A new L.E.A.D. x APS Rookie League Champion was crowned on April 26 at Booker T. Washington High School: Hollis Innovation Academy. (Courtesy of Tiaras Monet)
To L.E.A.D. Center for Youth co-founder and former Chicago Cubs outfielder C.J. Stewart, embracing baseball is embracing Black history.
“While we were in Africa, it was the sport that we were playing. It wasn’t called baseball, but it was a game with a ball and a stick,” he said.
“I just feel like ever since there’s been any liberation for Black people in America, baseball has always been a part of it,” he added.
The impact that the sport has on Stewart’s life led the former professional player to develop a league for young Black boys that would help transform them not only into strong players, but even stronger men.
L.E.A.D., which stands for Launch, Expose, Advise and Direct, is in partnership with the Atlanta Braves Foundation, which states their mission is “to build community through baseball, engaging Braves Country, reaching vulnerable populations, and improving equity and access in sport, health, education, and well-being outcomes for children, families and communities.”
This spring, over 170 young men are competing in the L.E.A.D. x APS Spring Baseball League in partnership with the Atlanta Braves Foundation. (Courtesy of Tiaras Monet)
According to a University of Central Florida study, Black players made up around 6% of Major League Baseball’s opening-day rosters in 2023. In contrast, 18% of the league was comprised of Black players in 1991.
This spring, more than 170 young boys are competing in the L.E.A.D. X Atlanta Public Schools Spring League, spread across various schools in the Atlanta Public Schools district.
According to team officials, the league is designed to introduce Atlanta’s youth to the game of baseball while instilling values of leadership, excellence and determination — principles embodied by Major League trailblazers such as Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays.
“Think of it as a Negro Leagues for the babies,” added Kelli Stewart, co-founder of L.E.A.D.
She and husband C.J. created the nonprofit to equip Black youth with skills and support as they face crime, poverty and racism. The couple considers the nonprofit a love letter to the city.
The organization uses baseball as the vehicle for building skills for boys in grades 3 to 12, and tennis as the vehicle for girls.
“My job is to make sure that we have some relationships and things set up so that you can graduate, be gainfully employed, play Major League Baseball,” he said.
On top of allowing the players to shape themselves into the adults that they want to be, C.J. also hopes that the league can help the boys be proud of who they are.
“I think about the obstacles of Black boys getting into the game, as well as even for me, people talk about the financial costs and they hardly ever talk about the emotional costs that’s involved,” he said.
“I know for me as a Black boy and starting to play travel baseball on majority white teams, I felt like I had to play on white teams with white coaches to make sure that I got the benefit of the doubt… I had to leave my community, a community that poured so much into me. And when I left, a lot of my Blackness left with me,” he added.
The L.E.A.D. x APS Spring Baseball League is designed to introduce Atlanta’s youth to the game of baseball while instilling values of leadership, excellence and determination — principles embodied by Major League trailblazers such as Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays. (Courtesy of Tiaras Monet)
On a mid-April afternoon at Usher-Collier Elementary, there is little display of a lack of confidence or self-esteem as over 20 boys from the league practice in the school’s gymnasium.
While it’s not the most ideal location, the team was threatened by the chance of rain, and with the playoffs on the horizon, the work must continue.
Despite the last-minute change, the students’ energy remains high. Coaches and parents alike can see their efforts to be their best and support one another.
Tyler Williams, 23, not only sees the impact the league has, but has personally experienced it himself.
“These people showed me what respect is, what accountability is, and what advocacy is,” said Williams, who entered the program in the 9th grade and currently works as the league’s program coordinator.
“[The students] are the guys you are setting a foundation for,” he said.
Although L.E.A.D. already crowned its Rookie League Champion earlier this month, the Stewarts’ real victory continues to be won with the league’s continued growth and success.
“Legacy is what you leave in people, and so when we’re here… we’re literally writing out the playbook,” C.J. said.
He said several staff members, donors, and members of leadership have participated as students in the organization.
“We’ve got some dark days ahead, where we’re going to have to really fight. But I feel like this organization is definitely going to exceed Kelli and I… and so that makes me proud,” C.J. said.
