Aaron and Clinton attended a panel discussion at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio with former athletes, civil rights scholars and activists as part of baseball's Civil Rights Game weekend. Clinton also was the keynote speaker at Major League Baseball's Beacon Awards luncheon on Saturday.
Aaron, Muhammad Ali and Bill Cosby was honored at the luncheon for their contributions to civil rights. Aaron held the career home runs record until it was broken by Barry Bonds.
Aaron said progress has been made, but he'd like to see MLB do more to promote black involvement and opportunities in the game.
"That's a concern of mine; I would just like to see more American blacks play professional baseball," Aaron said. "There's something that needs to be done."
“The push for racial equality is far from over, in sports and in everyday life” former President Bill Clinton told the crowd at the Beacon Awards.
Clinton, who as president took part in MLB's ceremony retiring Jackie Robinson's No. 42 uniform number in 1997, spoke at the luncheon honoring Aaron, Ali and Cosby for the trio's contributions to civil rights and charitable works.
The former president told a crowd of about 1,400 that despite such racial progress as the election of Barack Obama as president, problems remain that disproportionately hit minorities. Clinton cited unemployment, the mortgage crisis, high cost of college, and access to health care among continuing issues.
"A lot of people might be tempted to believe that the struggle — which both produced these three giants of sports and comedy and gave them the power to help so many others — that struggle for racial equality is over," Clinton said.
"But I really came here to say if you want to honor Hank Aaron and Muhammad Ali and Bill Cosby, you must first recognize that this struggle is nowhere near over," he said.
The luncheon was among events leading to Saturday night's first regular-season Civil Rights Game, between the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds.
Richard Lapchick, director of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, took part in the panel discussion. He has been assessing MLB's progress, and his latest report found that 10.2 percent of major leaguers last year were African-American, the most since 1995.
Baseball has taken steps to reverse the decline, and events leading up to Saturday night's first regular-season Civil Rights Game in Cincinnati are intended to support that effort.
Harold Reynolds, a former All-Star player and now MLB Network analyst, said the high costs of playing on youth travel teams and going to instructional camps is a deterrent, and there is a need for more scholarships to increase the number of black collegiate players.
"Baseball should never be a game where you can't play because of finances," said Reynolds, who took part in afternoon baseball clinics and games Saturday in downtown Cincinnati in the latest in a series of MLB black community outreach efforts.
Ali, whose long battle with Parkinson's disease has limited his physical activity, remained seated as fellow former boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard presented him his award. Ali looked it over as his wife, Lonnie, spoke on his behalf.
Cosby had the crowd roaring during his acceptance speech, and urged the audience to make sure new generations know what Ali, Aaron and others had to overcome to be successful, and that there is more to be overcome.
"This is not a time to rest," Cosby said.
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