Civil Rights Game Headed to Atlanta

The Atlanta Braves will host Major League Baseball’s Civil Rights Games in 2011-12, team president John Schuerholz announced Wednesday at the King Center.

No dates or opponents have been set for the games, which will be played during the next two regular seasons. The 2009-10 games were held in Cincinnati.

Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB’s executive vice president for baseball development, called Atlanta, the home of slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., an easy choice as the host city.

Though it has yet to announce an agenda for the Atlanta event, MLB hopes to create greater presence for baseball in the black community. MLB released a report last month stating that black players accounted for just 9 percent of major league rosters in 2009.

Latino players accounted for 27 percent and Asian players 2.3 percent.

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