‘People & Police’ softball game set
“So my biggest thing is ... the children need to see the police as more than officers; they need to see them as people, and vice versa.” — Shaykh Anwar Muhammad, NAACP Ambler branch president
HATFIELD >> Play ball: Kids and cops will take the field Saturday afternoon for The People & Police Community Softball Game at Plains Park in Hatfield.
The inaugural game, sponsored by The Black Reserve Bookstore, is scheduled to take place from noon-2 p.m. at the park’s softball field, located at 50 W. Orvilla Road, behind Plains Mennonite Church, according to an event flyer.
Attendance is free, and food and drink will be provided. Those planning on attending should bring their own chairs as seating is limited, according to Shaykh Anwar Muhammad, president of the NAACP’s Ambler branch and owner of the Lansdale based book store.
Attendees are expected to be treated to a sunny sky with a high of 89 degrees for Saturday’s softball game, according to a forecast report from The Weather Channel.
The starting lineup will have a mixture of students from Penndale, Pennfield and Pennbrook middle schools, and officers from the area’s six police departments, as Muhammad stressed the importance of “unity” during the “community event.”
“We have to get away from that ‘us versus them’ mindset,” he said. “So the teams will be mixed so they have to work together.”
The agencies hail from Hatfield, Montgomery, Towamencin and Upper Gwynedd townships, as well as Lansdale and North Wales boroughs, according to Muhuammad.
“The children need to see the police as more than officers; they need to see them as people, and vice versa,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad initially thought of the idea to hold a community softball game last year because of “what was happening across the country and the killing of George Floyd.”
However, he was unable to do so amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Muhammad said he hopes Saturday’s event will be “fun,” “joyous” and “family oriented.”
While this initial matchup has students and police officers from within the North Penn School District, Muhammad said he’d like to do the same in neighboring Upper Dublin and Wissahickon school districts.
“This is just the first of many, and this is something I hope grabs hold and something that should be done annually,” he said. “I’m looking forward to this being a really big beautiful event for years to come.”
For more information about this weekend’s event, visit “The Ambler Branch of the NAACP serving NPSD, UDSD, and WSD” page on Facebook.