We continue to believe that history is important and that the lessons and values it can teach are important.

Our series of articles commemorating the 250th anniversary of our nation is part of that commitment. We have these stories of pioneers and founding fathers to be inspiring, and we hope our communities are as well.

Another example, of course, is our region’s historic ties to America’s pastime, baseball.

In Wednesday’s edition, we featured the history of Bowman Field, and reported on successful efforts by state Rep. Jamie Flick, R-South Williamsport, to recognize the Negro Leagues.

The history of the Negro Leagues is one of those archetypal stories of American history.

Parts are as ugly as the stories of men and women across continents and across time, the necessity of the leagues because of the endemic discrimination against and exclusion of people based on skin color, the harassment and viciousness people who pushed back against the ideology responsible for the discrimination faced.

But — and this is what makes this history archetypal of America’s spirit — it also is a story of confronting that hatefulness, of rising above it and of continuing to lead our communities to rise above it. It is a story about Americans proving the truth of equality and the virtue of equal opportunities — and about a better future with greater commitment to those values.

We believe that it is important for future generations to learn about — and learn from — that history. Both the challenges and divisions and how men and women came together to overcome those divisions.

We commend Rep. Flick for his work on this important acknowledgement.