Put the Jackie Robinson Museum on your list for Open House New York Weekend! Our free Community Day will feature special interactive activities inspired by Jackie Robinson’s impact in New York City including gallery tours, games, and hands-on art making for visitors of all ages.

The Museum is open 11AM – 6PM, with special activities taking place until 3:00PM.

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What’s Happening?

Museum Tours – Explore highlights of the Jackie Robinson Museum alongside Robinson’s the deep-rooted local impact across New York City—from his playing days at Ebbets Field to his decades-long engagement in Harlem as an athlete, activist, and businessman.

Try your hand at interactive challenges like the Museum’s signature Scavenger Hunt and “42” Trivia for prizes

Jackie In My Neighborhood: Make your mark on our map of Jackie’s NYC and learn about local sites where he lived, worked, and socialized alongside sites dedicated to his legacy today

Hands-on art activities for all ages

Plan Your Visit

Groups are welcome! Tell us about your group and mention your interest in this event.

Accessibility: In addition to KultureCity® resources available at all times, we’ll have a quiet zone at this event for any guests who need a sensory break.

What is Open House New York Weekend?

Open House New York Weekend is an annual festival that unlocks 300 destinations across all five boroughs for behind-the-scenes tours and special activities. Learn more at https://ohny.org/festival.

Few athletes have lived a story as riveting—and as revealing—as Dave Winfield. Join Dave and The Rev. Mark Thompson at the Museum for an exclusive conversation on Winfield’s new memoir, Touching All the Bases. In it, the Hall of Famer pulls back the curtain on his life in the game.  With honesty and conviction, Winfield recounts the triumphs, controversies, and showdowns that shaped not only his career but also the culture and path of baseball itself.

This is not just another baseball memoir—it’s a reckoning with power, loyalty, commitment, and the costs of standing tall when others expect you to bow. Alongside the unforgettable stories of contracts, confrontations, distractions, and championships are moments of generosity, grit, and forgiveness that reveal a nuanced portrait of the man behind the No. 31 jersey.

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Tickets

• $25 for Adults
• Discounted tickets available for Seniors, Students, Visitors with Disabilities, and Museum Members

Pre-Order Your Copy of Touching All the Bases

Purchase the book with your ticket and pick up on the night of the event.

About the Speakers

Dave Winfield is a Hall-of-Fame baseball player and World Series champion. He played 22 major league seasons, 17 of them in San Diego and New York. A 12-time All-Star, he was among the first professional athletes to start a charitable foundation. The David M. Winfield Foundation, launched in 1977, provided health care, holiday meals, and educational scholarships to underprivileged families. Dave was also a key figure in the development of one of the strongest and most successful labor unions in the country and world, the Major League Baseball Players Association. A two-sport collegiate athlete, Big Ten champion, and an All-American baseball player, he is the only athlete to ever be drafted by four professional sports leagues: MLB, the NBA, the ABA, and the NFL. Following his major league career, he spent more than a decade as an executive in professional baseball and six years in media with FOX Sports and ESPN. He is an acclaimed speaker and the author of a 1988 autobiography (W.W. Norton & Company) and a 2008 book about how to revitalize baseball (Scribner). He’s been married for more than 30 years, has three children, and lives in Los Angeles.

 

The Rev. Mark Thompson is both a lifelong civil rights activist and a lifelong Yankee fan. Rev. Thompson played college baseball as a freshman walk-on at Georgetown University before he was recruited by Coach John Thompson to be student manager for the Georgetown Men’s Basketball Team. Dave Winfield was a mentor to Rev. Thompson’s son, Menra, throughout his high school and college baseball career. Both Rev. Thompson and his son, a sports journalist himself, broadcast the opening of the Jackie Robinson Museum.

Rev. Thompson is also the host of the acclaimed podcast, Make It Plain, a PhD Student in the field of Public Theology and a Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers Inductee. In 2012, he published A Psalm of Baseball, likening the 23rd Psalm to his beloved pastime.

