Young Ballclub Barnstorms The Deep South

[struggle4progress]

By: Jessica Ravitz; Brad Pechanec
Posted: Sat 4:39 PM, Jul 25, 2015

... For half a year, Coach Steve Bandura gathered the group at their South Philly rec center for weekly movie nights. They watched historical dramas like "Roots," "Glory" and "The Tuskegee Airmen." They tackled documentaries including "Freedom Riders," "4 Little Girls" and "Eyes on the Prize."

"If you don't understand slavery, you can't understand the civil rights movement. And if you don't understand the civil rights movement, you can't understand Ferguson or Baltimore," says Coach Steve, who's white.

What he and his ballplayers couldn't have imagined is how relevant their trip would become. Just hours after their bus rolled out of Philadelphia on June 17, a white gunman strolled into a Bible study at a historic Charleston, South Carolina, black church and killed nine worshippers, including the pastor. All evidence indicates that the shooter was motivated by racism, which is why he is now facing federal hate crime charges.

"It's not ancient history. Just because laws have changed doesn't mean people's attitudes have changed," says Bandura, 54. "Charleston drove that home. The first thing the kids said was, 'It's Birmingham all over again'" ...

http://www.wibw.com/home/headlines/Scoring-Runs-And-Catching-History-Young-Ballclub-Barnstorms-The-Deep-South-318540421.html