Just as the rise of the Negro Leagues had spawned culture and commerce in the Negro community, their fall killed off cultural institutions and traditions. Street’s Hotel in Kansas City, the center of the Monarchs’ world, closed down. So did the Vincennes in Chicago. Churches no longer had to worry about letting out in time for the Sunday ball game, and congregants had one less occasion to don mink stoles or straw hats. Rather than attending a contest in the neighborhood, fans watched on television, cheering for faraway teams without the company of friends or neighbors. The gladful community of
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