Abstract
During a radio interview on 29 July 1938, New York Yankee outfielder Jake Powell said he worked as a policeman in the off-season and kept in shape by cracking “niggers” over the head with his nightstick. Powell was immediately suspended for ten days. The “Jake Powell Incident” provided the catalyst to challenge segregation in baseball—mobilizing pressure from Black activists, journalists, and others who wanted to integrate baseball. This article examines how this story was covered by mainstream dailies; Black weeklies; and the Daily Worker, a Communist daily published in New York City.
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