Celebrate African American Music Month and Juneteenth with a special tribute to Jackie Robinson’s life and legacy through the lens of music. This intergenerational program offers something for all ages, from gallery tours uncovering the intersection between baseball and music history; hands-on art making; interactive workshops on musical styles from jazz to hip hop; and more!

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What’s Happening?

Museum Tours – Join us for a custom-designed tour highlighting the intersections between Jackie Robinson’s life and legacy and African American music in the 20th century.

Interactive Music Workshop – Sing, learn, move, and create in this series of interactive workshops taking a deeper look at a particular song or musical style’s intersection with Jackie Robinson’s life and legacy.

Art Making – Design your own musical instrument.

Plan Your Visit

Groups are welcome! Tell us about your group and mention your interest in this event.

Accessibility: In addition to KultureCity® resources available at all times, we’ll have a quiet zone at this event for any guests who need a sensory break.

Join us this Jackie Robinson Day as we celebrate one of baseball’s most enduring legacies. Featuring Roy Wood Jr. and Howard Bryant, the evening will offer engaging conversation and a thoughtful tribute to a remarkable life in and beyond the game.

Tickets

Member Exclusive
Free for Jackie Robinson Museum Members. Verify with your membership number, then reserve free tickets.

General Admission
$142

Event Details

6pm – Reception
7pm – Program

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About the Speakers

ROY WOOD JR. is a comedian, an Emmy-nominated documentary producer for the PBS documentary The Neutral Ground, a correspondent on Comedy Central’s Emmy-nominated The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and host of Comedy Central’s award-winning podcast, The Daily Show: Beyond the Scenes. Spring of 2023, Wood guest hosted The Daily Show and headlined the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to its highest ratings since 2017.

Wood co-starred alongside Jon Hamm in Paramount Pictures’ long-awaited Fletch remake, Confess, Fletch (2022), and has guest appearances in ‘Only Murders in the Building’, ‘Better Call Saul’, ‘The Last O.G.’ & ‘Space Force.’ As a writer and executive producer, his development deals have included a first-look deal with Comedy Central for ‘Jefferson County: Probation,’ an HBO Max project, ‘1% Happy,’ an untitled medical field comedy for NBC, and an untitled single-camera comedy about the National Guard for FOX.

Wood’s first Comedy Central one-hour stand-up special, Roy Wood Jr.: Father Figure, debuted in 2017, the same year he was named the new host of Comedy Central’s storytelling series, This is Not Happening. Debuting in 2019, his second Comedy Central special, Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You, remains the network’s highest-rated original stand-up premiere. In 2021, his third Comedy Central special, Roy Wood Jr.: Imperfect Messenger, aired hyper-recent material just two weeks after taping.

Forbes declared he is “One of comedy’s best journalists,” Entertainment Weekly has described his thought-provoking comedy as “. . . charismatic crankiness. . .” and Variety Magazine named him “One of 10 Comics to Watch in 2016.”

Wood began his comedy career in 1998 at 19 while attending Florida A&M University. In 2006, he debuted on network television on The Late Show with David Letterman. In 2008, he appeared on HBO’s historic Def Comedy Jam and was selected by America as one of the top three finalists on Last Comic Standing on NBC. He has appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyer, Conan, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He also performed on numerous USO Tours for our Troops stationed everywhere from Guam to Iraq to the Philippines.

At the height of the pandemic, Roy raised money for the displaced staff of comedy clubs through tipyourwaitstaff.com and Laugh Aid. In his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, his philanthropic endeavors include supporting Workshops, Inc., which enriches lives by helping people with disabilities and other employment barriers achieve their vocational potential. The DUBS Baseball Academy is an investment in sports to change lives. STAIR of Birmingham, where tutoring empowers students to read better and dream bigger. Also, I See Me, Inc., where the mission is to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline by increasing the literacy rates in children of color by engaging them in literature that reflects their culture and image.

