, perseverance, and community.
After speaking individually with the three regional winners, and the five Atlanta Regional contestants, one theme surfaced again and again.
None of them spoke first about winning.
Instead, they spoke about purpose.
For some, music became a way to preserve family traditions. For others, it offered healing after personal loss, redemption after difficult seasons, or the freedom to express themselves without being confined by expectations. Nearly every conversation returned to faith, perseverance, and the belief that music could touch lives beyond the stage.
That may be the competition’s greatest achievement.
Before judges score a single performance, audiences are introduced to artists whose stories are every bit as compelling as the songs they perform.
The Road Already Traveled
Long before the Atlanta Regional contestants step onto the stage, three artists have already secured their places in the Soul Country Music Star Finals. Their victories came hundreds of miles apart, in different cities and before different audiences, yet their stories reveal that there is no single path to success.
Brenda Guy earned top honors in the Fort Worth-Dallas Regional by doing what she has always believed music should do: bring people together.
Her performances are rooted in connection. Whether singing before longtime country music fans or audiences experiencing Soul Country for the first time, Guy believes every performance should create a relationship between the artist and the listener. That ability to connect has become one of her greatest strengths and helped carry her to a regional championship.
In Memphis, Silas Reed took a different road.
A musician, educator, and student of Black musical history, Reed views every performance as an opportunity to preserve a legacy that stretches across generations. His appreciation for country music is grounded in research, faith, and a deep understanding of the Black artists whose influence helped shape the genre long before many of them received recognition. Rather than simply entertaining audiences, Reed hopes every performance encourages listeners to better understand the music’s history while inspiring the next generation of artists to carry that tradition forward.
Thousands of miles away in Los Angeles, Glenn Stanton emerged from a very talented pool of Soul Country artists at the California Regional with yet another perspective.
An actor, Americana artist, and storyteller, Stanton speaks openly about music as a source of healing. His songs often reflect life’s difficult seasons, reconciliation, and hope. Rather than separating country music from personal experience, Stanton embraces both, believing that authentic storytelling has the power to comfort people who may be carrying struggles of their own.
Although their musical styles differ, Guy, Reed, and Stanton share something larger than a regional title.
“Promotional Artwork Courtesy of Soul Country Music Star”
Each views music as a calling rather than simply a career.
Each spoke about faith, purpose, and service before discussing trophies or recognition.
And each now waits for October 31, when regional champions from across the country will gather in California to compete for the Soul Country Music Star national title.
Their journeys have reached the next chapter.
Atlanta’s is just beginning.
A New Stage. Five New Dreams.
When the Soul Country Music Star competition arrives in Atlanta on August 1, five artists will step onto the stage carrying very different stories, but sharing one common goal: to become the next regional champion and earn a place alongside Brenda Guy, Silas Reed, Glenn Stanton, and the other regional winners awaiting the national finals in California.
For some, the competition represents the culmination of decades spent performing before live audiences. For others, it is an opportunity to introduce audiences to a new sound or to share deeply personal stories through music. Together, they represent a cross-section of today’s Black country music landscape, where gospel harmonies, Southern Soul, Americana, traditional country, and contemporary influences exist side by side.
Their names are Bernard Stephens aka OG NARD, Angela Roundtree, Da’Rell Sims Jr., Reggie Stacy, and Jacqueline Merrill.
Over the course of several conversations with The Truth Seekers Journal, each answered the same basic questions about music, inspiration, and purpose.
None gave the same answers.
And that may be what makes this year’s Atlanta Regional one of the most compelling stops on the Road to Los Angeles.
Five Artists. Five Different Dreams.
By the time the Soul Country Music Star competition reaches Atlanta on August 1, the judges will already know what a regional champion looks like.
What they will not know is whose story will emerge next.
The five artists preparing to compete in Atlanta come from different backgrounds, different musical traditions, and different walks of life. Some have spent years performing before live audiences. Others have built loyal followings while waiting for an opportunity to introduce themselves to a larger stage.
What unites them is not a common sound.
It is a common belief that country music still has room for voices that reflect their own experiences.
OG Nard (Bernard Stephens): A Story of Redemption
For OG Nard (Bernard Stephens), music represents something larger than entertainment.
It represents another chance.
The Atlanta artist openly acknowledges that life has included difficult chapters, but he refuses to allow those experiences to define his future. Instead, they have become the foundation of his music and his desire to encourage others facing similar struggles.
OG describes his music as “Trapp Kountry,” a style that blends country storytelling with the sounds and experiences of contemporary urban life. Rather than trying to fit into someone else’s definition of country music, he has created a style that reflects where he comes from, what he has lived through, and people he hopes to reach.
His music carries a message of perseverance.
During our conversation, OG spoke repeatedly about giving back to young people, helping others avoid mistakes he has already made, and using music to demonstrate that redemption remains possible regardless of a person’s past.
For him, the Atlanta Regional is more than another performance.
It is another opportunity to prove that second chances can become new beginnings.
Angela Roundtree: Singing from the Heart
If OG’s music speaks through redemption, Angela Roundtree’s begins with authenticity.
Raised in a family where gospel music was part of everyday life, Roundtree says she has been singing for as long as she can remember. Yet despite her remarkable voice and growing audience, she remains remarkably humble, often describing herself as someone who simply wants listeners to feel what she feels.
Her songwriting rarely begins with commercial trends or radio formats.
Instead, it begins with life.
Sometimes the inspiration arrives while driving alone.
Sometimes it grows from personal experiences that eventually become songs capable of touching complete strangers.
Roundtree admits she has battled self-doubt and even describes herself as someone who occasionally gets in her own way. That honesty may be one of her greatest strengths. Rather than presenting herself as a polished celebrity, she allows audiences to see both her confidence and her vulnerability.
When she steps onto the stage in Atlanta, she is not trying to become someone else.
She is simply trying to be herself.
And for many artists, that may be the hardest performance of all.
Da’Rell Sims Jr.: Building an Atlanta Sound
While some artists spend years trying to fit comfortably inside an established genre, Da’Rell Sims Jr. is focused on creating space for something new.
He calls it Atlanta Country.
Growing up in Atlanta with family roots that stretch into rural Georgia, Sims believes country music should reflect the places and experiences that shaped him. Rather than choosing between country, hip-hop, Southern Soul, or gospel influences, he embraces all of them, creating a sound that reflects the city he calls home.
“I’m the bridge,” he said during our conversation, explaining that his music connects traditions that many people mistakenly view as separate.
For Sims, authenticity matters more than stereotypes.
