More than Baseball: Community Conversation

Join Imagination Station on February 26, 2026, for More than Baseball: How the Negro Leagues Advanced America, a powerful community conversation exploring how Negro League Baseball shaped not only the sport, but the nation.

Negro League Baseball is more than a chapter in sports history—it is a reflection of Black America’s fight for equality, resilience, and recognition. Long before Major League Baseball integration, African American athletes competed at the highest level, forming their own teams and leagues in the face of segregation, Jim Crow laws, and a 60-year color barrier. From the founding of the Negro National League in 1920 to barnstorming teams that traveled the country, these players refused to accept exclusion from America’s pastime.

This engaging conversation brings history to life through the voices of distinguished historians, storytellers, and descendants of Negro League legends, highlighting the lasting cultural and social impact of the leagues on civil rights, community, and American identity.

Featured Speakers:

• Joyce Stearnes Thompson, daughter of Negro League legend “Turkey” Stearnes

• Tom Runnells, former Major League Baseball manager and artist

• Bob Kendrick, President, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

• John Husman, Toledo Mud Hens Historian

• Gary Gillette, Detroit Stars historian

Event Details:

• Date: February 26, 2026

• Time: 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:00 PM)

• Location: Imagination Station, Toledo, OH

• Admission: Free | RSVP Required

Discover how the Negro Leagues changed baseball—and helped move America forward.