When Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins was in elementary school, he came home to ask his parents a question: Why had another boy at recess told him to go back to the cotton fields?

Fellow Georgia native and Orioles outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. grew up in an area where Confederate flags were prevalent. Once, he says, he was walking through his neighborhood when he saw a noose hanging from a tree.

After Jackie Robinson’s historic — and painful — integration of Major League Baseball in 1947, the league and its players have rarely spoken openly about race and equality, according to at least one expert. Yet, the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police and the resulting national reckoning on race reverberated across professional sports — and continues to reverberate within the Orioles.

Mullins, Smith and some of their teammates comprise a contingent of Orioles supporting the Black Lives Matter movement through the Major League Baseball Players Association’s Players Alliance, a group of more than 100 Black current and former MLB players. On Sunday, the team will wear patches commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues as part of a leaguewide day of recognition that, locally, will also highlight Black and minority-run baseball from around the Baltimore area.

“Growing up and seeing the things I’ve seen and things I’ve dealt with personally in the past, I kind of just held my tongue, just kind of ignored it and just keep going on about my business,” Smith said. “It was the right time for me to speak up and talk about these issues that we’ve been having in this country for so long. There’s no other way to really put it.”

Said Mullins: “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to speak on, but it can be a tough subject matter, and it does make people uncomfortable. But that’s how we grow as people, and even as baseball players: We go through things that make us uncomfortable.”

It was September 2017 when then-Orioles center fielder Adam Jones spoke to the media at Boston’s Fenway Park about demonstrations such as NFL star Colin Kaepernick’s protest of police brutality during the national anthem. That wouldn’t happen in baseball, he said — “a white man’s sport.”

But nearly three years later, on this season’s Opening Day and in that same ballpark, the Orioles players and coaches wore Black Lives Matter T-shirts during warmups, knelt in a moment of reflection and stood with arms locked as a show of unity during the national anthem.

The team talked about racial equality and social justice the entire week leading up to the season’s first pitch, according to Smith and manager Brandon Hyde.

“I’m supporting our players and their rights to individually express themselves in a peaceful way,” Hyde said at the time. “That’s the culture we’re trying to build here, and that has happened the last few months. It’s been unbelievable.”

For Mullins and Smith, the on-field demonstration was a lifetime in the making.

“It was a very proud moment,” Mullins said.

‘This is the world

we’re in right now’

Smith used the time off during the coronavirus shutdown to start learning more about racial injustice and police brutality.

Every day, he said, he learned of a new instance that emboldened him to speak on on issues like police brutality.

“Seeing what George Floyd was going through, I feel like social media played a big part in that too,” Smith said. “Now, there’s more video proof of stuff. … I’ve seen so many videos in the past couple of months than I have in my entire life. I was alarmed. Like, ‘Wow, this is insane. This is the world we’re in right now.’?”

Shortstop Richie Martin, who is Black, said he’s generally quiet and a private person, but racial justice was always something he’s wanted to speak out on.

“This has always been important in my heart. I’ve always wanted everyone to be treated equally,” Martin said. “I usually don’t speak up on things, but this is a good time to start, especially on an issue as important as this: social justice, countrywide, and worldwide.”

In June, MLB officials and club owners announced a donation of more than $1 million to organizations fighting for racial justice, including the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Before the start of the season, the Orioles “committed to advocate for the change our country needs today and to root out racism and prejudice of any kind” in a team statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

Mullins credited The Players Alliance, which aims to support growth in the game in Black communities at all levels, as an avenue through which players can find their voice.

The organization lists Smith, Mullins, Martin, reliever Dillon Tate and minor league outfielder Mason Williams among its members. Jones, who is now playing in Japan, and Baltimore native Troy Stokes Jr. (Calvert Hall) of the Detroit Tigers are also listed on the roster.

The nonprofit, whichcalculatesthat Black players represent “less than 8% of professional baseball players, which is quickly declining,” has a player-led mentorship program, plus scholarships, internships, and a paid student employment initiative. It also is working on distributing “gently” used baseball equipment to Black communities across the country.

The Players Alliance also produced the pregame video supporting Black Lives Matter that premiered on Opening Day, featuring some of the game’s biggest stars.

“We see kids all the time that have great talent but just might not have the resources to further develop themselves,” Mullins said. “That’s partly what The Players Alliance is all about, being able to bring those opportunities to them so that their talents just don’t go by the wayside and aren’t recognized.

“When Adam made those statements [about baseball being a white man’s game], we were behind him, because the game is predominantly white. And just to be able to create a world that’s diverse but also understand each other is what we’re shooting for.”

Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, visited the Orioles’ major league and minor league clubhouses during spring training for a presentation on a history of those Black-only leagues.

He also gave a personal tour to Martin last summer as the young Orioles shortstop visited the museum to learn about his grandfather, Walter “Bancy” Thomas, who played two separate stints in the Negro Leagues and played with Jackie Robinson on the Kansas City Monarchs in 1945.

“Who knew that the social justice aspect of this story and the civil rights aspect of this story, which is certainly so prevalent, who knew that it would really be drawn upon in such a prevalent way just a few months later?” Kendrick said.

Kendrick had to reach back to Robinson integrating baseball in 1947, and Robinson’s social activism that followed, for the last instance baseball players spoke so openly about race and equality.

Shortly after Floyd’s death, Kendrick hosted a roundtable on MLB Network Radio with six Black players, including Smith and Givens, to discuss race in baseball.

“To hear those young African American baseball players articulate their feelings, the desire and willingness to use their platform and their voices to advocate for what is right — and that is justice for all of our citizens — it was refreshing,” Kendrick said.

“I think it’s, in many ways, even more meaningful than the players who are speaking up in the other two major sports. When you look at the NBA, it is predominantly Black. When you look at the NFL, it is predominantly Black. When you walk into a major league clubhouse, they are one of just a handful in any scenario. You knew that there’s a level, probably, of discomfort not knowing how your teammates are going to respond.”

When it comes to racism in the game, the Orioles players said their clubhouse and the organization is an open and accepting one. Smith said he dealt with instances of racism both in high school and in the minors.

“I kind of just ignored it,” Smith said. “It still would make me mad to a degree, but I felt like if I were to act out, I would look like I was in the wrong and I didn’t want that.”

‘We’re on the right path toward equality’

Mullins’ parents tried to shelter him from the realities of racism and injustice as he grew up. It was only when he came home and spoke of incidents like the one at recess and saw his parents’ reaction that he realized the severity of such words.

“In elementary school, that’s just not something that typically comes to someone’s mind unless they’re taught,” Mullins said. “That’s how that resonates, and for me to have to go through that at such a young age and have to ask my parents those kinds of questions, it’s something that, pressing forward, that when I come around to having kids of my own, I wouldn’t want to have these conversations.”

Smith, too, thinks about moments in his life, but with an eye to future generations. He thinks of times he’s met an establishment’s dress code and wasn’t allowed in anyway.

“I really want to change that for the community, the younger community, coming forth, and us speaking on these issues and not just speaking about it but actually doing something about it in your local community is going to be huge from this point, moving forward,” Smith said.

The players know addressing racial equality and social injustice isn’t easy. They also know it’s not about themselves, and that they aren’t alone. Having each other and organizations such as The Players Alliance to work with and seeing progress can be inspiring.

“Honestly, it’s a lot of different emotions,” Martin said. “Initially, it’s sad. But at the same time, it’s uplifting to see the reactions and just everyone across the country pretty much coming together and battling against racial injustice, which is the sole priority — standing against racial injustice. It seems like … we’re on the right path toward equality.”