 

HOWARD BRYANT is the author of eleven books, including the forthcoming Kings and Pawns (2026), Rickey (2022), Full Dissidence (2020), The Heritage (2018), and The Last Hero (2010). He has written the Legends series for young readers, Sisters and Champions, and contributed to more than 20 anthologies. In 2017, he guest-edited The Best American Sports Writing.

Bryant began his journalism career at the Oakland Tribune and later worked for the San Jose Mercury News, Washington Post, Boston Herald, and ESPN (2007–2025). He has been the sports correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday since 2006.

A three-time National Magazine Award nominee, he has received numerous honors, including two Casey Awards, the ALA Black Caucus Nonfiction Award, and NABJ’s Salute to Excellence Awards.

Bryant is also an award-winning producer, with credits including HBO’s Back on the Record with Bob Costas and Netflix’s Emmy-winning The Comeback. He has collaborated on several Ken Burns projects and appeared in a wide range of documentary films. In 2025, he founded his production company, Hawley Road LLC.

Join a curator from the Jackie Robinson Museum as we partner with Jane’s Walk NYC to explore Jackie Robinson’s Harlem! Over the course of this 90-minute, in-person walking tour, we’ll explore legendary Harlem landmarks and explore how Jackie Robinson left his mark on New York History. Baseball fans, urbanists, and civil rights scholars will all enjoy this exploration of Robinson’s remarkable legacy. Tickets are free, but space is limited!

Tour Dates

Friday, May 1, 2026 at 1:ooPM – Sign Up for Friday through the Municipal Arts Society

Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 1:00PM – Sign up for Saturday through the Municipal Arts Society

Starting Point

Meeting location: Harlem YMCA 180 W 135th St, New York, NY 10030 [Map It]

Note: This tour does not take place at the Museum or include admission to the Museum.

What to Expect

Jane’s Walk NYC is an initiative of New York’s Municipal Art Society that seeks to connect people of all backgrounds to our city’s rich urban history. From the Harlem YMCA at 180 W 135th St, New York, NY 10030, we will travel south towards 125th as we explore landmarks related to Jackie’s life in New York. This is a walking tour which will take place over mostly flat terrain. As we walk, we will stop to ask questions about the built environment and connect Jackie’s career to his fight for racial equality.

Learn more about Jane’s Walk and the Municipal Art Society.

The Museum is open to all on Wednesday, April 15 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day, the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s entry into Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

 

LA Angels Jo Adell and Brent Suter Visit Museum

The Museum hosted LA Angels players Jo Adell and Brent Suter, along with Harold Reynolds for a tour in conjunction with their Jackie Robinson Day match-up against the New York Yankees.

Jackie Robinson Day with the LA Dodgers

At Dodgers Stadium, JRF Board Member Sonya Pankey Robinson, Ayo Robinson, and over 80 members of the Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar and Alumni network were on hand for the Dodgers’ commemoration of Jackie Robinson Day.

At the Museum: Calling all Little Leaguers!

Youth baseball and softball players, families, coaches, and staff, join us for a special after-school community celebration to kick-off your spring season at the Museum. Explore the Museum with our signature scavenger hunt and try out interactive games and photo stations!

League Administrators and Coaches in Greater NYC, contact us at [email protected] to reserve a spot for your group and learn more about partnering to share this opportunity across your community! Not a “Little League” program? No problem – we would love to hear from you!

Museum Admission is free to all courtesy of Citizens Friday, February 13 through Sunday, February 15!

Stop by all weekend or join us on Saturday, February 14 for a special Community Day honoring the 80th wedding anniversary of Jackie and Rachel Robinson, an enduring partnership that shaped history on and off the baseball diamond.

Special activities offered for all ages – bring your family, friends, or special Valentine!

What’s Happening

Admission is free all weekend and we’ll have special activities on Saturday, February 14 – see what’s happening below!