He has little interest in performing a version of country music that doesn’t feel genuine. His songs are built on real experiences, real people, and real emotions. Whether writing about relationships, everyday life, or personal growth, he believes audiences recognize honesty long before they recognize polish.
That same philosophy extends beyond the stage.
An entrepreneur as well as a musician, Sims thinks about music as part of a larger vision that includes education, branding, film, television, and community impact. He has even developed music designed to help children learn reading, mathematics, history, and life skills, demonstrating that entertainment and education can exist together.
His long-term vision reaches well beyond recording songs.
He wants to build something lasting.
If Atlanta Country becomes part of the national conversation, Sims hopes it will not simply introduce audiences to another musical style. He hopes it will encourage listeners to recognize that country music continues to grow because artists are willing to bring their own communities, cultures, and experiences into the genre.
For Da’Rell Sims Jr., the Atlanta Regional represents more than a competition.
It is an opportunity to introduce audiences to a new way of thinking about country music.
Reggie Stacy: Prepared for the Moment
If Da’Rell Sims Jr. is introducing something new, Reggie Stacy is building upon a foundation that has taken decades to establish.
Long before arriving at the Soul Country Music Star competition, Stacy had already built a reputation as a polished performer. He has appeared in singing competitions across the country, performed the National Anthem at sporting events, entertained audiences in restaurants and live music venues, and earned recognition as both Country Vocalist of the Year and Country Entertainer of the Year at a major competition in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Yet despite those accomplishments, he speaks less about success than preparation.
Every performance begins with prayer.
Every rehearsal is approached with purpose.
Every appearance is treated as an opportunity to represent himself, his band, and his faith with professionalism.
“It’s not on my timing,” he explained while discussing his career. “It’s on God’s time.”
That quiet confidence runs throughout his story.
Rather than measuring progress by trophies alone, Star believes every performance is another step toward the larger stage he has envisioned since childhood. He speaks openly about trusting the process, remaining patient, and continuing to improve while waiting for the next opportunity.
His musical influences reflect that same respect for tradition.
Inspired by artists including Charlie Pride and Chris Stapleton, Stacy embraces the soulful storytelling that has long defined country music while adding his own warmth and vocal style. His original song, Livin Life, celebrates the balance between hard work and enjoying the moments that make life meaningful.
As he prepares for the Atlanta Regional, Stacy is not trying to reinvent country music.
He simply wants to honor it through excellence.
For him, the greatest performance is not measured by applause alone.
It is measured by leaving the stage knowing he gave audiences everything he had.
Jacqueline Merrill: Music Without Boundaries
If there is one artist in the Atlanta Regional who refuses to be confined by labels, it is Jacqueline Merrill.
Singer.
Songwriter.
Rapper.
Performer.
Those titles describe what she does.
They do not fully explain who she is.
Merrill describes herself as an artist who refuses to be placed in a box. During our conversation, she spoke passionately about studying vocal techniques, listening carefully to the phrasing and breathing of legendary performers, and challenging herself to master different musical styles. That curiosity has made her one of the competition’s most versatile performers, comfortable moving between gospel, soul, country, and contemporary music without losing her own identity.
Her introduction to music began in church.
At just five years old, she led her first song in the Church of God in Christ, discovering both her voice and her confidence before a congregation that recognized her gift almost immediately. That early foundation continues to shape every performance today.
Faith remains at the center of everything she does.
Throughout our conversation, Merrill repeatedly described moments in her life that she believes were guided by God, from opportunities that appeared unexpectedly to doors that opened at precisely the right time. She views the Soul Country Music Star competition not as coincidence, but as confirmation that she is walking the path prepared for her.
For Merrill, Soul Country represents freedom.
Freedom to sing.
Freedom to rap.
Freedom to tell stories.
Freedom to express herself without allowing traditional genre boundaries to define her artistry.
She believes audiences should leave every performance feeling something.
Sometimes that feeling is joy.
Sometimes it is laughter.
Sometimes it is reflection.
The emotion matters less than the connection.
“If I made you feel something,” she said, “then I’ve done my job.”
That perspective has been shaped by life’s deepest challenges.
Merrill spoke openly about personal loss, health struggles, and the responsibilities of motherhood. Rather than allowing those experiences to silence her, she has transformed them into purpose. Her children remain her greatest motivation, inspiring her to keep moving forward and demonstrating through her own life that perseverance can outlast disappointment.
As she prepares for the Atlanta Regional, Merrill carries more than songs to the stage.
She carries a testimony.
One built on faith, resilience, and the belief that music has the power to change lives.
More Than Eight Voices
After conversations with three regional winners and five Atlanta Regional contestants, one conclusion became impossible to ignore.
No two artists described country music in exactly the same way.
Brenda Guy spoke about creating connections.
Silas Reed viewed every performance as an opportunity to preserve history.
Glenn Stanton found healing through storytelling.
OG embraced redemption through what he proudly calls Trapp Kountry.
Angela Roundtree sang with disarming honesty and vulnerability.
Da’Rell Sims Jr. envisioned a future shaped by Atlanta Country.
Reggie Stacy built his career on preparation, professionalism, and faith.
Jacqueline Merrill celebrated artistic freedom without boundaries.
Their musical styles differ.
Their life experiences differ.
Even their reasons for standing on stage differ.
Yet every conversation returned to the same foundation.
Family.
Faith.
Perseverance.
Purpose.
None of the artists spoke first about trophies, prize money, or recognition.
Instead, they spoke about making meaningful music, encouraging others, honoring those who came before them, and leaving audiences better than they found them.
Perhaps that is what makes Soul Country Music Star different.
The competition may crown one regional winner in Atlanta.
But before the judges make their decision, audiences will have the opportunity to hear five artists who represent five distinct visions of where Soul country music is headed.
And beyond Atlanta, three regional champions already await them in California, each carrying a different story but sharing the same dream of becoming the next Soul Country Music Star.
The Road Continues
When the lights come up in Atlanta on August 1, one performer will move one step closer to the national title.
But regardless of who advances, the competition is accomplishing something that reaches far beyond a single evening of music.
It is introducing audiences to artists whose stories challenge long-held assumptions about country music while celebrating the Black traditions that helped shape the genre from its earliest beginnings.
The Road to Los Angeles is about more than selecting a champion.
It is about discovering voices that deserve to be heard.
On October 31, another chapter in that journey will be written when regional winners from across the country gather in California for the Soul Country Music Star Finals.
By then, Atlanta will have added another name to that growing list.
Until then, the music continues.
