Ugly on the Diamonds: An Examination of White Privilege in Youth Baseball

Abstract

This paper adopts critical race theory as a framework to expose elements of racism embedded within the seemingly “color-blind” policies of little league baseball. It attempts to uncover the hidden subtext of race in a popular children's sport in America. Inspired by interviews conducted with the African-American founders of a grassroots baseball league for neighborhood children, the story focuses on the experiences the founders encountered with little league baseball that prompted them to create “a league of their own.” Policies and practices related to player selection, travel/transportation to games, isolation of minority players, spectator behavior, and coaching/role modeling are shown to privilege white children while disadvantaging children of color.

Keywords:

• racial epistemology
• racial discourse
• narrative
• creative analytic practice

Acknowledgments

Author Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at the First International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry in Champaign, IL, on April 5, 2005.

Notes

¹It is important to acknowledge that “giving voice” to others remains a contested idea within the field of qualitative inquiry. The crisis of representation (see introduction to this special issue) led many interpretive researchers to appreciate they can never get at the ‘reality’ or ‘truth’ of others' experiences. Instead, they are left with no more than representations.