As the national conversation on racism and police brutality continues in the United States, and as baseball grapples with whether it will return in 2020, it is important to consider the ongoing role the sport and the Rays have to play in furthering societal progress.
To that end, we invited Shakeia Taylor, a writer who focuses on connecting baseball’s history to the present, to provide insight on the Rays recent intersection with this national moment.
The Rays took one of the strongest stances in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in all of sports earlier this month, and were the first of only two MLB teams to pledge funds to causes fighting systematic racism.