|
NASHVILLE STARS MOVE INTO NEW OFFICE
|
|
|
We are now officially moved into our new office! “Stars HQ” is now located at 116 30th Ave. S. on the west side of Nashville near Vanderbilt. The furniture is in, the signage is up, and much more is planned as we settle in. The new office offers more space, more capabilities, and a physical location for you to stop by and pick up the latest Stars merchandise (more on that to follow in the coming weeks).
2022 is already off to a fast and promising start. Come by and say hello!
|
|
|
DARIUS RUCKER FEATURED ON NEW TOPPS BASEBALL CARD
|
|
|
We are thrilled to have one of music’s biggest superstars on our newest Topps baseball card. Darius Rucker is one of our valued Music Industry Advisors, and a huge supporter of our efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville.
“When I think of the Negro Leagues, I think of my dear friend, Charley Pride, and how he was breaking barriers in baseball before breaking them again in Country Music,” explains Rucker on the back of the card. “His story inspires the change that sports and music aim to bring to the world. The same change that inspires me with the Nashville Stars bringing MLB to Music City, and bringing the Negro Leagues to the Major League field, once again.”
Sales started yesterday and continue for three weeks on the Topps website. You can purchase cards here. Remember, 50% of the proceeds benefits the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Make sure you get yours today!
|
|
|
 Kiona Sinks embodies so much more than her title of Community Engagement/Digital Strategy Manager for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM). Sinks, a driven and accomplished young professional, ran track collegiately and was the first in her extended family to attend college. Originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas, Sinks moved to Missouri at age 12 and later attended Central Methodist University in the small city of Fayette.
Sinks exudes passion in everything she touches and her desire to better our community is palpable. During a challenging time for Black Americans, Sinks stepped up to the plate at a predominantly white institution to help give current and future students a sense of belonging.
After founding her college’s first African American Student Union as a sophomore, Sinks felt the immediate impact of her hard work.
“Being immersed in the story, it has allowed me to really see—what I call cultural etiquette—how do we advance cultural causes? For me, that has really been the catalyst for where I am today.”
The initiative soon became much bigger than herself.
“In a way, it had to be successful, because if it wasn't successful, it would have failed, and then what opportunities would have been ahead for minorities after me,” said Sinks. “When you're the first to do something, you know it's never easy, you know you're taking a risk. You’re breaking systemic cycles that people don’t want to address.”
Sinks made the Kansas City connection when she moved there while pursuing her undergraduate degree. As she puts it, “you can’t be here and not run into a place called the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum,” which led to the marriage of Sinks’s passion for activism with the historic legacy of the NLBM.
While collecting volunteer hours for her graduate scholarship, Sinks ignited her relationship with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
“I think the museum cultivated my love for Kansas City, and what it truly meant to be Black at that time here, and to see where the institution is today has been pretty incredible,” said Sinks.
For her, part of the museum’s importance lies in the significance of what Black history means, beyond the walls of a single month of celebration.
“Here at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, you see the best parts of what Black men and women contributed to our country. You know what the Negro Leagues represented around our country, creating opportunities when opportunities weren't afforded to these athletes at a time when they were naturally excluded from a lot of the joys of America's pastime."
The partnership forged between the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Nashville Stars is both an honor and a privilege, as the NLBM is selective in who they choose to represent.
“If we're successful, this will be history that no one can ever say they’ve done—it would be the first of its kind," said Sinks. "You understand why the museum needs to exist, and why the museum needs to continue to be supported to carry the legacies, but then you think about partnerships like the Nashville Stars.”
Sinks is working to fill in the missing pieces of the Nashville Stars story where segregation created gaps.
“How do we continue to tell the story of the Nashville Stars? You start thinking about segregation, [you] can’t find anything about the Stars, and how they just weren't covered a lot around the country when they were barnstorming and playing.”
As far as her individual goals, Sinks continues her support from a community partnership perspective, helping people understand on a national level why this effort is important—not just to the museum, but its importance to the game of baseball.
“This effort is bigger than just ‘let's bring MLB to Nashville.’ The opportunities we have to cultivate for future generations to ensure that people have the opportunity to play, which is what the Negro Leagues represented—they represented opportunities,” said Sinks.
Sinks traveled to Music City several months ago and observed a community that wants something to rally around.
“[I saw] a lot of diverse faces that are already embedded in the mission [of] Music City Baseball. They're the people who are going to matter, the people who are going to support the brand and the business and the museum in our efforts. I saw a community that is excited to bring MLB to Nashville.”
|
|
|
|
February’s Stars of the Month are two Oak Hill School teachers who are taking history class to an experiential new level. Together, Stewart Roddey, 5th and 6th grade teacher in his second year, and Nathan Kraai, instructor and tech coach in his sixth year at the school, have spearheaded the Nashville-centric elective dubbed Beyond the Oaks.
