Part of this week’s celebration of Black baseball in Birmingham centers around the legacy of Willie Mays.

While he’s not currently planning to attend the event at this time, his son, Michael Mays, is in town and we had a conversation on Monday night at Carver Theatre. The occasion was a screening of the excellent documentary, “Say Hey, Willie Mays!” Directed by Nelson George, the film is about the career and life of Mays and how he has influenced American culture.

His son is here to deliver a strong message on behalf of his family regarding this week’s events at Rickwood, and the city of Birmingham.

“This cannot be a one-off,” Michael Mays said, “Let it be known, as far as the Mayses are concerned, this cannot be a one-off.”

It doesn’t get any clearer or more powerful than that.

The dream for Rickwood Field and Birmingham is that MLB returns every season to celebrate the Negro Leagues. From everything I’m hearing, Major League Baseball is hoping to create a lasting footprint in the city. I don’t know if that definitively means more games in the future, but MLB has done an outstanding job organizing its tribute to the Negro Leagues, Rickwood Field and Birmingham.

Mays expressed his thoughts to me in a one-on-one interview, but he then repeated it for everyone inside Carver Theatre during a Q&A session about Nelson’s documentary. Both Nelson and Mays spoke about Birmingham, the week’s events and the legacy of Willie Mays.

“This is just the beginning,” Mays said. “This is not something that is just a party, and I think you’ll see, MLB has taken a lot of time and effort with everyone here to make sure [Birmingham is] represented.

“This isn’t a game for the who’s who. This is a game for who’s vocal and who did something about it. You’re going to see a lot of kid organizations. You’re going to see Boys and Girls clubs, you’re going to see local schools, local teams, the people — that’s who this is for and that’s who this is about.

“And I for one will be doing all I can do to make sure this is the first of many.”

The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals play on Thursday, but the week is full of events centered around Juneteenth and MLB at Rickwood: A tribute to the Negro Leagues. The Birmingham Barons host the Montgomery Biscuits at Rickwood on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a celebrity softball is scheduled featuring a long list of major stars.

These are exciting times for the city, and time for Birmingham to show the world what a gem the city is and can be.

“To me, this is the biggest thing that’s going to happen in baseball,” Michael Mays said. “This is going to be a celebration.”

On Wednesday, an enormous mural honoring Willie Mays will be dedicated by city leaders. The artwork is located at 18th Street North and First Avenue North. Major League Baseball has invited former Negro Leaguers to the game on Thursday, and Birmingham’s own Rev. Bill Greason will be in attendance. Greason, who is 99 years old, played for Cardinals after his career with the Black Barons. He has been a pastor for 52 years, but he will transform into a baseball once again after this week is over.

Greason will also throw the first pitch at Thursday’s game between the Cardinals and Giants.

“I think the most exciting thing for me is that we’re discussing baseball again in the Black community,” said George, the film director, “because, let’s be frank, baseball has fallen out. The generation of Hank Aaron and Willie Mays and Bob Gibson, these were all stars in equivalent to LeBron or to an NFL player. So, to see baseball being part of the discussion, and its connection to the culture, is super important.

“And as a baseball fan, I want to see more Black players. I want to see more Black stars. And the only way for that to happen is to make baseball present again. It has to be part of the discussion, and young people have to be aware that there is something fun in this.”

Willie Mays made baseball fun. Willie Mays was joy personified. He brought an energy and spirit to the game that helped transform the culture of America. The heart of Willie Mays remains close to Birmingham and his son is a living testimony.

“As amazing as he is,” said Mays’ son, Michael, “he will tell you that you don’t do anything without help. And across the spectrum, he’s had as many of one color as the other help him out. That don’t mean he doesn’t know the difference between us and someone else, but at the same time you got to open your eyes.

“And Birmingham is the most amazing place to bring all this together. And if you’re struggling with your racism or your family’s racism or what it was or what it’s going to be, Birmingham is where you can really see the whole story because people talk about how divided things were, but there is a lot of togetherness down here that’s going on that people need to know about.”

This Birmingham’s moment, and that joyful spirit of Willie Mays is back.

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”