The AAMI is excited to partner with Hidden Heritage’s Reginald Green to uncover the history of the Algona Brownies, one of Iowa’s most successful Negro League baseball teams. Join us at Whipple Auditorium at the downtown Cedar Rapids library for a 30-minute documentary film screening, followed by a discussion about the impact of the Brownies on baseball and race in Iowa.

“They Were Champions All” shares the story of the Brownies, a distinctive baseball team of superior players of color formed in 1901 by local white businessmen in Algona, Iowa. The film explores the ramifications of a winning Black team existing in a small white town during an era of legalized racial oppression and violence. The documentary recounts the history of and the championships won by the team, as white owners built a prosperous baseball organization with the community’s support. However, the story of the Brownies goes beyond the game of baseball. It serves as a parable of what can be accomplished when talented people from diverse cultures join together and spotlights the triumphs and shortcomings of sport amidst the role of race in society.