New Museum Will Further Tell the Powerful
Stories of the Negro Leagues Baseball Players
KANSAS
CITY, Mo., May 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Negro
Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) today announced it has been awarded
a $1 million grant from Bank of
America in support of the museum's $25
million capital campaign to build a new 30,000 square-foot
facility. This funding will enable the NLBM to provide the latest
state of the art technology that will be used to promote diversity,
inclusion, and equity through the lens of America's unsung baseball
heroes who overcame tremendous social adversity to play baseball.
The announcement was made at the NLBM with bank and museum
officials alongside Congressman Emanuel
Cleaver; Kansas City Mayor
Quinton Lucas; Frank White, Jr., Jackson County Executive;
Kathy Nelson, President & CEO,
Kansas City Sports Commission and John
Sherman, Chairman & CEO Kansas City Royals.
To coincide with the bank's commitment of the new museum, Major
League Baseball alumni players David
DeJesus, Rajai Davis, and
Dexter Fowler will take part in a
Bank of America "Play It Forward" baseball clinic on Saturday, May 6 for 50 area youth from the YMCA
of Greater Kansas City. The Clinic
coincides with the celebration of the winning spirit of the Kansas
City Monarchs and is held on the anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game with the team.
The new state of the art facility will be built adjacent to the
Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center (BOERC) which will now be
housed in the former Paseo YMCA. That historic building is where
Andrew "Rube" Foster established the Negro Leagues in 1920. With
help from the anchor grant, the new NLBM, in combination with the
BOERC, will create a "Negro Leagues Campus" that will become the
gateway into Kansas City's famed
Historic 18th & Vine District. This will be a catalyst for
economic growth in a vastly underserved, predominantly African
American community.
The bank's support will allow the NLBM to expand programming,
create dynamic interactive displays, house a gallery to showcase
new exhibitions, feature a larger gift shop, and include a more
expansive archival and storage space.
"Thanks to the generosity and continued support of Bank of
America, the future of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum begins
today," said Bob Kendrick, museum
president. "Our growth from a one-room office to becoming America's
National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has been an amazing journey.
Now, we're building an organization that will continue to preserve
and celebrate the triumphant story of the Negro Leagues but also
fortify our position as one of the nation's most important civil
rights and social justice institutions," Kendrick said.
The grant is part of Bank of America's overall commitment to
strengthening the Kansas City community
by addressing key issues fundamental to economic opportunity and
social progress. It also builds on Bank of America's efforts to
advance racial equality and opportunity for communities of color.
The new facility will integrate a blend of technology and nostalgia
to create an immersive culturally enriched experience that
enlightens students and adults about a precious piece of baseball
and Americana that has been excluded from the pages of American
history books.
"We share NLBM's mission to preserve and celebrate the rich
history of African American baseball and its impact on the social
advancement of America," said Matt
Linski, president, Bank of America Kansas City. "Our
commitment recognizes the importance – culturally and economically
– of the 18th & Vine District to Kansas City today and we hope it will be an
example for other funders to follow. Additionally, this grant is
paramount to ensuring greater understanding and better appreciation
of the many contributions African Americans have made and continue
to make, including Jackie Robinson
breaking the Major League color barrier."
This announcement is the latest in a series of investments that
Bank of America has made in the Kansas City
community. Bank of America has invested more than
$13 million in grants and
sponsorships since 2020 as well as capital investments to help
small businesses, affordable housing, and other economic
revitalization projects benefiting communities throughout
Kansas City.
Bank of America's relationship with the NLBM dates back to the
1980s with bank leaders having served on the original 18th &
Vine Authority Board that established the district. Bank of America
funded the exhibition Discovering Greatness that traveled to
all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) campuses to
reach young African Americans who might otherwise have been unaware
of their Negro Leagues heritage. In 2008, the museum presented Bank
of America the prestigious Buck O'Neil
Legacy Award. In 2019, the museum was selected for
Neighborhood Builders®, Bank of America's signature philanthropic
program and received $2000,000 grant
for operational funding and leadership training.
President Bob Kendrick has provided
thought leadership at numerous Bank of America events including
Courageous Conversations over the past three years and at
the recent opening of the Barrier Breakers exhibition at
Dodger Stadium. The NLBM has been part of the bank's Museums on Us®
program for many years.
About Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is the world's only
museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of
African American baseball and its impact on the social advancement
of America. The privately funded, 501 c3, not-for-profit
organization was established in 1990 and is in the heart of
Kansas City, Missouri's Historic
18th & Vine Jazz District. The NLBM operates two blocks from
the Paseo YMCA where Andrew "Rube" Foster established the Negro
National League in 1920. To learn more about the Negro Leagues
Baseball Museum, please visit nlbm.com.
About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial
institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market
businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking,
investing, asset management and other financial and risk management
products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience
in the United States, serving
approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with
approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000
ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56
million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader
in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading
across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations,
governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of
America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million
small business households through a suite of innovative,
easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves
clients through operations across the
United States, its territories and more than 35 countries.
Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange.
Reporters May Contact:
Joe Villa, NLBM
Phone: 1.646.296.0014
joe_villa@dkcnews.com
Diane Wagner, Bank of America
Phone: 1.312.992.2370
diane.wagner@bofa.com
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SOURCE Bank of America Corporation