Road to Rickwood

What does it mean to be an American? There’s no one way. At NPR, we think of the American identity as a story - one that's always being rewritten by the people who live it. The American Storytelling collection gathers stories from local stations across the NPR Network - from small town struggles, to natural phenomena, to the intricate histories that build the constantly-evolving tale of our nation...

What does a comedian know about baseball? And what can America's oldest pro ballpark teach us about the Civil Rights movement? In the days leading up to the MLB game at Rickwood Field on June 20, Road to Rickwood host Roy Wood Jr. sat down with NPR's Ayesha Rascoe. They discussed growing up playing baseball in Birmingham, what it was like to interview former Negro Leaguers, and what he hopes this...

Birmingham is about to host a Major League game at Rickwood Field as a tribute to the Negro Leagues. But that doesn't come without its challenges. On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. goes back to Birmingham to explore some of the obstacles that prevent more Black youth from taking up America's pastime. He talks to MLB executives, managers, and a player about the importance of promoting this sport w...

In 1964, the Birmingham Barons become Alabama's first integrated sports team. This is 17 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues. What took so long? Today, we hear how baseball helps desegregate America's most segregated city. Roy Wood Jr. takes us back to 1960s Birmingham, when nonviolent protests for racial equality are met with bombings by the Ku Klux Klan. We learn about the b...

The 1940s are the heyday for Black baseball in Alabama, the peak of the Negro Leagues – starring a high schooler named Willie Mays. But when the Major Leagues integrate, Black teams everywhere start to fold. On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with surviving players from the Birmingham Black Barons about the soaring highs and painful lows of Negro League baseball in Alabama. Roy also explore...

Birmingham, Alabama was one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Civil Rights Movement. But in order to understand the struggle, you don't have to look any further than Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the country. Across more than 113 years, it's hosted Negro League baseball, a women's suffrage event, a Klan rally and eventually, the first integrated sports team in Alabama. On June...

Birmingham, Alabama was one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the American Civil Rights Movement. But in order to understand the struggle, you don't have to look any further than Rickwood Field, America's oldest ballpark. In this podcast, host Roy Wood Jr. looks at the intersection between baseball and civil rights as MLB gears up to honor the Negro Leagues like never before. To manage podcast ad p...