SALEM, Va. – It was a packed house for Black Heritage Night tailgate outside the Salem Memorial Ballpark. The Salem Red Sox and the Humble Hustle partnered for the event.
The family fun event featured outdoor games, drinks and some good food from local eateries.
“Our core pillars are exposure, education and empowerment, and I feel like that we’ve brought adults and community members over here that have maybe never been here before, speaks to exposure,” said Humble Hustle Company founder Xavier Duckett. “Like, wow I can actually come over here, see this and do this and be close to this and it’s in my backyard.”
The Salem Red Sox organization told 10 Sports the need to collaborate was pivotal.
“These are the important nights. Representation matters for us,” said Salem Red Sox Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Steven Elovich. “We want to make sure people feel welcomed at the ballpark. Unfortunately the sad reality is some people don’t. So having nights like this makes sure they know one night of the year they can come here and it goes back to coming out and having a good time and them seeing the ballpark and the Red Sox welcome me and they find something they like.”
The goal is to continue this event in addition to many others the Red Sox bring to the ballpark each homestead.