Banana Ball's racial minstrelsy past

Banana Ball is a barnstorming baseball league revived by the tremendously popular Savannah Bananas, a team with millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram — known as much for their dance routines and shenanigans as their actual baseball. Recently the league resurrected the Indianapolis Clowns, a Negro League team with a contentious history of racial minstrelsy.

We talk with journalist Josh Levin, who followed the Clowns through their Banana Ball debut. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one.

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