Jackie Robinson Color Barrier

Jackie Robinson's entry into the Major Leagues was far from a walk in the park. He climbed over countless obstacles just to play with white men, some of which, he was better then. He not only had to compete with the returning players from the war, but he also contended with racism. "Many towns in the South did not want racially mixed teams"(Weidhorn 53). As time went on, cities realized that Robinson offered them free publicity.

Jackie Robinson was a famous black baseball player. When he joined the league everyone made fun of him. His teammates were mean to him but he could not fight for himself. When he is on the field he could not talk back to people talk about him meanly. If he does any of this stuff he will get kicked off the field.

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson, best known as the man who broke baseball's color barrier. Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. The youngest of five children in the Robinson family (Edgar, Frank, Matthew, and Willa Mae). His parents were divorced, when he was little his father left him for another lady. Mallie was his mom and Jerry was his dad. Mallie’s relationship with Sasser deteriorated until they were kicked out of their cabin and forced to seek shelter and work elsewhere. In May, The Robinsons moved to Pasadena, California by train (where Mallie’s half-brother lived). Mallie was a maid so she could support her children. Robinson went to John Muir High school, then attended to Pasadena Junior College.

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was a very important person in The Civil Rights Movement as he was the first African American man to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). Though Jackie was a star in football and baseball as a child he faced a lot of racism, people would cheer for him on the field but off it he was ridiculed and seen as worthless because of his skin color. Even as an adult in the Minor Leagues people threatened, and even threw things at him. Some teams didn’t show at games through shame of playing an African American. Through all of the racism Jackie stayed strong and ended up winning more rights for African Americans along with 137 home runs, 197 stolen bases, a .311 batting average, and a National League

JACKIE ROBINSON SEPARATED THE COLOR BARRIER when he became the first African-American athlete to play in Major League Baseball in the 20th century. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in the year 1947. Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Georgia. He was the youngest of five other children. He was also raised in relative poverty by a single mom. He attended John Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College in his later years, where he was an excellent athlete and played about four different sports: football, basketball, baseball, and track. He was given the name of the region’s Most Valuable Player in baseball in 1938.

Many other players in the Negro League wanted to follow his steps, to one day be as famous as Jackie was. Robinson’s celebrity set the stage for civil rights advantages society wide. Jackie’s own rights activism was not just about baseball. Jackie had defied an order by a white bus driver to move to the back of the bus to make room for a white officer. This was 11 years before Rosa Parks had her incident on the bus. Jackie had to go to court for this incident. The army sent him a medical discharge for this incident. “Robinson’s gusty action foreshadowed subsequent baseball diamond conduct,” was said by John Vernon in the spring 2008 issue of the United States National Archives publication. There were other aspects of Jackie’s civil rights activism bracketed him with the Dodgers and continued until his death from diabetes and other heart issues at the young age of fifty-three (Sirs, 2008). Jackie’s death was a tragic event that crushed many people’s hearts who loved baseball.

Jackie Robinson is the story I am going to be writing about. It is about a black baseball player and he has just went into the World Series. He had broken the color barrier for his country and he knew he was going to get a lot of hate because of the color of his skin. Feng Ru was the Chinese man of aviation. He created planes for a living and that changed his home country because they can get around much easier. Melba Bee was a girl who had to walk 10 miles a day to get to class when there was a school right next to their house. However, that school was an all white school, so they were protesting. They sued the school and they later were able to get into the school.

