Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum free to visit this month thanks to Royals
Visitors to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum will benefit from free admission throughout February courtesy of the Kansas City Royals and Royals Charities.
In honor of Black History Month, the Royals announced on Tuesday that they will cover the cost of admission for the month and allow visitors to tour the museum free of charge.
“We are thrilled to help our fans hear this important story,” Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman said in a release from the team. “The Royals are proud of our connection with the Museum and the rich history of the Monarchs. The Negro Leagues story is about baseball, but it transcends baseball. It’s about American history and our struggles and progress in civil rights, and the Museum presents that story like nowhere else.”
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, located in Kansas City’s historic 18th & Vine Jazz District, is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m.
The museum sits two blocks from the Paseo YMCA where Andrew “Rube” Foster established the Negro National League in 1920.
Over the weekend, the museum announced it will serve as the home of a vandalized marker denoting the childhood hometown of baseball pioneer, Civil Rights figure and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jackie Robinson.
“We can’t thank the Kansas City Royals enough for giving fans this tremendous opportunity to experience the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum,” museum President Bob Kendrick said in a release. “The powerful story of the Negro Leagues is one of strong-willed athletes who refused to accept the notion that they were unfit to share in the joys of our national pastime. Their passion would not only change the game, but it also helped change our nation for the better. That story of triumph over adversity comes to life at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. We hope this incredible gesture by the Royals will motivate fans to pay us a visit,” Kendrick said.
The Royals announcement came the same day Minor League Baseball announced a new national initiative titled “The Nine” aimed at engaging with Black fans.