For the first time, visitors will have the rare opportunity to see Rachel Robinson’s wedding dress on view in the Museum for a limited time. Enjoy an afternoon of activities designed for all ages, including Robinson’s Readers story time, hands-on art-making, interactive games, and guided museum tours that highlight the Museum’s one-of-a-kind artifacts.

Friday, February 13

• Free General Admission, 11AM – 6PM (reserve tickets for Friday)

Saturday, February 14

• Free General Admission 11AM – 6PM (reserve tickets for Saturday)
• Robinson’s Readers Story Time and Craft at 11:30AM
• Community Day Activities, 12-3PM
  • Guided Museum Tours
  • Artifact Spotlight: Rachel Robinson’s Wedding Dress, plus a behind-the-scenes look at Robinson family photo albums
  • Interactive activities and art-making
  • Games, scavenger hunts, and giveaways

Sunday, February 15

• Free General Admission 11AM – 6PM (reserve tickets for Sunday)
• Access JRM Sensory-Friendly Hours 1-3PM

Plan Your Visit

• Advance ticket reservations encouraged, but not required
• Activities for all ages
• Groups are welcome! Tell us about your group and mention your interest in visiting for this event.
• Note: Free admission does not apply to school field trips. 

Special Thanks

Presidents’ Day Community Weekend is presented with support from

Join acclaimed author Howard Bryant for a conversation about his latest book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. Joined by award-winning sports commentator and podcast host Bomani Jones, Bryant will highlight the intertwined legacies of two towering figures—Robinson, the barrier-breaking athlete, and Robeson, the artist-activist who challenged a nation—revealing how their lives reflect the possibilities and pressures of Black leadership. The program includes an audience Q&A and book signing with the author.

Tickets

• $25 for Adults
• Discounted tickets available for Seniors, Students, Visitors with Disabilities, and Museum Members
• Purchase your copy of Kings and Pawns along with your ticket and pick up at the event.

About the Speakers

Howard Bryant is the author of eleven books, including the forthcoming Kings and Pawns (2026), Rickey (2022), Full Dissidence (2020), The Heritage (2018), and The Last Hero (2010). He has written the Legends series for young readers, Sisters and Champions, and contributed to more than 20 anthologies. In 2017, he guest-edited The Best American Sports Writing.

Bryant began his journalism career at the Oakland Tribune and later worked for the San Jose Mercury News, Washington Post, Boston Herald, and ESPN (2007–2025). He has been the sports correspondent for NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday since 2006.

A three-time National Magazine Award nominee, he has received numerous honors, including two Casey Awards, the ALA Black Caucus Nonfiction Award, and NABJ’s Salute to Excellence Awards.

Bryant is also an award-winning producer, with credits including HBO’s Back on the Record with Bob Costas and Netflix’s Emmy-winning The Comeback. He has collaborated on several Ken Burns projects and appeared in a wide range of documentary films. In 2025, he founded his production company, Hawley Road LLC.

Bomani Jones is an award-winning television sports journalist turned full time podcaster. The versatile host and sports analyst anchors his popular podcast, The Right Time with Bomani Jones where he’s established a major destination for sports lovers, entertainers and other cultural icons. Jones relaunched his podcast on Wave Sports + Entertainment Network after hosting The Right Time on ESPN for 8 years. Ahead of a media revolution, Jones moved his popular sports talk radio show to an on-demand platform designed for the new age of media, the podcast in 2018. TRT now airs three times a week and has a dedicated fanbase who enjoy Bo’s unique coverage of sports and society.

Event Preview

Curated by Ayo Robinson, granddaughter of Jackie and Rachel Robinson, FULL CIRCLE is a three-day art exhibition celebrating heritage, legacy, and global connection featuring artworks by Hendrick Lilanga, Joyce Ware, and Gedion Nyanhongo. Inspired by the legacy of her grandparents and her East African heritage, Robinson curated selected works that engender a sense of strength, wisdom, and the importance of joy, understanding, and unity in the world.

