The Negro Leagues: 100 Years Later—The Future of Baseball and Race

Retired Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn joins sports journalist Howard Bryant, Red Sox Vice President/Club Counsel Elaine Steward and the Negro Leagues Museum head Curator Dr. Raymond Doswell to talk about where we are 100 years after the founding of the segregated Negro Leagues. Crystal Haynes, Emmy award winning journalist for Boston 25 News, moderates this discussion. The Boston Red Sox and the Museum of African American History co-present this conversation produced by GBH Forum Network. ## Resources Learn more about the Jackie Robinson Foundation: https://www.jackierobinson.org/about/ Learn more about the Red Sox Foundation: https://www.redsoxfoundation.org/ Mo Vaughn’s MVP clothing collection: https://mvpcollections.com/ Mo Vaughn’s real estate ventures in affordable housing: http://www.onyllc.com/ Raymond Doswell’s blog “Hungry for Knowledge” https://raydoswell.wordpress.com/ More about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum https://nlbm.com/visit-nlbm/ Find all of Howard Bryant’s books on his website: https://howardbryantbooks.com/ ### Articles ['Basic Black' Looks Back: The 100th Anniversary Of The Negro Baseball League](https://www.wgbh.org/programs/2021/02/01/basic-black-looks-back-the-100th-anniversary-of-the-negro-baseball-league) [Country Music Royalty: 10 Things I Learned Watching American Masters' 'Charley Pride: I’m Just Me'](https://www.wgbh.org/programs/2020/12/03/country-music-royalty-10-things-i-learned-watching-american-masters-charley-pride-im-just-me) by WGBH’s Meghan Smith ["MLB can add Negro Leagues to official records but can never change what it did to Black players"](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/30540089/mlb-add-negro-leagues-official-records-never-change-did-black-players) by Howard Bryant ["The exile of Oakland A's Bruce Maxwell and the birth of MLB's Black player movement"](https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29414410/the-exile-oakland-bruce-maxwell-birth-mlb-black-player-movement) by Howard Bryant [“Red Sox exec Steward paved unique path: Longtime front-office staffer became first African-American woman in her position”](https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-exec-elaine-steward-paved-unique-path-c216802366) Photo: 1924 Negro League World Series (public domain)

Elaine Weddington Steward

Elaine W. Steward joined the club in 1988 as associate counsel and was named assistant general manager in 1990. Steward works on a variety of issues including employment, litigation, licensing, and ballpark improvements. She worked closely with former Red Sox GM's Lou Gorman and Dan Duquette on baseball issues and was named legal counsel in 1995 and appointed Vice President in 1998. Steward was a Jackie Robinson Foundation scholarship recipient graduating with honors from St. John's University earning a B.S. in Athletic Administration and a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law. She was an intern for the New York Mets public relations department and the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball through its Executive Development program. Steward's achievements include selection as one of Ten Outstanding Young Leaders of Boston, election into the YWCA Academy of Women Achievers and receipt of the St. John's University President's Medal, National Association of Black Journalists' Sam Lacy Pioneer Award, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts Leading Women Award and Boston Business Journal Woman of Influence Award. Steward is featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Women in Baseball exhibit.

Howard Bryant

**Howard Bryant** is the author of nine books, Full Dissidence: Notes From an Uneven Playing Field, The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America and the Politics of Patriotism, The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron, Juicing the Game: Drugs, Power, and the Fight for the Soul of Major League Baseball, Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston, the three-book Legends sports series for middle-grade readers, and Sisters and Champions: The True Story of Venus and Serena Williams, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, and contributed essays to 14 others. Bryant is the author of nine books and a two-time Casey Award winner for best baseball book of the year. He was a 2003 finalist for the Society for American Baseball Research Seymour Medal. His book The Heritage was the recipient of the 2019 Nonfiction Award from the American Library Association’s Black Caucus and the Harry Shaw and Katrina Hazard Donald Award for Outstanding Work in African American Studies.

Mo Vaughn

Nicknamed "The Hit Dog", Mo Vaughn is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played from 1991 to 2003. Vaughn was a three-time All-Star selection and won the American League MVP award in 1995 with the Boston Red Sox. Since retiring in 2003, Vaughn has been involved in several business ventures, including a big-and-tall clothing company, [MVP Collections,](https://mvpcollections.com/) and a real estate company, [OMNI New York, LLC, ](http://www.onyllc.com/) dedicated to rehabilitating affordable housing around the U.S., which was named 2017 Developer of the Year by the New York Housing Conference.

Raymond Doswell, Ed.D.

Raymond Doswell is the Vice President of Curatorial Services at Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, responsible for exhibitions, educational programming, archives, and social media management, in addition to assiting with public relations, marketing, and licensing.

Crystal Haynes

Crystal Haynes is an Emmy award winning journalist for Boston 25 News. Haynes was part of the continuing coverage of the 2007 killings of a Cheshire woman and her two daughters during a home invasion. She helped follow the crime's only survivor, Dr. William Petit and his commitment to keep his family's legacy alive throughout the trial of his family's killers. From 2004 – 2007 Crystal was a reporter at WGGB – TV in Springfield, MA. She started her broadcast career in the newsroom as an assignment editor and producer giving her a solid foundation for a reporting career. Crystal has earned several awards for her reporting and believes one the best things about being a reporter is the adventure. She enjoys the chance to meet someone new each day and tell their story or dig deeper on an issue facing a community. Crystal grew up in Springfield, Mass. and is a graduate of Emerson College where she majored in Broadcast Journalism and minored in History and Political Communication. Follow her on Twitter at [@crystalhaynes](https://twitter.com/crystalhaynes)

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