Hate Watch: From Celebrating the Negro Leagues Centennial to Racial Slurs and Swastikas

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I have disappointing news to share -- our good friends at the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center were the target of a hate crime this past weekend (Sunday, September 20, 2020).

According to ABC15, "Police are investigating after racial slurs and swastikas were spray-painted on the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix. The vandalism was discovered Sunday on the fence and ground in front of the building.

"The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is a historical preservation site that is dedicated to the Collection, Documentation, Preservation, Study, and Dissemination of the History and Culture of Africans and Americans of African Descent in Arizona."

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News like this is always disturbing, but it is especially heartbreaking given that we are still in the midst of celebrating the Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial. 

Earlier this year (February 29), the Carver Museum opened their doors to the greater community to host the Arizona Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Celebration. It was an honor to be a part of this special event. 


Photo: (left to right) Barbara Crane (seated), Ruth Ann Franklin, Bill Staples, Jr., Dorothy "Dottie" Battiest (seated), Princess Crump, Charlie Vascellaro, and Sylvia Bonner.

And while the COVID-19 pandemic might have temporarily closed the museum, it did not stop our Negro Leagues Celebration in Arizona throughout the season. 

FOX SPORTS AZ featured the related Arizona Negro Leagues exhibit at the Carver Museum during Jackie Robinson weekend, August 28. See clip below. 


With all of this in mind, the Carver Museum was generous in their support of the Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial in Arizona, please show your generosity -- and solidarity with them -- by supporting the "Rise Together with Carver" campaign.

Thank you.