The struggles of Jackie Robinson breaking through the color barrier meant that the opportunities were opening for minority groups to work for equality in the 1950's. He endured death threats and horrible nicknames, but none-the-less was making history. He gave those that were being mistreated and wronged the faith that they would be able to one day have equal rights. When it comes to support from whites for the Civil Rights movement there were many that didn't support the movement, but there were some whites that did. Northerners were convinced that civil rights was a Southern problem and were of the mindset that the issues could be solved by giving political and civil rights to Southern blacks (Digital History:The Civil Rights Movement Moves

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,” said a great man named Jackie Robinson. ("Jackie Robinson." Baseball Hall of Fame. History.com, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.) Jackie Robinson was an African American who broke the color barrier in 1947. (web 2). Jackie Robinson was born in January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. (web 1). Jackie was the youngest out of 5 children, and raised by a single mother.(web 1). Later when he was forced to leave college, due to financial hardship, he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii to play semi-professional football which didn't last long because of WWII in America. (web 1). Branch Rickey was the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey was the man who wanted to break the barrier, and to do so he

“Robinson faced death threats, vulgar insults, and hate-filled fans”(Jackie Robinson para 3). It’s because he was the first African-American baseball player in major league baseball and nobody liked him because of that. Jackie Robinson was a brave, hardworking men that accomplished a lot in his life for baseball and African-American community. Jackie Robinson had a positive influence on African Americans because he was the first African-American baseball player in major league baseball, he was a founder of ways to help African-American and he was a civil rights advocate for African-Americans.

When he was playing baseball the leagues were separated from white and black. No african american had ever played in the white leagues of baseball until Jackie Robinson came around. The president of the the Brooklyn Dodgers took a chance on Jackie Robinson so he could integrate the major league baseball league. When jackie got there he had to promise not to fight back. With all of the words and actions they did he could not fight back or it would say something that he was violent and they would never have another african american play in the mlb. A bunch of fans from whites and blacks loved him, but a portion of whites didn't and they were the other teams and their coaches.The philadelphia phillies team and their manager Ben chapman shouted inappropriate derogatory terms at robinson from their dugouts. Jackie broke the color barrier by becoming the first african american to play in the mlb. All of the discrimination, racism, and pain that jackie endured was worth it for everyone. What he did that seemed like a simple tiny task was a massive thing. It integrated all sports for all

“I am not concerned for your liking or disliking, all I care about is you respecting me as a human being,” Jackie Robinson once said (Jackie Robinson Quotes). Through his courage and bravery he was able to change the game of baseball by showing that everybody is equal no matter what color skin you are. He was inspired by his brother to stand up for his race and fight for equality. He was one of the best Major League Baseball players, which showed that just because he was black does not mean he was bad at baseball.

In 1947, Major League Baseball changed forever because of hall of fame player Jackie Robinson. As a result of discrimination and segregation in America it was very difficult for black people to exercise their rights during this time period. Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s Jackie Robinson’s baseball career dramatically changed as he was the first African American Major League Baseball player. However after signing to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers integration started to become a reality in some societies today. The efforts of Jackie Robinson enabled the Civil Rights Movement to gain the national attention in order to succeed.

Jackie Robinson brought baseball fans of all races together and it improved race relations because even though their was still hatred, white people were getting eased into racial integration since Jackie Robinson was laying the foundations of civil rights. Robinson was loved by many and hated by plenty, every game he played he packed the stands whether it be fans who are cheering for him or booing him. According to the biography by Wilson “Many fans came out to cheer Robinson, and a lot came out to boo him but both groups bought tickets” (75). He performed so well on the baseball field that the fans would lose sight of his color, and the stands were predominantly white so he was doing so well with a very unsupportive fan base. In the biography

With the same idea as Martin Luther King Jr., he worked hard to stay non-violent and to “turn the cheek” to the many threats and racial slurs he received throughout his time in the Major League. He was the target of many cold-hearted fans, and even some of the players on his own team. He was already born a leader, but these things fueled his fire even more. 5 years after he began playing in the MLB, he testified against discrimination before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and called out the Yankees for not yet breaking the color barrier. Along with that, he also served as a leader on the board of the NAACP until 1967.(www.NAACP.org) There, he made speeches that inspired people to get on board and to fight for their rights and for changes. He said, “Certainly if such revolutionary change can be brought about in baseball, it can be brought about in education, in transportation, and in any other area of American life. (Robinson) He believed that change was just around the corner, and all it needed was a little push. Jackie was a firm believer in his ideas and that is why he is such an important figure in our