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Plan Your Visit

FULL CIRCLE will be on view at the Jackie Robinson Museum Friday, May 8 through Sunday, May 10. Exhibit hours are 11AM to 6PM on Friday and Saturday and 11AM to 5PM on Sunday.

Admission to FULL CIRCLE is included with regular Museum admission.

From the Curator

Curated by Ayo Robinson, granddaughter of Jackie and Rachel Robinson, FULL CIRCLE is a celebration of heritage, legacy, positivity and global connection.

My grandparents Jackie and Rachel Robinson made their impact here in the United States, with values of Grandpa’s famous quote as a cornerstone to their legacies: “Life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” My father, their youngest son David, broadened that impact outside of the U.S. Settling in Tanzania, one of the ways he brought America and East Africa together was through art. Those choices of my grandparents and parents have shaped my life and inspired this exhibition. The combined cultures of my native U.S., and adoptive East Africa, engender a sense of strength, wisdom, and the importance of joy, understanding, and unity in my perception of the world.

FULL CIRCLE presents this journey through the art of three distinct artists: The wisdom of joy in life from Tanzanian Makonde painter Hendrick Lilanga, grandson of renowned painter George Lilanga; the awareness of the beauty all around us from the meditative close ups of African American photographer Joyce Ware; the strength and grace from the sculpture of Gedion Nyanhongo, of the Shona tribe, traditional stone carvers of Zimbabwe.

Given these indelible memories, with these artists, hosted by the organization founded by my grandmother Rachel Robinson, I could see no other concept but the FULL CIRCLE nature of life. It will be our great honor and pleasure to share the insight of our collective legacy, heritage and global connection with you through art and joy.

Featured Artists

Sculptor GEDION NYANHONGO continues the legacy of the Shona Tribe and his ancestors who built the ancient city which is now the Great Ruins of Zimbabwe. Having mastered one of the most ancient forms of art, the youngest artist in the exhibition, NYANHONGO, carves form and story from each piece of imported stone.

Painter HENDRICK LILANGA is the grandson of legendary artist GEORGE LILANGA who pioneered the style that is now a part of Tanzania’s artistic identity and inspired Western artists like Keith Haring. Continuing his grandfather’s legacy and influenced by the wood carving heritage of their Makonde tribe, LILANGA’s work explores culture, spirituality, and the essential nature of joy and fulfillment.

Photographer JOYCE WARE retired to Tanzania from a life of social activism in her native United States 32 years ago. At 85, she is the eldest artist of the show using one of the youngest forms of art, digitally enhanced photography. Her photography highlights her appreciation of the beauty in detail with the abstract passion of color.

 

Drafted into the segregated US Army during World War II, 2nd Lieutenant Jack Roosevelt Robinson—then a nationally-recognized UCLA football star—took aim at racial discrimination in Army policies, programs, and facilities. Join our distinguished panelists to explore the significance of this chapter of Robinson’s patriotism and activism in the context of Black American military service during World War II and the contemporary experience of Black service members and veterans. Though African Americans have served in the US military throughout its history, today African American service members continue to face racial discrimination, including statistically higher rates of court-martials, demonstrating that the need for advocacy for justice is as relevant as ever.

Featured photo by Max Guliani

Event Details

4:30-6:00PM – Museum Open to Ticketholders for Self-guided Exploration

6:00-7:30PM – Panel Discussion

7:30-8:00PM – Reception

Tickets

• $25 for Adults
• Discounted tickets available for Seniors, Students, Visitors with Disabilities, and Museum Members
• Free for Veterans and federal employees

Groups welcome; contact us at [email protected] for group reservations.

Featured Speakers

Richard Brookshire
Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Black Veterans Project

Richard Brookshire is a multi-hyphenate storyteller, nationally recognized narrative strategist and public speaker. The CEO and co-founder of the Black Veterans Project, his work is advancing reforms to address racial inequities in access to veterans benefits and the case for reparations.

