The Price of Admission: Black Baseball in Rhode Island

FILM SYNOPSIS

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Black Baseball in Rhode Island:1900-1932 is Francis “Fran” Leazes Jr.’s latest documentary. The film tells a story about baseball, power, money and the black community from the early 1900s through The Jazz Age and the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is an epic tale about two nearly forgotten men, Arthur James “Daddy” Black and Daniel “Big Dan” Whitehead, who made sports history in Rhode Island and broke barriers in doing so. This film brings their story into the light, showcasing an aspect of black community life in Rhode Island that has waited until now to be told in film. Elmcrest Films, LLC’s latest production premiered at Rhode Island Black Storytellers’ FUNDA FEST in January 2024. The film was a Rhode Island Black Film Festival Official Selection and was screened in April 2024, followed by a panel discussion featuring the Director Fran Leazes, Jr. and Executive Producer Robert Cvornyek. Narrator Val Tutson and voice actor Rochelle G. Coleman III were part of a lively discussion about the film as they fielded questions from an audience made up of Black Baseball and City of Providence enthusiasts. Recently this film was an Official Selection for the Massachusetts International Film Festival.

Cast, Crew, and More

Price of Admissions: Black Baseball in Rhode Island:1900-1933

Smiling man in a suit, dark background.

Executive Producer Robert Cvornyek

Executive Producer Robert Cvornyek

Robert Cvornyek is a Professor Emeritus of History at Rhode Island College and is the co-author author with Doug Starks of Black Grays and Colored Giants: A Comprehensive Guide to Black Baseball in Rhode Island, 1870–1949. Currently, Dr. Cvornyek, is a teaching professor at Florida State University, Panama City. He recently co-edited two new books examining how Black athletes in Boston, Mass., contributed to social movements including integration and cultural expression. Professor Cvornyek, also served as a consultant and museum director at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.

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Humanities Commentary Leslie Grinner

Leslie Grinner has been an Adjunct Professor in Gender & Women’s Studies and Africana Studies at Rhode Island College and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Cultural Studies at Roger Williams University. Her interests include Black popular culture, issues of privilege and power, and decoding representations of people from marginalized communities. Her involvement with this Project was borne out of a deep love for buried history, especially as it relates to the topics of Blackness and baseball.

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Man with long hair looking sideways.

Actor Rochelle Garner Coleman, III

Rochelle Garner Coleman, III is an actor, singer, storyteller, has been performing since he was 9 years old. He travels nationally and internationally sharing stories of Black historical baseball legends such as Nat Love and Cool Papa Bell in shows developed using the research to performance method that dramatizes the lives of those two fascinating historical characters in his one-man shows. Singing professionally since the age of nine, Rochelle had early career success performing as a choir soloist with the Boston Symphony, Pablo Casals, and the King’s College Choir. After touring for two years with Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass”—where he got the acting bug—and later with Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” he found his way to the Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island where he continued to study theater and develop a research-to-performance technique. Coleman’s “Shadow Ball” was the first piece selected for commissioning by the Los Angeles Music Center. Rochelle continues to expand his achievements through performing, writing, and directing at schools and theaters throughout the United States and Europe.

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Narrator Valerie Tutson

Valerie Tutson has told stories in schools, churches, libraries, festivals and conferences since 1991. She draws her stories from around the world, with an emphasis on African traditions. Her repertoire includes stories and songs she learned in her travels to South Africa, her experiences in West Africa, stories from African American history. In addition, she is gaining quite a reputation for her exciting retelling of age-old Bible stories. Valerie is a graduate of Brown University with a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts and a degree in Storytelling.

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Man sitting, surrounded by African art pieces.

Actor Yakim Parker

Yakim Parker is the founder and creator of Beyond Eons Production, LLC, which is a multimedia company that has produced the YouTube and Spotify programs “The Other Side of Things”, “It’s Half Time” (a fantasy football report), and “Hey Nikki”. As principal of Beyond Eons Production, Mr. Parker plays an integral role in the creative direction and technical production of each project as director, editor, and camera operator. Yakim has built a robust career in design and audio engineering collaborating with Mixed Magic Theatre, Rhode Island Latino Association, Rhode Island Black Storytellers and Brown University /Trinity Repertory Theater MFA program. Yakim produces tracks for recording artists and soundscape for television and music that resonates with audiences. His work spans a variety of mediums, from live performances and studio productions, to voiceover work contributing to projects like “The History of Shadows” by James Laberge. Parker is passionate about music, producing tracks for recording artists and crafting the soundscape for his network shows. Parker is committed to expanding Beyond Eons Production, to continually push the boundaries of media and entertainment.

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Music Hugh Holmes aka “Professor Harp”

Hugh Holmes of Boston, Mass, aka “Professor Harp” was a rock ‘n’ roll drummer until 1969, influenced by blues' harmonica great George Allen ‘Harmonica’ Smith, lured him away from drums and into playing the blues harp. Professor Harp plays Texas style blues, specialized in what he calls, ‘roots music’. Professor Harp has performed with multiple bands at blues clubs throughout the Northeast. Professor Harp has played the blues. Legends Solomon Burke and Luther ‘Guitar Jr.’ “Professor Harp” appeared in a live performance on NBC’s “The Today Show” . The Professor states that the highlight of his career was a spontaneous jam with his mentor and friend, bluesman Muddy Waters.

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The Providence Colored Giants Were Part of a Sports Empire That Lottery King, “daddy” Black, Created in Providence

Two historical black and white portrait photographs.

The “Giants” nickname has been synonymous with sports teams for over 100 years. It was the most common nickname for all-black baseball teams before baseball was integrated. In our capital city of Providence, it was no exception. The Providence Colored Giants replaced the Providence Black Stockings by 1906 and experienced a nearly uninterrupted run into the 1930s. Over this span, several exciting athletes played under the Giants name and acted as pioneers in the struggle to desegregate the game. ​

Baseball glove and ball on sandy ground.

The popularity of professional black baseball teams and leagues, including Andrew “Rube” Foster’s National Negro League during the 1920s, was part of the national “Golden Age” of baseball and the Jazz Age. The Great Depression nearly wiped out black professional baseball as cash became scarce.

Vintage baseball game advertisement, July 22.

A Ticket from a Providence Giants game. The Providence Colored Giants were part of a sports empire that Lottery King, “Daddy” Black, created in Providence.

Vintage baseball team posing with equipment.

The Providence Colored Giants played at Kinsley Park located on the corner of Kinsley Avenue and Acorn Street in Providence.