Picture Books

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

Picture book. By Kadir Nelson. 2008. 96 pages.
The story of Negro League baseball, in text and stunning imagery.

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Themes: African American, Sports

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The beautiful, large images in this picture/story book help put the important story of the Negro Leagues front and center in the classroom. For too long students have only learned about Jackie Robinson integrating the white leagues, but not about the leagues organized by African Americans where Jackie Robinson was one of many outstanding players.

ISBN: 9780786808328 | Jump at the Sun

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Related Resources

Books: Fiction

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow

Book — Fiction. By James Sturm and Rich Tommaso with an introduction by Gerald Early. 2007. 96 pages.
Told from the point of view of a sharecropper, this narrative in graphic novel format follows baseball champion Satchel Paige as he travels throughout the segregated South.

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Books: Non-Fiction

A People’s History of Sports in the United States

Book — Non-fiction. By Dave Zirin. 2009. 302 pages.
U.S. history through the lens of sports.

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Books: Non-Fiction

A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson

Book — Non-fiction. By Michelle Y. Green. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. 2004. 128 pages.
A biography on one of only three women to play baseball in the Negro Leagues.

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Books: Non-Fiction

The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World

Book — Non-fiction. By John Carlos and Dave Zirin. Foreword by Cornel West. 2011. 220 pages.
Written for grades 7+, this biography of John Carlos recounts his childhood, his legendary act of courage at the ’68 Olympics, and the backlash.

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Articles

A Review of ‘42’: Jackie Robinson’s Bitter Pill

Article. By Dave Zirin. 2013.
Dave Zirin describes how 42 limits the story to a tale of “individual triumph through singular greatness,” ignoring the social movements and broader context of the time.

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Films

Not Just a Game: Power, Politics & American Sports

Film. By Dave Zirin and Jeremy Earp. 2010. 62 minutes.
A documentary based on the bestselling book A People’s History of Sports in the United States, Zirin demonstrates that American sports have long been at the center of some of the major political debates and struggles of our time. For 6th grade to adult.