The Road to Los Angeles
Regional Winners
Already qualified for the Soul Country Music Star Finals
Fort Worth-Dallas Regional Brenda Guy
Memphis Regional Silas Reed
Los Angeles Glenn Stanton
Upcoming Regional Competitions
Atlanta, Georgia August 1, 2026
Washington, DC/Maryland September 19, 2026 The Show Place Arena Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Soul Country Music Festival & National Finals
Saturday, October 31, 2026 Los Angeles, California
Sunday, November 1, 2026 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Autry Museum of the American West Griffith Park
National Finals & Soul Country Music Festival October 31-Novemebr 1 California
Eight Conversations. One Discovery.
After speaking individually with each artist, one thing became increasingly clear. Although every conversation began with music, none remained there for long. Discussions quickly turned toward faith, family, perseverance, loss, healing, service, and purpose. The artists differed in style, personality, and performance, but they shared a common belief that music should leave people better than it found them.
That may ultimately become the lasting impression of this year’s Soul Country Music Star competition. While audiences will remember the performances, they may remember the stories behind those performances even more.
The Road to Los Angeles Continues
On August 1, one more artist will earn the right to continue the Road to Los Angeles. But regardless of who advances, every performer who steps onto the Atlanta stage will bring something that cannot be measured by judges’ scores alone: a story shaped by faith, family, perseverance, and a belief that music still has the power to connect people. In the end, that may be Soul Country Music Star’s greatest accomplishment.
Support open, independent journalism. Your contribution helps us tell the stories that matter most.
The Obama Presidential Center’s new “Ask the Archivist” program gives visitors direct access to National Archives experts, expanding public engagement with the Obama Administration’s digital presidential records.
By Milton Kirby | Chicago, IL | July 26, 2026
For many visitors, a trip to the Obama Presidential Center is an opportunity to experience the story of the nation’s first Black president through exhibits, artifacts, and interactive displays. Beginning this summer, it also offers something far less common: the chance to sit down face-to-face with the people responsible for preserving that history.
The Obama Foundation and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) have launched “Ask the Archivist,” a new public program that gives visitors direct access to professional presidential archivists inside the Obama Presidential Center.
The initiative reflects the continuing partnership between the Obama Foundation and NARA to make the records of the Obama Administration more accessible to researchers, students, historians, and the general public.
Bringing History Within Reach
Under the new program, a NARA archivist will be available every Thursday from July 23 through October 8, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Time, at the Obama Presidential Center Branch of the Chicago Public Library.
Visitors can ask questions about presidential records, learn how to conduct research using the Barack Obama Presidential Library’s digital collections, and better understand how presidential archives are preserved and made available to the public.
Rather than simply viewing history behind glass, guests will have an opportunity to learn directly from the professionals who manage one of the nation’s largest presidential archives.
A Different Kind of Presidential Library
Unlike earlier presidential libraries built primarily around paper documents, the Obama Presidential Library represents a new chapter in presidential recordkeeping.
Approximately **95 percent of the Obama Administration’s records were created digitally**, making it one of the first presidential libraries designed around a predominantly digital archive.
That distinction has required an unprecedented effort to preserve millions of electronic records while also digitizing the remaining physical documents.
The Obama Foundation has committed more than $4.5 million to support NARA’s work digitizing those remaining materials, allowing more of the collection to become accessible online.
The result is a library model that extends far beyond a single building, enabling researchers across the country to explore presidential records through digital collections while still preserving original historical materials.
Continuing a Historic Partnership
Foundation leaders say the new program builds naturally on an already successful collaboration between the two organizations.
“The National Archives have been a tremendous partner to us as we work to illuminate the work of the Obama Administration at the Obama Presidential Center, particularly in the artifact lending program and digitization of records,” said Valerie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation.
Jarrett said “Ask the Archivist” represents another step toward making President Barack Obama’s administration accessible and transparent for the public.
Dr. Kenvi Phillips, Director of the Barack Obama Presidential Library, said the partnership gives visitors a richer understanding of the presidential collection.
“We are excited to partner with the Obama Foundation to provide another avenue for public awareness and access to the records of the Obama Administration,” Phillips said.
He noted that visitors can now experience both museum artifacts and personal conversations with archivists who can explain how the Library’s digital holdings are organized and accessed.
Beyond Museum Exhibits
The new program expands the educational mission of the Obama Presidential Center beyond traditional museum experiences.
Numerous artifacts and historical records owned by NARA are already on loan and displayed throughout the Center’s museum, allowing visitors to encounter original presidential materials while learning about the policies, decisions, and events that shaped the Obama presidency.
The addition of on-site archivists transforms that experience into an interactive one, helping visitors understand not only what they are seeing but also how presidential history is documented, preserved, and researched.
For students beginning research projects, educators seeking classroom resources, genealogists, journalists, and historians, the opportunity to speak directly with a presidential archivist offers practical guidance that is rarely available outside the National Archives.
Preserving a Digital Presidency
As government increasingly conducts its work electronically, preserving digital records has become one of the greatest challenges facing modern archivists.
Emails, digital photographs, electronic memoranda, social media content, and other born-digital records require preservation methods very different from traditional paper archives.
The Obama Presidential Library has become one of the nation’s leading examples of how those records can be organized, protected, and eventually made available to the public while meeting legal requirements governing presidential records.
Programs such as “Ask the Archivist” help explain that work to visitors while encouraging greater public engagement with one of the country’s most significant historical collections.
A Living Institution
The program also reflects the broader vision behind the Obama Presidential Center itself.
Rather than functioning solely as a traditional presidential museum, the Center was designed to be an active civic institution that encourages public participation, lifelong learning, and community engagement.
Adding direct access to presidential archivists reinforces that mission by inviting visitors not only to reflect on history but also to explore it firsthand.
For anyone curious about how presidential history is preserved, or how to begin researching one of the most consequential administrations of the 21st century, the answer may now be as simple as asking the archivist.
Support open, independent journalism. Your contribution helps us tell the stories that matter most.
Last week, I discussed the recent 25th annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Research Conference that I attended last month. This week I want to introduce readers to the ten Negro League players/managers identified by conference attendees at the conference as the worthiest of induction in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. . It is my strongly held opinion that all ten and more need immediate induction in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown if that organization is to truly fulfill its mission as a 501 c 3 educational non-profit . Here are the top ten candidates according to attendees at this year’s Negro League Research Conference:
10th Candy Jim Taylor, Manager … Connie Mack (each candidate will feature an existing Hall of Fame comparable): Taylor is number one in Negro League history with 27 years. 2169 games, and 1042 wins (the only Negro League manager with more than 1000 Major League victories); only Vic Harris & Rube Foster won more pennants, and no Negro League manager won more World Series. He also was an all-star caliber player: hitting .295 with 11 HRs and 14 SBs for every 162 games played while achieving batter than average fielding percentage and range as a third baseman. He is listed in the Courier poll as the 7th best third baseman in Negro League history. “(each candidate will feature a quote from James A. Riley’s Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues) He was with sixteen different teams during a forty-five-year career as player and manager that spanned virtually the entire existence of the Negro Leagues as a Major League.”
