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Breaking Barriers: The Negro Leagues and “The Other Boys of Summer” | A Community Event and Discussion

September 13, 2023

Event Details

Date: September 13, 2023
Time: 7:00 pm
–8:30 pm

Information

Please Note; This event will take place at the YWCA Greenwich.

Presented by the Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich YMCA, and YWCA Greenwich

Courtesy of Tumbleweed Pictures/7th Street films

Join the Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich YMCA, and YWCA Greenwich in this community event that explores the historical significance of the Negro Leagues and how this history relates to the present day. This program features a discussion and Q&A session, moderated by author Kostya Kennedy, with filmmaker and Emmy nominated director Lauren Meyer, who will share more about the making of the film and connect the past to what’s happening today as inspiration for the future. This discussion will follow a screening of The Other Boys of Summer, a documentary about racism, segregation and civil rights in America, told through the lives of the Negro League baseball players.

Courtesy of The Cooper Union/ Photo by Margaret Long

This program will share a triumphant story of passion and perseverance, and will connect our history to today’s headlines through the lens of America’s pastime. The critically acclaimed film features never-before-seen interviews with unsung civil rights trailblazers who played alongside of Jackie Robinson and changed the game and America forever.

Courtesy of Tumbleweed Pictures/7th Street films

You’ll meet humble and gracious civil rights pioneers who changed America by pursuing their dreams in this triumphant story of resilience in the most unlikely of situations. Baseball players are known as “The Boys of Summer”, but prior to integration and Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, there was another group of baseball players, playing in their own league. They played in The Negro Leagues. This was a high level, professional baseball league made up of players who were not allowed to play in the white league. The Negro National League was chartered on February 13, 1920 by Rube Foster in KC.

To learn more about the film, visit https://www.theotherboysofsummer.com/

Funding for this project is made possible by the State of Connecticut and the National Endowment for the Humanities, both of which provide significant support to Connecticut Humanities.

Speaker Biography

Lauren Meyer

Filmmaker & Director

Lauren Meyer grew up in NJ and graduated from Rutgers. She’s an Emmy nominated Director whose work has been seen on dozens of TV Networks and Digital Platforms - Some of those include ABC, NBC, Nickelodeon, ESPN, HGTV, A&E, TLC, Discovery, Netflix and Amazon. Her specialty is storytelling and being a champion for the underdog. In addition to directing, Lauren works as a Producer and Camera Operator. She launched her production company, “Tumbleweed Pictures” in 2002 with her first short film. Since then she’s produced and directed hundreds of hours of broadcast, digital and corporate content. Lauren began working on “The Other Boys of Summer” in 2007.

 

Q&A Moderator

Kostya Kennedy is an editorial director at Dotdash Meredith, overseeing special editions under LIFE, People, EatingWell, Real Simple, Health, Entertainment Weekly and other brands. The editions embrace a range of topics including pop culture, health and wellness, food, lifestyle, music, and pets. He is a former assistant managing editor and senior writer at Sports Illustrated. He has been a staff writer at Newsday and has written for The New York Times, Time, FiveThirtyEight.com, The Huffington Post and The New Yorker.

Kennedy is the author of the award-winning 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, as well as Pete Rose: An American Dilemma. Both were New York Times bestsellers and each also received the CASEY Award. Kennedy’s 2016 book Lasting Impact: One Team, One Season. What Happens When Our Sons Play Football followed a season of high school football.

Kennedy earned an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, from which he received a Pulitzer Fellowship. He has taught in the graduate journalism program at Columbia and at NYU, in the journalism department, and at the Preston Robert Tisch Institute of Global Sport. His television work includes regular appearances as a contributing analyst and commentator on the MLB Network, as well as appearances on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Morning Joe, and numerous other television and radio programs. He lives with his wife and children in New York.

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