We are the Ship

Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship. New York, New York: Hyperion Books for Children. By the late 1800’s many African Americans were disappearing from professional baseball and by 1887 they were not allowed to play at all. They formed their own league called the Negro League. By the early 1900s teams began to form all over the North and the South. These players didn’t have any of the luxuries many white baseball players had. The African American baseball players had to sleep in different motels than the white baseball players when they had the funds to do so or rode and slept on their bus between games when traveling. All this continued to happen until the first African American was accepted to play in the major leagues, Jackie Robinson. Nelson provides detailed paintings throughout his book. Paintings he personally painted. They are soft, but realistic in the creases of the clothing, wrinkles on the baseball player’s faces, to their expressions when amongst one another. Nelson’s book would be great to include as an informational text during Black History month. Students could extend their research and compare and contrast the difference between the black and white leagues during that time or defend on their treatment during the merge of the leagues. An interview with Nelson from the BBC is attached. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1OqigCq8H4