8th tie John Beckwith, 3B …Dick Allen … named to the 1952 Courier 2nd team as a utility player who played all positions during his career – including catcher and shortstop, while being a top ten masher with the bat … no Negro Leaguer, batting as often as he did. achieved a higher batting average, slugging. OPS, or OPS+ … “The right-handed pull hitter was a powerful and consistent batter whose slugging prowess was extraordinary.” In my opinion, he is the most deserving Negro League player outside of Cooperstown’ plaque room.
8th tie George Scales, 2B … Rogers Hornsby … Scales slashed .322/.427/.522 with a 149 OPS+ while exhibiting better than average metrics in both fielding percentage and range factor as a second baseman over a 20-year Major League career. “Scales was a versatile fielder who could play third base, first base, shortstop or the outfield, but was at his best at second base.”
7th Grant Johnson, SS … Luke Appling … “(In 1894) he is credited with 60 home runs and earned his nickname of “Home Rin” at that time.” He was the best “Negro League” shortstop prior to John Henry Lloyd … Baseball historian Gary Ashwill argues, “(Grant Johnson) was the best everyday player in Black baseball from 1895 to 1909.” This opinion is backed up by Seamheads database which shows Johnson’s career WAR (Seamheads.com) at the time of his retirement was exceeded among Negro Leaguers only by Hall of Famer Pete Hill.
5th tie John Donaldson, Pioneer/P … Rube Foster … (John Donaldson) won his greatest fame in the ‘10s as a star for J.L. Wilkinson’s multiracial All Nations ball club with whom he averaged almost 20 strikeouts per game.” Personally, I consider his overall career when I consider him as a Hall of Famer – entrepreneur, owner, manager, outfielder, pitcher, and Major League scout over a forty year plus career.
5th tie Newt Allen, 2b … Nellie Fox… “Considered the best second baseman during the 1920s and early 1930s, the wide-ranging, slick-fielding middle infielder had quick hands and was superb on the pivot in turning a double play.” Currently, there is no second baseman from the Negro Leagues in the Hall of Fame … Newt Allen is one of the strongest candidates to represent that position. His playing in two Negro League World Series 18 years apart is one of his more remarkable feats. Although he hit .285 over his twenty-year big-league career, it is his glove that is most worthy of the Hall. Among second baseman only Bingo DeMoss saved more runs with his glove than Allen and no one – not even DeMoss – had better a better range factor than Allen among secondbaseman playing as many games as Allen did.
4th Dick Lundy, ss … Arky Vaughan, Derek Jeter… “The best shortstop during the 1920s, Lundy bridged the time gap between John Henry Lloyd and Willie Wells.” Lundy’s WAR/162 of 5.85 is the highest among all Negro Leaguers yet to be inducted that played as many games as he did.
3rd Vic Harris, mgr … Joe McCarthy, Miller Huggins, John McGraw … quite simply there is no Major League manager, appearing in more than 500 games, with a higher winning percentage than 7-time pennant winner Vic Harris.
2nd Rap Dixon, rf … Roberto Clemente … both Dixon & Clemente wore “21” and had the best arms in their respective era … “A five-point ballplayer who did everything with style, the power-hitting outfielder was one of the better hitters during the 1920s and 1930s.” Dixon cracked 14 consecutive hits in July 1929, stroke four triple in one game in August 1930 – the only Major Leaguer to do so in the 20th century.
1st Dick Redding, p … Smokey Joe Williams … Dick Redding is in the top 5 amongst all Negro League pitchers in games, innings (#1), wins, complete games (#2 behind Joe Williams), shutouts, strikeouts, and years pitched. “One of the great pitchers of Black baseball, Dick Redding’s overpowering speed earned the big, tall right hander the nickname “Cannonball Dick …Redding was credited with 30 no-hitters against all levels of opposition.”
One note regarding John Donaldson (tied for 5th) and the top two finishers – Donaldson & Redding as pitchers and Dixon as an outfielder are the only players named to the Negro League Centennial team at the Negro League Baseball Museum in December 2018 that are not inducted in Cooperstown.
Last Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
When was the last year that any Negro League players were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Please identify at least one player inducted that year. No one submitted the correct answer which follows: In 2006, 17 Negro League personages were inducted … of them 12 were players, including Frank Grant who currently is listed by the Hall as an executive. Other players inducted that year were Ray Brown, Willard Brown, Andy Cooper, Pete Hill, Biz Mackey, Jose Mendez, Louis Santop, Mule Suttles, Ben Taylor Cristobal Torriente, and Jud Wison.
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
Which former Memphis Red Sox player worked in various roles at the Peabody Hotel after his baseball career ended.?
Shadow Ball 3904 N. Druid Hills Road, Suite 179 Decatur, GA 30033
About the Author
Ted Knorr
Ted Knorr is a respected Negro League baseball historian, a longtime member of SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee, and the founder of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference. He has also organized numerous Negro League Commemorative Nights throughout central Pennsylvania.
Beyond his research and organizational work, Ted is a sought-after speaker at sporting events, community programs, family gatherings, and educational forums, where he brings Negro League history to life. His deep knowledge of the players, teams, and the cultural significance of Black baseball has made him a trusted voice for audiences seeking to better understand the enduring legacy of the Negro Leagues.
The WNBA will become the first professional sports league to host events at the Obama Presidential Center during 2026 All-Star Weekend, highlighting youth leadership, civic engagement, and community impact.
By Milton Kirby | Chicago, IL | July 9, 2026
The Women’s National Basketball Association will make history later this month as the first professional sports league to host official events at the newly opened Obama Presidential Center, bringing one of basketball’s biggest weekends to one of America’s newest civic institutions.
The announcement, made jointly by the WNBA and The Obama Foundation, places several marquee events from AT&T WNBA All-Star 2026 at the Center’s Home Court athletic facility on Chicago’s South Side. Beyond basketball, the partnership reflects a shared commitment to leadership, education, and community engagement.
For the Obama Presidential Center, it marks another milestone less than a month after opening its doors to the public. For the WNBA, it reinforces a growing emphasis on using the league’s national platform to inspire young people and strengthen communities beyond the game.
A Historic Partnership
“Hosting AT&T WNBA All-Star events at the Obama Presidential Center is a true honor and reflects our commitment to creating connection through basketball and engaging communities in meaningful ways,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.
