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Rise Up for Students is a blog advocating for racial equity and radical empathy in our schools, in Seattle and beyond
Walker left the University of Michigan after one season and started playing ball for a minor league team in Toledo. After winning a league championship in 1883, the Toledo team joined the American Association, which was one of the “major leagues” of the time.
So, on May 1, 1884 — Opening Day of the American Association season — Walker started at catcher and became the first Black player to play in the big leagues.
Read MoreJackie showed us what is possible when we use our greatest gifts to their fullest extent in true service. He lived a life that is to be admired, yes, but there is also a challenge inherent in the legacy of a person who achieved true greatness. Will we rest on his laurels, or will we stand on his shoulders? Will he be a figurehead for hollow celebration, or will we see and remember his humanity and so more clearly recognize our own capacity for greatness?
Read MoreBlack History Today, created by Marcus Harden in honor of Black History Month, pays tribute to the living legacy of Black history in our community and beyond, and recognizes the people like Aaron Walker who are shaping the future.
Read MoreThis post is part of an ongoing Black History Month series written by Marcus Harden, a truly unsung hero of South Seattle, as he honors the living legacy of Black history in his community and beyond, and recognizes the people who are shaping the future.
Read MoreYesterday was Jackie Robinson Day — the 61-year anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier by becoming the first Black player in otherwise-all-white Major League Baseball (technically Jackie was not the first ever, but the first since Moses Fleetwood Walker played a season in the big leagues in the 1880s, but that’s another story).
This year, I spent the day in Memphis with my family, and it turns out I couldn’t have commemorated the day any better.
Read MoreCheck out music from Matt Halvorson
