MLB's Urban Youth Academy Puts Aspiring Major Leaguers in the Game

On August 9, representatives from the 37th congressional district, friends and family paid tribute to the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald at a ceremony held at Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Urban Youth Academy. The state-of-the-art facility was a triumph for Millender-McDonald, who convinced MLB executives that the Compton campus, which served her district, was the ideal place for the academy.

After Millender-McDonald died of cancer last April, MLB decided that a bronze plaque, with her likeness and a list of accomplishments, would be the best way to honor her.

“I had thought about doing this before she passed away,” said Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations. “She made this academy happen here, it was her idea, and we were just happy to fulfill it.”

The academy, whose mission is to bring baseball – and aspirations of the major leagues – to the inner city youth of Southern California, sits on 10 acres on the El Camino College Compton Center campus, with four fields, grandstand seating, a scoreboard, dugouts, and a 12,000-square-foot clubhouse that houses a weight room, locker room and training facilities. The academy offers year-round programs of free baseball and softball instruction, as well as clinics throughout the region.

“The MLB Urban Youth Academy has changed the community for the better," says Darrell Miller, executive director, MLB Urban Youth Academy, “by offering a wide variety of opportunities, from vocational education to specific tutoring and concurrent enrollment opportunities at the local community college to baseball and softball camps and clinics and instructional leagues. The academy has impacted over 2,000 youth in its first year of existence, providing them with a place to go and learn in a safe and friendly environment.”

A bronze plaque, which will be installed in the walkway to the academy’s offices, was unveiled that day with members of Millender-McDonald’s family, her colleagues and constituents in attendance. Among the local government, educational and community leaders present were U.S. Representative Grace Napolitano (D-CA, 38th District); Mayor Jim Dear of Carson; Mildred García, president of California State University, Dominguez Hills; and Janet Levine, vice president for university advancement at CSU Dominguez Hills.

“The work ethic, individual determination and hope that these kinds of opportunities have created in the students we serve is exactly what the congresswoman envisioned in bringing the academy to her district and her constituents,” says Miller. “We have helped more than 15 kids get to college via scholarships in one short year, and another 11 young men sign professional baseball contracts.

“The congresswoman’s favorite scripture passage was 1 Peter 4:10,” continues Miller, “which we had inscribed on her plaque. It speaks about using one’s gifts to serve others. The academy is the example of using America’s pastime, through the free gift of baseball and softball training, as an enticement to get youth excited about educational opportunities and to encourage them to dream about going to the highest possible level.”

For more information on the Urban Youth Academy, click here.

- Joanie Harmon

Photo above: Jimmie Lee Solomon, MLB executive vice president of baseball operations, addresses a gathering of the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald's family, friends and supporters in gratitude for her commitment to bringing the dream of playing in the major leagues to urban youth. Photo by Joanie Harmon