“We’re excited to bring together the WNBA family and the greater Chicago community to create memorable experiences at this historic new venue.”
Valerie Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer of The Obama Foundation, said the partnership reflects the mission behind the Center.
“We are thrilled to welcome the WNBA as our first professional sports league hosted at the Obama Presidential Center,” Jarrett said. “At the Center, we believe sports have the power to bring people together and create meaningful opportunities to build the next generation of leaders.”
Their comments underscore a common goal shared by both organizations: using sports as a catalyst for leadership, learning, and civic participation.
More Than a Presidential Library
Located on 19.3 acres in historic Jackson Park, the Obama Presidential Center was envisioned by former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as more than a place to preserve history.
Instead of functioning solely as a traditional presidential library, the campus was designed as a living institution where visitors are encouraged to explore public service, civic engagement, leadership, and community action.
Since opening earlier this summer, the Center has hosted educational programs, cultural events, and community gatherings that encourage people of all ages to become active participants in improving their neighborhoods and communities.
The arrival of the WNBA continues that vision by demonstrating how athletics can serve as another pathway to leadership, teamwork, and civic responsibility.
Home Court Becomes Center Stage
Most of the July 24 activities will take place inside Home Court, the Center’s 60,000-square-foot athletic facility.
Designed as a year-round community resource, Home Court includes a WNBA-regulation basketball court along with flexible spaces dedicated to youth programming, wellness initiatives, leadership development, and neighborhood events.
Its design makes it an ideal setting for the league’s expanding focus on community impact beyond competition.
A Full Day of All-Star Activities
The Obama Presidential Center will host several signature events on Friday, July 24.
The day begins with AT&T WNBA All-Star Media Day and Practice, marking the first time an official WNBA All-Star practice will be held at a venue dedicated to civic engagement and youth leadership.
The Center will also host the third annual WNBA Changemaker Day, bringing together the league’s Changemaker partners, including Ally, AT&T, AWS, CarMax, Deloitte, Google, and Nike. The initiative will be presented in collaboration with the Chicago Sky, Chicago Public Schools, and the Girls Opportunity Alliance, an initiative of The Obama Foundation.
Young athletes will also participate in Jr. WNBA Day, a full day of basketball instruction, leadership workshops, STEM activities, vision board creation, and other programming designed to inspire girls through sports, education, and personal development.
Additional details regarding Changemaker Day and other community activations are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Chicago Takes Center Stage
The Obama Presidential Center represents one stop during a weekend that will place Chicago at the center of the basketball world.
The State Farm WNBA 3-Point Contest and Kia WNBA Shooting Stars competition will be held Friday evening at Wintrust Arena, home of the Chicago Sky.
The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game follows on Saturday, July 25, at the United Center.
Together, the events will showcase several of Chicago’s most recognizable venues while bringing thousands of visitors to neighborhoods throughout the city.
Continuing the Obamas’ Vision
The announcement builds upon the Obama Presidential Center’s mission of becoming an active gathering place rather than simply a destination for historical exhibits.
Throughout planning and construction, Barack and Michelle Obama emphasized that the Center would be a place where ordinary people could find inspiration to lead, organize, and strengthen their communities. That philosophy remains evident in the Center’s educational programming, public events, and partnerships.
Welcoming the WNBA as the first professional sports league to host official events on the campus represents another step toward fulfilling that vision.
For the league, the partnership reflects its continued commitment to expanding opportunities for young women while using basketball as a vehicle for education, leadership, and social impact.
For the Obama Presidential Center, it signals that the campus is already emerging as a national destination where sports, culture, education, and civic engagement intersect.
As thousands of fans gather in Chicago for All-Star Weekend, the Center’s first major partnership with a professional sports league may ultimately be remembered not only for the basketball played there, but for the next generation of leaders it seeks to inspire.
Truth Seekers Journal thrives because of readers like you. Join us in sustaining independent voices.
This week’s Shadow Ball focuses on my June 18-20 trip to Memphis for the 26th Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference. Since its founding in 1998, this conference has remained the highlight of my baseball year. This year was no exception. In fact, it was one of the very best.
My Memphis experience began moments after stepping off the Amtrak train on June 18. I chose to walk the mile and a quarter to the conference hotel rather than call a cab or Uber. As anyone who has traveled to Memphis by train knows, one of the first historic landmarks encountered is the National Civil Rights Museum, housed at the former Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
Lorraine Motel Room 306 Where Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated – Photo by Milton Kirby
Dr. King had traveled to Memphis to support 1,300 Black sanitation workers who were striking after years of dangerous working conditions, poverty-level wages, and the city’s refusal to recognize their union. It was for such a noble cause that he met his death on April 4, 1968, while standing on the Lorraine Motel balcony.
As the familiar façade emerged through the Memphis morning mist, I stopped my walk and sat quietly in prayer for several minutes, reflecting on the events of that tragic day. It was a powerful reminder that history often feels much closer when standing where it happened.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, the conference’s opening session was already underway. The Educational Forum traditionally begins each Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference by bringing together visiting researchers and local educators to discuss ways of integrating the study of the Negro Leagues into K-12 and higher education history curricula. Anyone who teaches or lectures on Negro League history, regardless of the audience, can always find valuable ideas and techniques during these sessions.
After lunch, attendees boarded an inspiring bus tour of several civil rights and baseball sites that echoed the emotions of my morning walk through downtown Memphis. Stops included the Lorraine Motel, Mason Temple, where Dr. King delivered his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Martin Stadium, business locations associated with Memphis baseball entrepreneurs, and finally Clayborn Temple, headquarters of the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike and the birthplace of the “I AM A MAN” movement.
The greatest surprise came at Clayborn Temple, where attendees learned that the church’s damaged condition was not simply the result of age. Much of the destruction was caused by a devastating arson fire in March 2025. It served as a sobering reminder that preserving history remains an ongoing responsibility. As Robert Frost wrote, “Miles to go before we sleep.”
Later that afternoon, we watched the outstanding 1996 documentary Black Diamonds Blues City, which beautifully captured the intersection of community, race relations, politics, music, and Negro League baseball in Memphis. Following dinner, conference attendees gathered for a meet-and-greet at the Ernest Withers Photography Museum in the heart of Beale Street. My morning walk, the documentary, and the evening stroll through Beale Street together created a fitting foundation for the next two days of the conference.
Friday featured the centerpiece of every Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference. Nine Negro League researchers presented their latest work during a series of thirty-minute presentations covering subjects that ranged from player biographies and race relations to home run research, ballpark histories, and even poetry.
