Padres team up with Negro Leagues Baseball Museum for exhibit at Central Library

Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is teaming up with the Padres to bring a traveling exhibit to the San Diego Central Library.

“Barrier Breakers,” opening Tuesday, highlights all the players, from Jackie Robinson to Elijah “Pumpsie” Green, who broke through racial barriers as they integrated Major League Baseball.

The opening coincides with Jackie Robinson Day, honoring the late pioneer on the anniversary of the day when he first played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The day will be celebrated at Petco Park as part of the 6:40 p.m. game against the Cubs and at stadiums across the nation, where all players are asked to wear his No. 42.

The Padres also will host a “Breaking Barriers” Forum Tuesday.

Open to the public for free during library hours, the exhibit will be set up at the Helen Price Reading Room next to the Sullivan Baseball Research Center through May 31.

The traveling exhibition is supplemented by a virtual version that is available through NLBM’s website.

The San Diego Unified School District and the Masons of California are also partners on the exhibit.