The Boston Red Sox unveiled their display of a 250-foot Black Lives Matter billboard adjacent to Fenway Park on Wednesday, marking the 61st anniversary of Elijah “Pumpsie” Green’s first game as the team’s first black player.
The billboard across from the Massachusetts Turnpike behind the iconic stadium comes as major professional sports across the country continue to pay tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement nearly two months after the police murder of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked protests in the whole country.
The Boston Red Sox have turned the 252-foot-long by 20-foot-tall billboard outside Fenway Park into a Black Lives Matter mural overlooking the Massachusetts Turnpike. pic.twitter.com/i5mKyrbr39
– Only in Boston (@OnlyInBOS) July 22, 2020
The presentation also occurs when the Major League Baseball season will begin on Thursday night.
Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy has been outspoken on the issue of social injustice since massive protests swept across the country.
“Please note that we are with you,” Kennedy wrote in a statement on the team’s website titled “Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion.”
“Silence in the face of injustice is unacceptable,” he added.
The Red Sox were the last team to add a black player to their roster with Green joining in 1961.
In this week’s exhibition games, the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds players knelt during the performance of the national anthem, and Giants manager Gabe Kapler became the first manager or coach at boss in any of the major sports leagues. .
Kapler, 44, is the first MLB manager to kneel during the anthem. https://t.co/bxftge5EXs
– USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 21, 2020
4 Cincinnati Reds players kneel during the national anthem https://t.co/9ZAwVydMYH
– Bill Cunningham (@ Willie700WLW) July 22, 2020
The MLB season begins Thursday night when the New York Yankees travel to Washington to face the World Champions.
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