One of the highlights was a moving panel discussion featuring family members of Negro League greats Frank Duncan Jr., Frank Duncan III, Johnny Wright, and Larry Brown. Their personal stories reminded us that Negro League history is more than statistics and championships. It is also about families preserving the memories of remarkable men whose contributions deserve continued recognition.
After a full day of intellectual stimulation, attendees enjoyed an evening picnic before heading to AutoZone Park to watch the Memphis Redbirds, providing the perfect close to another memorable conference day.
My own contribution this year was a presentation examining Rap Dixon’s season in Japan, along with announcing the results of our annual attendee poll identifying the next ten Negro League players, managers, and pioneers who deserve induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The top ten vote-getters, all of whom have deserved induction for many years, were Cannonball Dick Redding, Rap Dixon, Vic Harris, Dick Lundy, Newt Allen, John Donaldson, Grant Johnson, George Scales, John Beckwith, and Candy Jim Taylor. An additional 36 candidates also received votes.
Inspired by everything we experienced in Memphis, SABR’s Negro League Committee should continue advocating for justice in Cooperstown. Why not begin by inducting these ten deserving players, managers, and pioneers when Negro League candidates become eligible again in December 2027?
The conference concluded Saturday with nine additional research presentations, the always-entertaining baseball Significa contest, and the annual awards banquet.
As I reflect on this year’s conference, I keep returning to the lessons Memphis teaches.
From slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, America’s racial history is on full display throughout the city. Yet Memphis also reminds visitors that the work of preserving history is never complete.
The same can be said of Cooperstown.
Throughout the National Baseball Hall of Fame, visitors find Negro League history woven into exhibits on nearly every floor, in countless displays, and throughout the museum. Yet the Hall of Fame plaque gallery tells a different story. There, 137 players whose Major League careers began during baseball’s segregation era have plaques, while only 28 Negro League players and executives have been inducted over the past two decades.
Just as there remains important work to be done in our society, there is also important work to be done in Cooperstown.
The Hall of Fame has an opportunity to continue correcting baseball’s historical record. It should begin by seriously considering the recommendation that emerged from this year’s conference and electing Redding, Dixon, Harris, Lundy, Allen, Donaldson, Johnson, Scales, Beckwith, and Taylor when Negro League candidates are next considered in December 2027.
Last Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
What Negro League pennant-winning team played its home games at Dick Kent’s Ballyard?
The answer is the St. Louis Stars, who won the Negro National League pennants in 1928, 1930, and 1931 while playing their home games at Stars Park, also known as Dick Kent’s Ballyard.
No one submitted the correct answer.
This Week’s Shadow Ball Significa Question of the Week
When was the last year that any Negro League players were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame? Please identify at least one player inducted that year.
Shadow Ball 3904 N. Druid Hills Road, Suite 179 Decatur, GA 30033
About the Author
Ted Knorr
Ted Knorr is a respected Negro League baseball historian, a longtime member of SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee, and the founder of the Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference. He has also organized numerous Negro League Commemorative Nights throughout central Pennsylvania.
Beyond his research and organizational work, Ted is a sought-after speaker at sporting events, community programs, family gatherings, and educational forums, where he brings Negro League history to life. His deep knowledge of the players, teams, and the cultural significance of Black baseball has made him a trusted voice for audiences seeking to better understand the enduring legacy of the Negro Leagues.
Please consider supporting open, independent journalism, no contribution is too small!
Atlanta’s most influential Black women in television, radio, print, and digital media reflected on leadership, legacy, and mentorship during the “Unapologetally Influential” panel discussion.
The Women Who Built Atlanta’s Black Media Legacy
By Milton Kirby | Atlanta, GA | July 7, 2026
Atlanta’s rise as the nation’s capital of Black culture did not happen by chance. While the city’s influence is often measured through politics, business, music, film, and professional sports, another force quietly helped shape its identity for generations: Black women in media.
Long before podcasts, livestreams, and social media influencers, pioneering women walked into television stations, radio studios, and newspaper offices where few people looked like them and even fewer expected them to succeed. They earned the public’s trust one broadcast, one headline, and one interview at a time. In doing so, they helped transform not only Atlanta’s media landscape but also the way an entire city saw itself.
That extraordinary legacy came into focus during the Atlanta Cultural Exchange’s “Unapologetically Influential” panel discussion, a gathering that celebrated the women whose careers helped define Atlanta’s media culture while inspiring those who will carry it into the future.
The panel brought together legendary broadcaster Monica Kaufman Pearson, veteran radio personality Joyce Littel, multimedia journalist Rashan Ali, Atlanta Voice Publisher Janis L. Ware, media strategist and journalist Dawn Montgomery, and award-winning broadcaster Liz Smith, who served as moderator.
Although each woman followed a different professional path, together they represented more than two centuries of journalism, broadcasting, publishing, entrepreneurship, and community leadership.
The conversation quickly became about something much larger than careers.
It became a conversation about legacy.
Building Atlanta’s Media Legacy
Throughout the afternoon, panelists reflected on how dramatically Atlanta has changed during their careers.
Today’s Atlanta is home to nationally recognized news organizations, influential Black-owned media companies, syndicated radio personalities, digital content creators, filmmakers, and cultural commentators whose work reaches audiences across the country.
But those opportunities were built by pioneers who entered an industry where few opportunities existed for women, particularly Black women.
Rather than focusing on personal accomplishments, the discussion repeatedly returned to a common theme: every generation has a responsibility to leave the profession stronger than it found it.
Atlanta’s Media Trailblazers
Monica Kaufman Pearson – Broke barriers in 1975 as the first woman and first African American to anchor the evening news at WSB-TV, becoming one of Georgia’s most trusted journalists over a 37-year career.
Jocelyn Dorsey – One of Atlanta television’s pioneering Black journalists whose work helped open newsroom doors for future generations while setting a standard for public affairs reporting and community engagement.
Joyce Littel – A respected Atlanta radio personality whose decades behind the microphone have informed, entertained, and mentored aspiring broadcasters.
Janis L. Ware – Publisher of The Atlanta Voice, preserving one of the nation’s historic Black-owned newspapers while leading its transformation into the digital age and championing community development throughout Atlanta.
Rashan Ali – A multimedia journalist whose career spans sports broadcasting, television, radio, acting, and digital media, reflecting the versatility of today’s media professionals.
Dawn Montgomery – A journalist, strategist, and cultural commentator whose work demonstrates the expanding role of storytelling across journalism, marketing, podcasting, and social commentary.
Liz Smith – An award-winning multimedia journalist and executive producer representing Atlanta’s next generation of influential media leadership across radio, television, streaming, and live events.
