Mo’ne Davis to take in Selma history on civil rights tour
Published 10:51 pm Wednesday, June 24, 2015
As a female that showed she could hold her own against boys in the 2014 Little League World Series, Mo’ne Davis has already made history. Now she’s spending her summer and celebrating her birthday by taking in history.
Davis and her teammates from the Anderson Monarchs — who are all boys — are in the midst of a civil rights tour that will take them from Philadelphia to sites all around the United States. The team is expected to stop in Selma Friday to see the Edmund Pettus Bridge and National Voting Rights Museum.
According to the Anderson Monarchs official website, the stop in Selma will be on day 10 of the team’s civil rights barnstorming tour.
“This summer, as a tribute to Jackie Robinson, the Negro Leagues, and the Civil Rights Movement, our 13 year-old Anderson Monarchs will board an authentic 1947 Flexible Clipper touring bus, and embark on a 23-day, 21-city journey – barnstorming their way across America — down through the Deep South, up through the Mid-West, and back east to New York City and, ultimately, back home to Philadelphia — over 4,000 miles in all,” the site reads.
Venecia Eaton, youth senior coordinator for the city of Selma, said the team is expected to stop in Selma around 10 a.m. Friday.
“They are going to greet the mayor and myself at city hall,” Eaton said. “I might give them a tour of downtown and tell them to go to the bridge.”
Eaton said the team will visit the bridge and take pictures before returning to the Carl C. Morgan Convention Center for lunch.
Davis emerged as a prodigy during the 2014 Little League World Series. Playing for the Taney Dragons, she was the first girl in history to win a game at the LLWS, according to the ESPN Stats and Information department. In one of her games on the mound, she threw eight strikeouts and pitched a complete game in a 4-0 win over Nashville.
“She changes the whole aspect of baseball around the world,” Eaton said. “Letting young ladies know baseball is not just a guy sport.”
Davis was featured on the cover of the August 25, 2014, edition of Sports Illustrated and threw out the first pitch before game four of the World Series last season.