The 26th Annual Lincoln Event
Thursday, February 20, 2025 | 7 p.m.
National WWI Museum and Memorial
2 Memorial Dr., Kansas City, MO 64108
Reception and Art Contest Awards Ceremony
Thursday, February 20, 2025| 6 p.m.
National WWI Museum and Memorial
2 Memorial Dr., Kansas City, MO 64108
Exchanging their caps for helmets and bats for bayonets, baseball players during the Civil War and First World War charged off their bases and onto an entirely different playing field, battling for the fate of their nation. Those remaining in the stadiums fought the wars from home, striving to protect the morale of civilian society.
Despite the respite the sport provided for its athletes and spectators in times of conflict, racial inequality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries excluded African Americans from mainstream leagues, spurring the creation of the National Colored Base Ball League and the Negro National League. In many ways, baseball was a mirror of the United States 鈥� reflecting both its issues and its hopes.
Explore the wartime legacy of America鈥檚 favorite pastime with historian Phil Dixon in conversation with Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
About the USM Lincoln Event Series
The 花椒直播 started the annual Lincoln series in 1999 to spotlight the Hall Lincoln Collection, housed in USM's Keleher Learning Commons. Over the years, USM's primary Lincoln Event has welcomed a variety of luminaries for the featured speaker. Previous guests have included politicians, historians, U.S. Army generals, best-selling authors, and actors who've portrayed First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and President Lincoln himself.