Growing Bolder Community

Baseball great Monte Irvin was initially tapped to be the first black player to break the color barrier.

Charley Pride was in no short supply of talent. He's a country music legend who dreamed of being in the Major League Baseball hall of fame. But it wasn't his lack of talent that stopped him - it was the color of his skin.

They had the skills to play in the big leagues but were denied the chance because of their skin color. In a symbolic gesture of goodwill, Major League Baseball "drafted" 30 former Negro League players.

At Major League Baseball's Negro League draft, we asked players about civil rights in today's world. It was clear most people in the room saw Barack Obama's presumptive Democratic nomination for president as another major milestone for African-Americans.

During the recent Major League Baseball draft, we talked to Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and former Negro League player Neale "Bobo" Henderson about how the sport has changed over the years.

When we met some of the surviving Negro League baseball players at the recent Major League Baseball draft at Walt Disney World, we were blown away by the stories these men -- and one woman -- shared about their climb to the the big leagues.