A contributor to TheGrio, The Root and AfroPunk, Richard’s work has been noted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, PBS Newshour, NBC News and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Recognized as ‘One to Watch’ by The Haitian Roundtable in 2017 and named one of Native Son’s 101 ‘Black Gay Men Who Make An Impact’ in 2020, he is the recipient of the 2022 Veterans Justice Award by Senator Richard Blumenthal and the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center.

A former infantry combat medic and U.S. Army veteran of the War in Afghanistan, he holds an MPA in Urban & Social Policy from Columbia University, graduated magna cum laude from Fordham University with a BA in political science and completed the New York Film Academy’s Documentary Filmmaking Conservatory in 2020.

Viviana DeCohen
Commissioner, New York State Department of Veterans’ Services

Reverend Viviana M. DeCohen, a proud United States Marine Corps Veteran, is Commissioner of the New York State Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS), which connects over 630,000 Veterans with the benefits, services, and support they have earned. Under Commissioner DeCohen’s leadership, DVS launched innovative outreach programs such as “Operation Find and Serve,” which connects with Veterans in the places and spaces where they live, work, and play; the adoption of 15 Veterans Welcome Center Digital Kiosks across New York State, which were recognized with the prestigious Abraham Lincoln Pillars of Excellence Award from the Federal VA; and “Operation Baby,” which provides essential resources to those in need, maintaining a dignified, non-social service approach to assisting Veterans and their loved ones.

Before her appointment as Commissioner, DeCohen served as Director of the Mount Vernon Veterans Service Agency, where she founded the inaugural Veterans’ Closet, known as Kristyn’s Closet. This beloved community initiative garnered significant statewide media attention, serving over 3,000 Veterans within ten months, and was prominently featured in Westchester Magazine. Commissioner DeCohen has dedicated her time, talent, and spirit to ensuring that Veterans have reliable access to food, shelter, clothing, education, employment, and motivation. This commitment, compassion, and empathy earned her the affectionate title of “Mama V.”

She is a member of the Women Marines Association, American Legion Post 1038, National Association of Veteran Program Administrators (NAVPA), Student Veterans of America, and a Military Advisor to the Barbara Giordano Foundation and in 2021 was named a Women Veteran Trailblazer honoree by the Center for Women Veterans. Commissioner DeCohen earned her bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Science and a master’s degree in Health Service Management, both from Mercy College, where she established two inaugural Veterans Centers on the Bronx and Dobbs Ferry campuses while working as a Veterans Academic Advisor. Commissioner DeCohen is pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Gerontology at Concordia University, Chicago.

Jeffrey T. Sammons
Professor Emeritus, Department of History, New York University

Jeffrey T. Sammons is professor emeritus of history at New York University. His first book is Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society. He is coauthor, with John H. Morrow, Jr., of Harlem’s Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality and recently contributed “‘Fight for the Things for Which We Die’: African Americans and the Great War” to Imagined Fronts: The Great War and Global Media. He was a history adviser to the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission and a founding member of its Valor Medal Review Task Force. He also has served on the Medal of Honor Museum’s Scholar Advisory Panel. Sammons is currently a historical consultant to the Memorial Groves Project at Memorial Park Houston–the site of Camp Logan a WWI training facility most well-known for the armed resistance by some members of the 24th Regiment on August 23, 1917, and the tragic events during and after that fateful night. Sammons is the author of a forthcoming essay “Louis Rafael Corbin of Bermuda: Golf Rebel in the African Diaspora” in Oxford Intersections: Racism by Context. He was a recipient of NEH and Schomburg Center research fellowships.

Moderated by Bradford William Davis, Reporter and Cultural Critic

Bradford William Davis is an award-winning reporter and cultural critic focusing on how sports manifest, reinforce, and disrupt societal trends. As a McClatchy columnist and member of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial board, Davis covers politics and culture with a distinctive emphasis on accountability.

Sponsors

Black Veterans for Social Justice