(Charleston, WV - July 24, 2024)  The Charleston Dirty Birds and a planning team of high-impact community leaders will celebrate their 5th annual African American Heritage Night with a two-night celebration next Monday and Tuesday: August 5 and 6.  The Tuesday evening baseball game at GoMart Ballpark, presented by 10 in 10 CWV, Inc., will feature dance sensation Kida the Great along with several talented artists in the region.  That follows a special reception Monday evening featuring Roberto Clemente Jr., sponsored by the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, with food by Charleston’s own James Beard award-winner and nationally acclaimed Chef Paul Smith. 

“Kida the Great stands out as a remarkably talented 21-year-old American hip-hop dancer, actor, and choreographer hailing from Sacramento, California who has more than four million followers on all social media platforms, and kids and adults of all ages have a chance to see him put on a show before the Dirty Birds game next Tuesday,” said Planning Committee co-chair Shante Ellis, who has organized the entertainment lineup again this year and is the director of the YWCA Charleston’s Center for Racial Equity and Inclusion. “Gates open at 5 o’clock, and another reason to get here early is that the first 600 kids 14 and under will receive a coupon for free food, thanks to the Mayor’s Office.” 

Prior to Kida the Great’s performance, the pre-game showtime is 5:30 p.m. and includes Hip Hop artist Shelem and musical artist GARDENN.  During a ceremony on the field, Dwedee Kobbah, Miss Black West Virginia USA, will deliver a special poem for the occasion, and the Shiloh Baptist Church Children’s Choir will perform the anthems.  Black Out Athletics Cheer Team and Kida the Great will also perform during inning breaks of the game, and Step By Step West Virginia will unveil its African American Voices video interview project in which students in the after school program have interviewed several of our region’s Black leaders and difference-makers.

Tickets for the game are available through several sponsors and planning committee members who will also be at a Dirty Birds table during Multifest this coming weekend.  You can purchase discounted tickets through the Dirty Birds website, https://dirtybirdsbaseball.com/.

This is the fifth time Charleston’s professional baseball team has hosted a celebration of African American heritage in baseball and our greater community, and Monday, August 5, 2019 was the first time any sports organization in West Virginia had created such an event.

To add to this year’s celebration, the AAHN Planning Committee worked with the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau to host a two-night celebration of diversity and baseball heritage this year, starting on Monday, August 5, 2024 and featuring Roberto Clemente, Jr.  His father had a Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was a pioneer in overcoming racial barriers facing Latino players in Major League Baseball in the 1950s and 1960s.

“The Monday evening event is targeted toward adults with the chance to listen to and talk with Roberto Clemente, Jr, who is reflecting his father’s heritage of excellence and service above self,” said Committee co-chair and Charleston City Councilwoman Jennifer Pharr, who has led fund-raising and planning for AAHN since it began in 2019.  “With a special performance by Maya Belardo known as the Princess of Jazz from Wilmington , Delaware and a buffet created by Chef Paul Smith, who may be the most famous chef in Charleston history, Monday evening will be a great way to experience how this celebration of our community has grown through the years.”

The Monday evening anniversary celebration starts at 6 o’clock at the WVSSPA building on Washington Street, East with tickets available through the AAHN website: http://aaheritagenight.com/.  It is the third fund-raiser the AAHN Planning Committee has produced since last December, all of which have featured great food with African American musicians and with proceeds going toward the main celebration at the ballpark.

Another part of the fund-raising will include auctions on a few rare photos of Toni Stone, the pioneering woman from Bluefield who made history as the first woman to play professionally in regular season Negro League games more than 60 years ago.  A mural of Toni Stone is on display at GoMart Ballpark after the City of Charleston’s Public Art department launched the project during African American Heritage Night 2022.

The other new feature this year will be a baseball clinic, led by Dirty Birds manager P.J. Phillips and several players, to introduce baseball to kids within the community.  The YWCA Charleston is sponsoring the clinic and the purchase of new baseball gloves for each participant.

“Since Rev. Roberta Smith has been President of the Charleston Black Ministerial Alliance, she has urged our committee to make a stronger connection between baseball and kids in our community,” said committee co-chair Chanel Collins who does community outreach for the Partnership of African American Churches.  “With the YWCA sponsorship of the gloves and P.J. Phillips’ eagerness to lead this opportunity, we have identified 30 potential baseball players in our community for this first-ever clinic.”

“As you can see from this amazing combination of events, African American Heritage Night is about a whole lot more than just a Dirty Birds baseball game, and I love how this effort has connected our team that much more within the community over the past five years – and especially for this fifth anniversary celebration,” said Dirty Birds owner and CEO Andy Shea. “Leaders of other baseball teams have asked me about our community outreach, and I tell them that getting the right people around the table, like the AAHN Planning Committee, is a great example of how it works.”

"As we celebrate African American Heritage Night at GoMart Ballpark, we honor the rich history and invaluable contributions of African Americans in our Capital City—recognizing the strength, resilience, and achievements that have shaped our community,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “Thank you to the committee members whose hard work and vision have made the 5th annual AAHN possible and whose efforts continue to create lasting, positive change in our community."

“At the CVB, our mission is to positively impact our community while marketing Charleston as a welcoming destination,” said Tim Brady, President and CEO of the Charleston CVB.  “We’re thrilled to support this event, as it highlights the diversity of our city.  Charleston is a great place to both live and visit, in part because of these kinds of collaborations.”

“This is one of my favorite events during the season as we partner with local businesses, organizations, and officials with emphasis in celebrating our youth – our future,” added Dirty Birds General Manager Ben Blum.  “I’m thankful for our AAHN committee, their generous gifts of time and effort, and the noticeable successes in building and developing this celebration year after year.”

10 in 10 CWV, Inc, is a 501(c)3 that’s involved in making Charleston a more attractive place for people to live and is the presenting sponsor of African American Heritage Night and other fund-raisers to help the cause.  MVP sponsors of the two-day celebration include the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, YWCA Charleston’s Center for Racial Equity and Inclusion, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, and the Mayor’s Office of the City of Charleston.  All-Star sponsors include Element Federal Credit Union, Dow, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, West Side Together and Better Homes & Gardens.  Other sponsors and partners include FamilyCare, 107.3 The Beat, Partnership of African American Churches, West Virginia American Water, Unicare, and Step by Step West Virginia.