MLB Animated Series 'Undeniable' Supports Activation During Black History Month
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 06:44PM By Barry Janoff
January 31, 2023: As part of a broader effort to support Black History Month, MLB will air a new MLB Originals Series, Undeniable: Stories from the Negro Leagues, a “contemporary storytelling platform to amplify and honor the legacy of the Negro Leagues.”
Undeniable, which is MLB’s first animated series, will focus on three unique short stories from the historic era of the Negro Leagues, each narrated by Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
The three episodes include:
• Women of the Negro Leagues featuring the stories of Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson to premiere on Feb. 1 (National Girls & Women in Sports Day)
• International Impact Feb. 8
• Jackie Robinson & Monte Irvin Feb. 15
Episodes will be featured on MLB.com/originals, MLB.tv and the MLB app, with additional promotional support from MLB Network and MLB social media platforms.
Undeniable is a collaborative project among MLB, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Black-owned creative entities Invisible Collective and Martian Blueberry, creatively spearheaded by Justin Polk, Invisible’s founder (and baseball fanatic).
In Undeniable, co-directors Polk and Carl Jones (The Boondocks, Black Dynamite) “shine a light on the Negro Leagues’ impact on the game, including its most legendary players, its historic female ballplayers, and the Negro Leagues’ influence internationally,” according to MLB.
The new MLB series adds to national attention recently put on the Negro Leagues and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
In 2022, the U.S. Mint released the Negro Leagues Baseball Commemorative Coin Program; and Negro Leagues and baseball icon Buck O’Neil was posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Money raised after the cost of making the coins will go to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, located in Kansas City, MO.
Among MLB and team activation during Black History Month:
• MLB Network will produce several video campaigns featuring legendary former players and current Major Leaguers.
• the Andre Dawson Classic, an annual collegiate baseball tournament launched by MLB in 2008 to highlight HBCUs and their baseball programs. Two showcase games will air live on MLB Network and stream on MLB.com (Feb. 24, Feb. 26) from the New Orleans MLB Youth Academy and University of New Orleans Maestri Field.
• MLB Social will publish content throughout the month to “celebrate and educate on the profound impact Black players, coaches, executives and personnel have had on the evolution and growth of the game.”
MLB will “highlight Negro Leagues and Major League stars of the past, while also looking forward, elevating the voice of current Black leaders throughout the sport.”
There will be Instagram Live takeovers, longer-form video content and unique art — "all meant to celebrate Black excellence and its impact on Major League Baseball."
• Minor League Baseball teams will post on their team feeds and on MiLB social platforms, highlighting team records held by Black American players, local reflections of Negro Leagues teams in their areas, and a “9 Questions” feature with former players from their franchise’s history.
• The Other Boys of Summer screenings at more than 20 Minor League ballparks nationwide of the documentary that "explores racism, segregation and civil rights through the lives of Negro Leagues players."
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