Can Anything Good Come Out Of Chicago?!
How about 13 players and 3 coaches who are now the US Little League World Champions! The Jackie Robinson West little league baseball team, batted their way from Chicago, Illinois all the way to the Little League World Championship, where they will face South Korea Little League team.
“We have a group of black kids from the south side of Chicago who are the US world champs of the Little League baseball,” Jamel Franklin, 28, said. “Who would’ve thought?”
Nowadays when we turn on the news, we are greeted with “In today’s news 15 shot dead on Chicago’s south side”, but this time around it was something different. I live here in Chicago, so I am constantly reminded of the murder rate in our city, but what about positive things that are happening around us on a day to day basis that are not getting reported. What about the local hero’s in our communities who strive to help our youth become someone greater, through the Arts, Sports, and education?
“Considering all the violence that’s in Chicago, this shows that the city ain’t all bad. These kids are great. You can see it in their attitude and mannerisms.” – Kory Begley, a 38-year old Jackie Robinson alum who played with the team back in the 1980s
When you tune in now to watch Major League Baseball, you don’t see too many African American players. Did you know that on this year’s opening day roster, 8.3% of the players were African American. I don’t think the Jackie Robinson West team can reverse this trend solo, but with all that has been happening and the tons of exposure these young boys are getting, they are however bringing awareness about baseball to our communities where other young African American boys see what they are doing. I, like many others, have said “I’ve never seen an all black baseball team before”, but just because you can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s not there, and these boys are definitely here!
Congratulations to the 2014 US Little League World Champions the
Jackie Robinson West Little League Baseball Team
Bobbee Denise 