A new day?

How much has changed for Black baseball players since Robinson’s time? As of June 2020, approximately 8% of players and one owner in major league baseball were Black, making it difficult to challenge the very system that discriminates against them. However, contemporary players including Jason Heyward and Dominic Smith have described the pervasiveness of systemic racism in American society and their profession, and the importance of raising awareness of its pernicious effects.

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In 2020, more than 150 Black former and current baseball players created The Players Alliance to use their “collective voice and platform to create increased opportunities for the Black community in every aspect of our game and beyond.” It seems that what is changing is the refusal to remain quiet, to be stoic in the face of racism and discrimination, both on the field and off.

As Smith noted on Twitter, “Silence kills.” Just as diabetes and hypertension kill silently, so does racism.

Tamra Burns Loeb, Adjunct Associate Professor - Interim, University of California, Los Angeles

Alicia Morehead-Gee, Adjunct assistant professor, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science

Derek Novacek, Assistant Project Scientist, UCLA School of Medicine

This article was first published by The Conversation and is being republished via a Creative Commons license.

Image: Wikipedia.