Jovita Moore – Remembered as one of Atlanta’s most beloved television anchors, whose professionalism, compassion, and community commitment inspired viewers and young journalists alike.
Remembering Those Who Opened the Door
One of the afternoon’s most meaningful moments came when Monica Kaufman Pearson reminded the audience that history is never created by one person alone.
She acknowledged veteran journalist Jocelyn Dorsey as the first Black news anchor in the Atlanta television market, recognizing one of the women whose groundbreaking work helped expand opportunities for those who followed.
It was a fitting reminder that Atlanta’s media story has always been one of shared progress rather than individual achievement.
The recognition also underscored an important truth often overlooked in conversations about success: every trailblazer once followed another pioneer.
“When I Started, I Didn’t See Black Anchors”
Following the panel discussion, The Truth Seekers Journal spoke with Pearson about the remarkable gathering of women whose careers collectively span nearly every chapter of modern Black media in Atlanta.
Reflecting on the beginning of her own career, Pearson recalled entering an industry where representation was almost nonexistent.
“When I started, I didn’t see Black anchors,” she said.
Rather than accepting those limitations, she chose to become the example she never had.
In 1975, Pearson made history when she became the first woman and the first African American to anchor the evening news at WSB-TV, beginning a remarkable 37-year career that would earn the trust of viewers throughout Georgia.
Her success demonstrated that excellence has the power to change institutions.
Knowing When to Go
Pearson also shared one of the most profound lessons she learned during her decades behind the anchor desk.
“Know when to go.”
The audience grew quiet.
Her advice was not about retirement.
It was about leadership.
Pearson explained that truly effective leaders understand that their responsibility extends beyond personal success. They must also create opportunities for those who follow.
By recognizing when it was time to leave the anchor desk, Pearson helped create space for another respected journalist to become a familiar face in Atlanta homes.
That opportunity allowed viewers to embrace the late Emmy Award-winning anchor Jovita Moore, whose warmth, professionalism, and deep commitment to community made her one of Atlanta’s most beloved broadcasters before her passing in 2021.
Pearson’s lesson extended far beyond journalism.
Leadership is measured not only by the barriers we break, but by the doors we leave open for others.
Every Platform, One Purpose
Although their careers developed in different decades and across different media, each panelist illustrated how journalism continues evolving while remaining grounded in the same core values.
Joyce Littel built one of Atlanta’s most respected careers in radio, using her voice to entertain audiences while encouraging and mentoring young broadcasters.
Janis L. Ware demonstrated that community journalism remains one of democracy’s most important institutions. Under her leadership, The Atlanta Voice has successfully evolved from a traditional newspaper into a modern multimedia news organization while remaining deeply rooted in serving Atlanta’s Black community. Her work in affordable housing, economic development, healthcare, and civic leadership reflects the belief that publishers should help strengthen the communities they cover.
Rashan Ali showed how modern journalists successfully move between television, sports broadcasting, acting, podcasting, and digital media without sacrificing credibility. Her career reflects the versatility demanded of today’s media professionals.
Dawn Montgomery offered another example of journalism’s evolution. Her career has crossed modeling, sports journalism, marketing, strategic communications, podcasting, and cultural commentary. Throughout those transitions, she has remained committed to authentic storytelling and using media as a vehicle for meaningful conversation.
Moderating the discussion was Liz Smith, whose own career represents the next chapter of Atlanta media. As an executive producer, radio personality, television host, and multimedia journalist, Smith embodies an industry where storytellers increasingly move seamlessly across radio, television, streaming platforms, podcasts, and live events.
Together, the women demonstrated that while technology changes, the mission of journalism remains remarkably consistent.
Serve the audience.
Tell the truth.
Earn trust.
More Than Media Personalities
One of the strongest themes to emerge from the discussion was that influence is not measured solely by ratings, readership, or followers.
Each woman described careers deeply connected to community service, mentorship, nonprofit leadership, civic engagement, and advocacy.
Their influence extends well beyond the newsroom.
Collectively, they have served on nonprofit boards, supported educational initiatives, championed healthcare awareness, mentored aspiring journalists, promoted economic development, strengthened neighborhoods, and used their platforms to elevate voices often overlooked by mainstream media.
For these women, journalism has never been simply a profession.
It has been public service.
The Legacy Reached Beyond the Stage
The conversation resonated just as strongly among those seated in the audience.
As attendees gathered following the discussion, many reflected on lessons that reached beyond media careers.
Taylor Dunn summed up the afternoon simply.
“It was an amazing panel, and I really enjoyed it.”
For Atlanta licensed esthetician Tasha, one lesson stood above all the others.
“Know when it’s time to go. Know when it’s your time to leave.”
Moments earlier, Pearson had offered nearly identical advice while describing her own career.
For Tasha, the message applied as much to business and life as it did to broadcasting.
Great leaders do not simply achieve success.
They prepare others to succeed after them.
A Legacy Still Being Written
Looking across the stage, it became clear that this was far more than another panel discussion.
These were not simply accomplished broadcasters, publishers, radio personalities, journalists, and media strategists.
They were women who helped shape how Atlanta tells its own story.
Individually, each forged a unique path through television, newspapers, radio, and digital media.
Collectively, they built something much larger than themselves.
They helped establish Atlanta as one of America’s most influential centers of Black journalism and media excellence.
The applause that filled the room at the close of “Unapologetically Influential” was not merely recognition of distinguished careers.
It was gratitude for doors opened.
Barriers broken.
Communities served.
And generations inspired.
As Atlanta’s media landscape continues to evolve, the technology will change. New platforms will emerge. Different voices will capture public attention.
But the standard established by these pioneering women remains unchanged.
Tell the truth.
Serve the community.
And never forget to leave the door open for the woman coming behind you.
Truth Seekers Journal thrives because of readers like you. Join us in sustaining independent voices.
The Obama Presidential Center opens on Chicago’s South Side, combining community investment, civic engagement, education, and opportunity while reflecting Barack and Michelle Obama’s enduring legacy.
By Milton Kirby | Chicago, IL | June 21, 2026
When the Obama Presidential Center opened on Chicago’s South Side during Juneteenth weekend, it marked more than the completion of a landmark building. It represented the culmination of a vision nearly a decade in the making, an investment of nearly $850 million in a historically underserved community, and a statement about the future Barack and Michelle Obama hope to help shape.
On a bright June morning, thousands gathered at John Lewis Plaza for the Grand Opening Ceremony. Families, community leaders, students, artists, and visitors from across the nation filled the campus that now stands just miles from where Michelle Obama grew up and where Barack Obama began his career as a community organizer.