The class period gives 5th and 6th grade students at Oak Hill School the opportunity to listen to local speakers talk about area history, including sports history. Kraai shared that while the course topics shift with each trimester, “the undercurrent is really the history – past, present, future – looking at Nashville through that lens."
“This is our first year doing an experiential learning class,” said Kraai. “We want kids to get beyond the walls of the classroom, beyond the walls of the school, and get out into the community and learn things they wouldn’t otherwise learn in a school setting.”
Both Roddey and Kraai believe the course will give students context to the history that built the remarkable city of Nashville they are so fortunate to grow up in. Group field trips to the Parthenon and the historic Union Station are also a key part of the curriculum.
“We talk about the bubble that they’ve grown up in,” said Roddey. “It’s easy to fall into a routine [living] in a certain part of town – you have limited experiences, and a lot of times the history of a city like this gets glazed over because of those routines. …Experiences in this class can show them that Nashville really is a dynamic and unique city.”
Oak Hill’s new elective is also an opportunity to spark conversations surrounding sports history in Tennessee’s capital. “Why are there opportunities for so many professional teams to establish themselves in this booming city?” asked Roddey. “What are the circumstances that allow that kind of growth and that kind of excitement to really concentrate in a city where we’re so fortunate to be? A lot of it is trying to build perspective for our students.”
Both teachers appreciate the cultural significance that Negro Leagues and Nashville Stars history plays in welcoming a Major League Baseball franchise to the city of Nashville.
“History is critical, in my opinion, to know what’s happened in the past and how that shapes our future,” said Kraai. “History really underlies Nashville, the current of it. It was really neat for Skip [MCB historian] to share how baseball fits into that narrative.”
Roddey and Kraai value the positive effects having a local MLB team to root for would have on their students. They believe the history of teams like the Stars will blend into and ignite the excitement of a future program.
Roddey views MLB coming to Nashville as “an incredible opportunity – every team that’s established themselves so far in Nashville has exploded. Nashville is such an entertainment city, with a great group of residents, not just fans, but interesting people."
“And baseball is such a comforting sport. Skip mentioned it in his talk with us. There's something about a baseball stadium that makes you feel safe. There’s palpable energy that is often associated with baseball."
Kraai feels similarly, expressing hope for the Nashville Stars plans to come to fruition.
“I think especially for these kids, they would be like your first generation of fans,” said Kraai.
|
|
|
BOB KENDRICK SPEAKING AT NASHVILLE BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE EVENT
|
|
We are lucky to have Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, as one of our Board members. We have also been thankful for the support we have received by the Nashville Black Chamber of Commerce. Later this month, we get to bring them together.
Kendrick will speak at the Nashville Black Chamber Kickoff Event at Tennessee State University on February 22. Please join us as we celebrate Black History Month and listen to the stories of the Negro Leagues. You can register here.
We hope to see you there!
|
|
|
|
SKIP NIPPER SPEAKS TO OAK HILL SCHOOL
|
|
|
Skip Nipper spoke to a group of students at Oak Hill School on January 14. He shared some of the wonderful history that Nashville has with the game of baseball. He also shared updates with the students about the effort to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville.
|
|
|
LIPSCOMB BASEBALL BANQUET
|
|
|
There is so much great college baseball in the Nashville area. Our group was honored to support the Lipscomb baseball team at their annual fundraising banquet, featuring guest speaker Ken Rosenthal. Pictured (L-R) are: Lauren Whatley, John Loar, Skip Nipper, Connor Loar, Jarrod Parker, Logan Van Treeck, Chris Bacon, and Matt Barrett.
|
|
|
MICHELE FRAZIER SPEAKS AT VANDERBILT PANEL
|
|
|
Michele Frazier, the head of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team, was a panelist at the Owen Forward: DEI Corporate Leaders Panel at Vanderbilt on January 31. The panel included Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leaders as they shared their experience and perspective on DEI in the corporate world today. This important conversation explored the business case for DEI, how one gets into the DEI career path, how DEI makes our organizations better, and how we can all be leaders in DEI.
Additional panelists included Chandra Vasser, Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Nissan North America, and Professor María del Carmen Triana, Cal Turner Chair in Moral Leadership and Professor of Management at Owen. The conversation was led by Dr. André Churchwell, Vanderbilt's Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer.
|
|
|
SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED AT 84TH ANNUAL NASHVILLE OLD TIMERS BANQUET
|
|
|
We enjoyed supporting the 84th annual Nashville Old Timers Association banquet on February 6. Hundreds attended the event at the Sonesta Nashville Airport hotel to watch 16 area high school baseball players receive a total of $32,000 in college scholarships. The guest speaker was Tommy John, who pitched 26 years in the major leagues for six different franchises.
|
|
|
|
|
