The Atlanta Braves kickoff their second annual Heritage Weekend May 2-4 with their Champions Luncheon at the 755 Club May 2, a fundraiser for Atlanta's National Center for Civil and Human Rights, featuring honorees Joe Barry Carroll, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Edwin Moses, and the Reverend C. T. Vivian. The Braves play the San Francisco Giants, with Saturday's game featuring both teams saluting their city's Negro League teams with replica uniforms, and the game is followed by a Kool and The Gang concert at Turner Field.
Atlanta Braves Director of Community Relations Ericka Newsome-Hill stopped by WCLK to talk about it with Public Affairs Producer Rob Maynard:
Need more info? Here's their press release:
The 2nd Annual Atlanta Braves Heritage Weekend will take place at Turner Field May 2 -4 during the Braves series with the San Francisco Giants.
The events include the Heritage Youth Day Celebration presented by Bank of America on Wednesday, April 23; the Delta Air Lines Champions Luncheon brought to you by State Farm and the Champion of Justice Award Honorees Reception presented by Grady Hospital on Friday, May 2; the Heritage Weekend Youth Clinic, the Negro League Reception presented by Grady Hospital, pregame ceremony and the Kool & the Gang postgame concert presented by Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines on Saturday, May 3.
"Our annual Heritage Weekend is an important one for us," said John Schuerholz, Braves President. "It provides us with the continued opportunity to share with our fans and our community - young and old - the important civil and human rights work that is still being done."
The Braves and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights will partner for the Delta Air Lines Champions Luncheon brought to you by State Farm on Friday, May 2 at Turner Field's 755 Club. The luncheon will benefit the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
The Hank Aaron Champion for Justice Award ceremony will take place during the luncheon to honor the 2014 award recipients - outstanding individuals who have made a lifelong commitment to overcoming industry obstacles and inspiring future generations.
The 2014 awardees include: Joe Barry Carroll, retired NBA All Star; Jackie Joyner-Kersee, track and field Olympic legend and gold medalist; Edwin Moses, former track and field Olympic legend and gold medalist; and Reverend C.T. Vivian, civil rights legend and recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Following the ceremony, the awardees will participate in a panel discussion on the role of athletes in challenging discrimination and societal barriers. The panel will be moderated by Doug Shipman, CEO of The Center.
"The Center is very excited to continue our partnership with the Atlanta Braves to host the Champions for Justice Luncheon," said Doug Shipman. "Athletes have historically played a key role in promoting civil and human rights issues, and we hope to continue to share their stories through partnered programs and events such as this one."
Tickets for the luncheon are available by visiting www.civilandhumanrights.org/Act/EventCalendar/index.html
Before Friday night's game, all four Hank Aaron Champion of Justice Award winners will take part in a pregame on-field ceremony.
On Saturday, the Braves will host a youth clinic on the field in the morning and later that evening the Atlanta Braves will don Atlanta Black Crackers uniform while their opponents will wear the San Francisco Sea Lions uniforms to honor the Negro League.
Following the game Kool & the Gang will "celebrate" the occasion with a postgame concert presented by Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines.