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C. Why is the CSA team important to your work as a teacher?
The CSA are such an important factor when dealing with students because they really show how for bravery and pride really goes. They are such a great example to be able to use inside of the classroom to show what impact they had as just children. It shows that, your students, can have just as big of an impact on the world with anything they do if they just believe in themselves and never give up.

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1. Why do you think it took so long to bring Little League back to Charleston?
I think people were scared and nervous because of the uproar the league once caused. It caused a huge division between the society, community, and baseball in general. I think people thought that bringing back little league would cause this segregation again.

2. Why do you think this topic is little known amongst people in Charleston?
I think it is so little known because people are nervous to talk about it. They are nervous to talk about racial issues and stuff that happened in the past because some people do get upset when it discussed. I also think sometimes people do not always talk about things, especially history and racial issues, in the right context. They do not always know the right way to talk about touchy subjects like these, so they just don't talk about them to avoid conflict.

3. Without Augustus Holt's work, what do you speculate would be the current state of youth baseball in Charleston?
Without Holt's work, I think things would be extremely different than they are now. I think the current state of youth baseball would still be somewhat segregated. Even now, there are sometimes issues with segregation and racial issues.

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1. Why do you think the little league's "refusal to budge" even when all the other teams left the league.
I don't think the parents or coaches wanted to take them out of the league because it would have seemed like they were doing something wrong. They didn't want to be punished just because the other teams didn't approve of them and didn't want to play them. They were still advancing and were able to go see the World series just because the other teams were forfeiting and didn't want to play them.

2. How could you use your platform as an educator to encourage more black youth to participate in baseball?
I could share the book "Let Them Play" and all of these articles with them and show them that though this league and these boys were being left out because of their race, other people soon supported them. I could take my future class to these meaningful monuments and show them just how important it is for them to take chances and stand up for themselves and others when faced with difficult scenarios.

3. What is the importance of this marker for future generations that will visit and use Harmon Field?
It shows the history of such an important event. It gives so much credit to history and really shows how important these historical events are and that they play such a big role in our lives today. Sometimes it is hard for people to understand that with out some of the events that took place in our history our world really wouldn't be the way it is today.

4. Once the Dixie Youth League became integrated, do you think that African American parents should have let their children play?
Yes, because if they didn't then they would be doing the same things that the white leagues once did to them. They would be showing their children the wrong way to handle difficult situations. If they were to not allow their children to join the Dixie league then things would be segregated because of them. They would be the ones harming themselves. Allowing their children to join the Dixie league gives the chance for everyone to come together and be able to move on from such a difficult time.

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The Cannon Street YMCA Little League All Starswatch a game from the stands at Original Field.

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“Harmon Field, established in 1927, was one of many parks across the country created with support from the Harmon Foundation, a national philanthropic organization. Though dedicated to the ‘Recreation of All,’ state law mandated the racial segregation of public parks and Harmon Field remained a facility for African Americans until it was desegregated in 1964. Among other uses, the park was a venue for games played by amateur and semi-pro baseball teams. … Cannon Street All-Stars: In 1953 the Cannon St. YMCA established the first African American Little League in S.C. and played games at Harmon Field. In 1955 the Cannon St. YMCA entered a team in the state Little League tournament. Rather than integrate, white teams boycotted and the Cannon St. All-Stars were state champions by forfeit. The All-Stars were invited to the Little League World Series, but not allowed to compete.”

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Reflection

After reading about the Cannon Street All Stars our group was surprised at how little this is talked about in Charleston. Segregation was just that summer prohibited in schools and this was supposed to be such a victory, and it was, but after reading these articles it’s so clear that desegregation is not something that happens over night. This was such an important time in history that changed a lot for our city and country. The fact that Charleston had to cancel the city’s little league tournament because black people and white people couldn’t play together is an important thing to know because it shows us how far we’ve come. It shows us today how much progress we’ve made as a country.

As a teacher I think its super important to share historical events like this with out students because it shows how important it is to stand up for what you believe in and not to give up when the battle gets hard to fight. One of my favorite quotes in the Post and Courier article was "The civil rights movement was about fields of dreams and the Cannon Street baseball story is about leveling the playing field," Holt said. "These men were young champions in the civil rights movement and they have done all the right things in life by becoming outstanding citizens." The entire movement was about stories and events like this one and its so important that we, as educators, continue sharing those stories.