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BLACKBALL | Baseball, Barbeque, and Blues

February 19 @ 5:30 pm - June 30 @ 8:30 pm
Opening February 19, 2026, BLACKBALL | Baseball, Barbecue & Blues explores the untold story of Black baseball in Houston’s Freedmen’s Town—from sandlots and barnstorming to the Negro Leagues and the integration of Major League Baseball. Rooted in Freedmen’s Town’s “Blackball” legacy, the exhibition traces how baseball thrived alongside food, music, faith, and fellowship, animating streets and fields as sites of freedom, joy, and self-expression. Through community picnics, economic exchange, and the rhythms of everyday life, Black baseball emerges as both a cultural practice and a collective celebration. By centering Black leisure and lived experience, BLACKBALL presents Freedmen’s Town as both a vital local community and a foundational site whose influence extended from Houston to national and global stages through Negro League and Major League Baseball. The exhibition positions Freedmen’s Town not as a footnote, but as a cornerstone of Black baseball history and cultural legacy.

Join us for an opening reception and fireside chat between Seba R. Suber, Curator, Southern Polymath Creative Consulting, LLC and Sharon Fletcher, Executive Director, Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy on Thursday, February 19, 2026 from 5:30–8:30 PM, celebrating Black baseball, community life, and cultural legacy in Houston’s Freedmen’s Town during Black History Month.

ABOUT

Exhibition Architecture by Sharon L. Fletcher, Executive Director (includes concept and scope)

Curated by Seba R. Suber, Southern Polymath Creative Consulting

In partnership with Dr. Layton Revel with Center for Negro League Baseball Research

Historical Soundscapes by Jason “Flash Gordon Parks” Woods, Ethnomusicologist

BLACKBALL | Baseball, Barbeque & Blues, is hosted by Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy and supported by City of Houston, Houston Public Library and Houston Public Library Foundation, Houston Endowment, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Houston Arts Alliance, Southern Polymath Creative Consulting LLC, The Astros Foundation, and Center for Negro League Baseball Research.

Details

Venue

  • Freedmen’s Town Visitor Center
  • 1204 Victor St
    Houston, Texas 77019 United States     + Google Map