Cincinnati gears up for Civil Rights festivites

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The Civil Rights Game, to be held June 20 between the Reds and White Sox at Great American Ball Park, will showcase Cincinnati and the efforts Major League Baseball has made to create a level playing field for players and fans from all races and backgrounds.

There will be two days worth of events -- both inside and outside of Great American Ball Park. They will include a Civil Rights Roundtable Discussion, a youth summit and the presentation of the Beacon Awards

Schedule of Events:
Baseball and the Civil Rights Movement Roundtable Discussion
Moderated by Harvard Law Professor Charles Ogletree

Panelists:
• Baseball Hall of Famer & former Red Tony Perez
• Former Major League All-Star & MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds
• Lee Lowenfish, author "Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman"
• Richard Lapchick, Director, Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport
• Nathaniel Jones, former Justice with U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit
• James Clingman, Jr., national "Blackonomics" columnist & founder, Greater Cincinnati African American Chamber of Commerce
• Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson

Date: Friday, June 19, 2009
Time: 4-5:30 p.m., STREAMED LIVE ON MLB.COM
Location: National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, 50 East Freedom Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Admission: Free (reservations recommended)

Book signing by "Branch Rickey: Baseball's Ferocious Gentleman" author Lee Lowenfish
1:30-3 p.m. in front of the Freedom Center's Book Store (located on the Main Level)

Major League Baseball Beacon Awards Luncheon presented by Toyota
Hosted by: Soledad O'Brien
Keynote: President William Jefferson Clinton
Honorees: MLB Beacon of Life Hank Aaron (Presented by Commissioner Allan H. Selig), MLB Beacon of Change Muhammad Ali (Presented by Sugar Ray Leonard), MLB Beacon of Hope Bill Cosby (Presented by Bob Gibson)

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2009
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Location: The Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Admission: $100 per individual ticket/special table packages available

Civil Rights Game Youth Summit/Wanna' Play Spectacular
• Demonstrations with MLB Network's Harold Reynolds, Reds Brandon Phillips and Jerry Hairston, Jr. and former Red Eric Davis, interactive exhibits


• Q & A with "Cory in the House" star Kyle Massey, "Zoey 101" star Christopher Massey, country artist Rissi Palmer, "Bridge to Terabithia" star Josh Hutcherson and Eric Davis

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2009
Time: 2 p.m. - 7 p.m.; Q&A 4-5 p.m.
Location: Fountain Square, 520 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Admission: Free

Gillette Civil Rights Game
Chicago White Sox at Cincinnati Reds, live on MLB Network
• Special pregame ceremonies featuring Grammy-winning gospel artist BeBe Winans and MLB Beacon Award Winners Hank Aaron, Muhammad Ali and Bill Cosby

Date: Saturday, June 20, 2009
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Great American Ball Park, 100 Joe Nuxhall Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Admission: Ticket prices vary

Book signing by Satchel author Larry Tye
• 4-6 p.m. at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum (in The Negro Leagues and Cincinnati exhibit)


• Bottom of 2nd inning - Bottom of 4th inning at the Reds Community Corner (located near Gapper's Alley, behind Section 120)

Event host hotels
• The Westin Cincinnati Hotel
21 East 5th Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
(513) 621-7700


• Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Hotel
35 West Fifth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
(513) 421-9100

Clinton to speak at Beacon Awards
Ali, Aaron and Crosby will be honored for contributions

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will deliver the keynote address at the Major League Baseball Beacon Awards Luncheon during Civil Rights Game Weekend in Cincinnati, MLB announced Wednesday.

Notables Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron and Bill Cosby will be honored with the MLB Beacon of Change, Life and Hope, respectively, at the Luncheon, which will be held at the Duke Energy Center on June 20.

Ali, Aaron and Cosby were also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S.

"Bill Clinton's long record of promoting civil rights makes him the perfect keynote speaker to honor such a distinguished group," MLB Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig said in the news release about the former president, who joined him and Rachel Robinson at Shea Stadium on April 15, 1997, as MLB declared the permanent retirement of Jackie Robinson's No. 42.

"Our award recipients this year are remarkably accomplished, and it is a great honor for MLB to recognize their achievements, which have helped change this country for the better."

That Saturday, Emmy Award winner Soledad O'Brien, host of CNN's "Special Investigators Unit" and "CNN Presents: Black in America," will serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for the event, with proceeds benefiting the MLB Urban Youth Foundation, the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

The Civil Rights Game will be played between the Reds and White Sox at Great American Ball Park in a 7:10 p.m. ET contest that will be broadcast live on MLB Network and MLB.com. It will be the first regular-season Civil Rights Game after two preseason exhibitions in Memphis, Tenn.

In addition to the game, there will be a roundtable discussion at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on Friday and, following the Luncheon on Saturday afternoon, a youth summit at Cincinnati's Fountain Square.

The MLB Beacon of Change is "given to an individual who impacts society through his words and actions," the Beacon of Life recognizes "an individual whose life is emblematic of the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement," and the Beacon of Hope is for a person "who influences our future through his support of children," according to the release.

For more information or to purchase tickets to the Luncheon and Civil Rights Game, visit http://www.mlb.com/civilrightsgame.

Reds invite Obama for first pitch
President would heighten profile of Civil Rights Game
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

SARASOTA, Fla. --- This year's move of the annual Civil Rights Game to the regular season already has given it a higher profile.

If the Reds get President Barack Obama to throw out a ceremonial first pitch, the profile would move to an even higher stratosphere. The club recently extended a request to have the president at the June 20 game against the White Sox at Great American Ball Park.

"Not only would President Obama allow us to put the Civil Rights Game on a national stage, but we thought it was a good fit, considering we're playing the White Sox this year and that is his favorite team," Reds spokesman Michael Anderson said on Wednesday.

Reds manager Dusty Baker has a personal history with Obama dating back to his days in Chicago as manager of the Cubs. Baker campaigned on Obama's behalf and attended his presidential inauguration in January.

In September, Major League Baseball announced that the Civil Rights Game would be hosted by Cincinnati in 2009 and '10. The game had previously been played before the season in Memphis.

Major League Baseball submitted the request on behalf of the Reds, and the league is still waiting to hear back from the White House.

"We were told that there have been many first-pitch requests, so they've asked all of them to go straight through MLB," Anderson said.

MLB, the Reds and the White Sox have planned a weekend of events that celebrate diversity surrounding the Civil Rights Game. There will be roundtable discussions about human and social issues in baseball and around the country. A featured event will also be the presentation of the Beacon Awards that honor hope, life and change.

"The Civil Rights Game is really celebrating what baseball has brought to the civil rights movement in America," Anderson said. "The Reds can't think of a better representative than President Obama."

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Game One: Reds 4 White Sox 3 (Brandon Phillips hit his 11th HR and drove in 3 runs. Arroyo improved to 8-5 with the win, and Cordero picked up his 17th save.

Game Two:
Probable Pitchers: CHW: Richard (2-1) 3.76 ERA, CIN: Cueto (6-4) 2.17 ERA