Kevin Cooper’s column expressing dismay that Natchez has virtually segregated youth baseball leagues called attention to an anachronism that should be ended.

As one who grew up in Mississippi but lived outside the South for more than three decades before moving here in 2005, I obviously (and thankfully) see many, many differences from the bad old days of the ’50s and ’60s. But in some areas, change has not kept pace with the times, and the baseball leagues are one example.

The fact that having three private schools renders Adams County’s educational system essentially segregated is an even bigger issue but a much harder one to address and a topic for another day. The merger of the baseball leagues, on the other hand, is something that could, and should, be accomplished relatively easily by people of good faith working together. After all, it’s baseball — the American game. It should be a point of unity not division.

None of this is said to detract from the contributions of the volunteers who run the T.M. Jennings and Natchez Dixie Youth baseball leagues. I appreciate what they do. Without knowing, my guess is it’s simply a matter of no one having seriously taken leadership on this issue.

Now would seem to be an excellent time for leadership on the issue to emerge. We’re still in the wake of Greg Iles’ rightly praised speech on local leadership. Perhaps it’s time for us to declare an end to the period in which we applauded Iles for calling out our government leaders and focus on the fact he actually spoke about leadership in a far broader sense.

He was addressing all of us who have the potential to lead in different areas and every one of us who has a stake in this community.

Regardless of whether we get a new recreation complex — which I hope we do — it doesn’t seem like rocket science to figure out how to merge the youth baseball leagues. But it does seem like a very good way to further open up the community for the equal benefit of all.

Bill Furlow

Natchez