Rochester House of Refuge

In 1875 the Civil War was still playing out in an enormous orphanage and reformatory in Rochester, New York.  The House of Refuge was home to thousands of boys left homeless by war and social neglect.  Here we see a base ball game in progress within the walls of the institution, with a large crowd of boys in attendance.  A team of African-American boys, wearing the dark hats, is playing a segregated team of Euro-American boys, wearing jockey style hats.  The black youths are at bat; a pitch is about to be delivered.  The African-American team waits on the sidelines for its turn at bat, while another complete team of white boys waits in the foreground for their chance to play.  Segregation and integration are both at work in this amazing piece of Americana, where life in the northern US was still in the iron grip of racist discrimination.