Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American baseball player who became the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era.[1] Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues for six decades.[2] The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement.[3][4]
LOL Hello, Jueseppi. We’ve got to keep an eye on that Spam, send it back to Austin, MN whee it originated. ****
Hi, I rescued it this time. I don’t know why it went into the spam folder? Your comments are good to go here. They don’t need any moderation. I’ll watch more carefully from now on.
:)
You are too cute!
LOL!
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) Full Movie
THANK YOU, SG2! I’m looking forward to veiwing this movie in ITS entirety.
Jackie Robinson on Racial Taunts
http://www.history.com/audio/robinson-on-racial-taunts#robinson-on-racial-taunts
A Letter from Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights Advocate
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/jackie_robinson_letter/
Jack Roosevelt Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball; on April 10, 1947, Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, announced that Robinson had signed with his team. As the first African American to play in the major leagues, Jackie Robinson became the target of vicious racial abuse. Recalling his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers in his autobiography, Robinson described how he played the best baseball he could as torrents of abuse were heaped upon him, and the entire nation focused its attention on his game. Having established a “reputation as a black man who never tolerated affronts to his dignity,” he now found it in himself to resist the urge to strike back. In the ballpark, he answered the people he called “haters” with the perfect eloquence of a base hit. In 1949, his best year, Robinson was named the league’s Most Valuable Player, and in 1962 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He retired from the major leagues in 1956.
Jackie Robinson continued to champion the cause of civil rights after he left baseball. Having captured the attention of the American public in the ballpark, he now delivered the message that racial integration in every facet of American society would enrich the nation, just as surely as it had enriched the sport of baseball. Every American President who held office between 1956 and 1972 received letters from Jackie Robinson expressing varying levels of rebuke for not going far enough to advance the cause of civil rights. Indifferent to party affiliation and unwilling to compromise, he measured a President’s performance by his level of commitment to civil rights. Robinson’s stand was firm and nonnegotiable. The letters reveal the passionate and, at times, combative spirit with which Robinson worked to remove the racial barriers in American society..
Jackie Robinson HOF
Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights Pioneer
..Seeing this footage gives me chills!
It’s a shame some folks are still in denial about the accomplishments of Jackie Robinson. He was the bestest! OWN IT!
You’re right about some people being in denial about Jackie’s accomplishments. Just like there are people in denial or downplay what the Tuskegee airmen accomplished. Jackie was spectacular at baseball, and paved the way for many minorities to play baseball today.
Britt,
I wish we had a “like” button for comments. Jackie was spectacular at baseball indeed. And he did it despite the awful abuse he suffered from ignorant folks.
Jackie Robinson: A Life Story