John Legend Grand Opening Dedication Ceremony at The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, IL, on June 18, 2026 – Photo courtesy Obama Foundation
The celebration featured performances from an all-star lineup that included The Roots, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Common, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Marc Anthony, Tems, Bono, The Edge, and Eddie Vedder. Yet beneath the music and festivities was a deeper story, one rooted in place, purpose, and possibility.
“This Grand Opening ceremony will be unlike any other, filled with music, performances, and hope,” said Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett. “We hope to inspire people everywhere to believe in their power to bring change home.”
The Obamas could have built their presidential center almost anywhere. Instead, they chose Chicago’s South Side, a community that shaped both their personal and professional lives. That decision became the defining theme of opening weekend.
A Homecoming with Purpose
For Michelle Obama, the South Side is more than a location. It is home.
Michelle Obama – Photo courtesy Obama Foundation
Growing up in Chicago during the 1970s, she watched neighborhoods change as investment shifted elsewhere. She remembers communities where families maintained their homes, children played outside, and neighbors gathered for block parties. Over time, she also witnessed businesses close, public amenities disappear, and opportunities move away.
“You could slowly see the slow deterioration of the entire South Side,” she recalled during an opening-week interview. “Stores that were closing down. The park programs just kind of went away. You just slowly noticed that the stuff wasn’t there anymore.”
As she grew older and traveled throughout the city, she noticed that many of Chicago’s major investments seemed concentrated downtown, far from neighborhoods like the one where she was raised.
That history made the opening of the Center especially meaningful.
“When something like this opens and there really is nothing else like this, and you decide to make an investment in a community like this, an $850 million investment, that says something,” Michelle Obama said. “That says you count.”
For Barack Obama, the South Side is where he learned that meaningful change often begins at the community level, one conversation, one neighborhood meeting, and one relationship at a time.
“This is a big investment,” he said. “It can potentially help anchor and catalyze economic development and opportunities for communities that oftentimes have been left behind.”
Investment and Opportunity
The Center’s opening comes amid ongoing conversations about economic development, housing affordability, and neighborhood change.
Obama acknowledged that major investments can bring challenges alongside opportunities. Increased tourism, rising property values, and growing interest from developers often raise concerns about displacement and gentrification.
“Nobody’s figured out this solution perfectly,” Obama said. “The question is always: Are we making sure that the people who are already there can get a piece of that rising tide?”
Foundation leaders have emphasized workforce development, internships, fellowships, local hiring, vendor partnerships, and community engagement as key components of the Center’s long-term strategy.
The goal, Obama said, is to ensure that existing residents benefit from the opportunities the Center creates.
That focus on inclusion and access was visible throughout opening weekend.
A Library for the Next Generation
President Barack Obama – Photo courtesy Obama Foundation
The morning after the dedication ceremony, the Center opened its doors to the public on Juneteenth.
The first major event was not a formal speech or ribbon cutting.
It was story time.
Twenty-five students from William H. Ray Elementary School arrived at the new Chicago Public Library branch inside the Center, unaware they were about to receive a surprise visit.
At 10:15 a.m., Barack and Michelle Obama entered the reading room and began reading Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are.”
“Are you telling stories up in here?” President Obama asked as the children burst into laughter.
For nearly half an hour, the former president and first lady acted out scenes from the book, joked with students, answered questions, and encouraged a love of reading.
“This is your library,” President Obama told the children. “This is going to be your spot.”
The setting itself reflected that commitment. The library includes a 70-foot mural by artist Aliza Nisenbaum and a reading room containing 3,000 books personally selected by the Obamas.
The event captured one of the Center’s core goals: inspiring young people to see themselves as future leaders, creators, and changemakers.
Meeting the First Visitors
Later that morning, the Obamas welcomed the first 100 visitors entering the museum.
Families posed for photographs, exchanged handshakes, and shared brief moments with the former first couple beneath Mark Bradford’s towering artwork inspired by Carl Sandburg’s famous description of Chicago as the “City of the Big Shoulders.”
A young boy received a high-five from the former president. A baby placed a sticker on Michelle Obama’s blouse. Parents smiled through tears as they introduced their children to the couple.
The encounters were unscripted and personal.
More importantly, they reinforced a message repeated throughout the weekend: this place belongs to everyone.
A Campus Alive with Community
By June 20, the Center was operating at near capacity.
Visitors filled the campus from morning until evening. More than 1,700 guests toured the museum while thousands more participated in outdoor performances, educational activities, and community programs.
Nick Cave’s Soundsuits animated John Lewis Plaza. Mariachi Herencia de Mexico performed. Children participated in art projects, story times, sports clinics, and writing workshops. Families explored gardens, public spaces, exhibits, and community programming designed to engage visitors of all ages.
The atmosphere felt less like the opening of a traditional presidential library and more like a neighborhood festival.
That distinction was intentional.
A Living Legacy
As opening weekend unfolded, it became increasingly clear that the Obama Presidential Center is not designed to function as a conventional presidential library.
Rather than focusing solely on preserving documents and artifacts, the Center seeks to encourage civic participation, leadership development, community engagement, and public service.
Throughout interviews and public appearances, the Obamas repeatedly emphasized that they want visitors to leave inspired not simply by what happened during a presidency, but by what they themselves can accomplish.
Presidents Joe, Biden Barack, Georg Bush & Bill Clinton – Photo courtesy Obama Foundation
That vision can be seen throughout the campus. It is reflected in the youth musicians who performed alongside Eddie Vedder. It is reflected in the internships, fellowships, and educational opportunities being developed through the Foundation. It is reflected in a library designed for children, public spaces built for gathering, and exhibits that encourage participation rather than observation.
Michelle Obama has described the South Side as home. Barack Obama has spoken about creating opportunities for people who have too often been left out of major investments.
Together, those ideas form the foundation of the Center’s mission.
In the end, the opening of the Obama Presidential Center was not about nostalgia. It was about possibility.
If traditional presidential libraries primarily look backward, this institution looks forward. If they preserve history, this one also seeks to shape it. If they celebrate a presidency, this one challenges visitors to consider their own role in strengthening communities and democracy.
The Obamas have often suggested that their ultimate legacy will not be measured solely by what they accomplished while in office, but by the opportunities they help create for others. Opening weekend offered a glimpse of that vision in action.
On Chicago’s South Side, where Michelle Robinson once rode her bicycle through neighborhood streets and Barack Obama once knocked on doors as a young organizer, a new chapter has begun.
Not a monument to what was.
But an invitation to what could be.
Truth Seekers Journal thrives because of readers like you. Join us in sustaining independent voices.
