Whittier College's Institute of Baseball Studies provides ethnic studies course on baseball culture

WHITTIER, Calif. (KABC) -- California High Schools and all 23 of the Cal State Universities require ethnic studies courses to graduate. There are many options to satisfy that requirement, but a resource available at Whittier College brings a course to life: The Institute for Baseball Studies.

Tucked away on the third floor of the Medenhall Building, the volunteer-run library operates with an important mission.

"We came up with the idea of being able to support the study of American Culture through the lens of baseball," explains the Joe Price, the institute's director.

The Institute for Baseball Studies, which was founded in 2015, began as a partnership with the Baseball Reliquary, which had been a traveling museum showcasing marginalized groups in baseball, and American history.

"Tolerance was not an early part of this game. It was not an early part of our culture, so cultural studies through the lens of something like baseball and ethnic studies through the lens of baseball starts to make it feel so much more real," says Dr. Kristine Dillon, president of Whittier College.

The grand opening featured about 1,200 separate books, but as its reputation grew, so too did donations to the institute, which now includes 500 artifacts from Negro Leagues players, a collection of virtually everything produced by the Dodgers since their move to Los Angeles and now over 3,000 books, one written by the first woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame for her work with the Negro Leagues, Effa Manley.

"And it's a very rare book," says Price.

The institute is open to the public by appointment and is used frequently by various classes at Whittier College, where students will now see baseball as more than an American pastime - it reflects life in America.

"Jackie Robinson preceded Brown vs. Board of Education by a half a decade," Price points out.

Dr. Dillon adds, "How many small colleges have something of this importance that we only came to realize its importance thanks to their efforts and their ability to bring some visibility."

"That is a tortured history, but it is also simultaneously a joyful history because it provided hope for those young boys to aspire to play professionally," explains Price.

It is a resource center, a library, an art gallery, and also a way to bring research to life.