Wash. U’s Gerald Early on Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts Prof. Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas and Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy speak with Gerald Early, Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters at Washington University in St. Louis, and author of Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America. He shares how his background and education fueled a passion to study the history of African Americans in sports and music, ultimately inspiring him to explore Black Americans in baseball. Working closely with filmmaker Ken Burns, Early described his experience working with the filmmaker on multiple high-profile documentaries to examine the role baseball and jazz music have played in shaping American culture. Switching gears to discuss his latest book, Prof. Early offered a brief overview of the highlights of Black baseball in America from after the Civil War to the turn-of-the-century. He recognized key Black entrepreneurs like Andrew “Rube” Foster, the Negro Leagues, and the players Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Jackie Robinson, for their leadership in redefining the game’s excellence and paving the way for other Black Americans in baseball. He discusses the significance of the Brooklyn Dodgers desegregating Major League Baseball, highlighting the talent and heroism of Jackie Robinson, and shares the legacy that Black baseball players have contributed to American sports and democracy. In closing, Early reads an excerpt from Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America.