Animated 'Undeniable' series honors Negro Leagues history

Major League Baseball launched the first installment of a three-part series titled "Undeniable -- Stories from the Negro Leagues" on Wednesday.

"Undeniable," MLB’s first animated series, tells unique short stories -- narrated by Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick -- from the historic era of the Negro Leagues. The MLB Original Series is just one of several initiatives by Major League Baseball to celebrate Black History Month.

The series will be featured on YouTube Kids and MLB’s Official YouTube page. It will also be available at MLB.com/originals and the MLB app.

The first part of the series, released on National Girls and Women in Sports Day, is fittingly titled "Women of the Negro Leagues." It highlights the legendary careers of three women -- Toni Stone, Connie Morgan and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson -- who played professional baseball.

• Negro Leagues profiles: Mamie Johnson | Toni Stone

“Undeniable” is a collaborative project between Major League Baseball, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the Black-owned creative entities Invisible Collective and Martian Blueberry, creatively spearheaded by Invisible’s founder and baseball fanatic Justin Polk. He and co-director Carl Jones (“The Boondocks,” “Black Dynamite”) shine a light on the Negro Leagues’ impact on the game, including its most legendary players, its historic female ballplayers, and the Negro Leagues’ influence internationally.

The three episodes -- all approximately five minutes in length -- will debut as follows.

• Feb. 1 (National Girls & Women in Sports Day) -- Women of the Negro Leagues
• Feb. 8 -- International Impact
• Feb. 15 -- Jackie Robinson & Monte Irvin

Students at Southern University were treated to a special early screening of the series on Tuesday. MLB will host a second screening at Bowie State University -- another Historically Black College and University (HBCU) -- on Feb. 23.

Along with the screenings, representatives from MLB, as well as the two Black-owned production companies that helped in the making of "Undeniable" -- Invisible Collective and Martian Blueberry -- will hold chats with students to discuss how the project came to life and the different phases of animation and production. Students will also have the chance to participate in a Q&A session about the project and learn about career opportunities at the Commissioner’s Office and around Major League Baseball.