Celebrating Jackie Robinson Day

| April 17, 2013 | 0 Comments

By: Kevin Fleisher

In the midst of all the other black slaves in the south, Jackie started off as just a diamond in the rough, a piece of coal if you will. But after undergoing extreme pressure, he evolved into a sparkling diamond through the eyes of an African American living through segregation during the 40’s and 50’s. This is the life and celebration of Jackie Robinson:


Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31st in Cairo, Georgia, and faced many challenges as an African American in the south. Jackie was raised single-handedly by his mother, Mallie Robinson, along with his four other brothers and sisters. The Robinson’s were the only black family that lived on the block, and they received a lot of abuse from the other white families. This was only the start of Jackie’s humble beginnings that would turn him into the most influential baseball player in possibly all of history and beyond. Although the Robinsons were a strong family, they couldn’t handle all of the white family’s abuse, so they moved to California in search of a better life. As life for Jackie progressed, so did his fame as an athlete. He attended U.C.L.A and played basketball, football, ran track, and of course played baseball and achieved great awards and honors for each sport. He even got the U.C.L.A baseball stadium named after him there! After graduating in 1939, he continued his true love for baseball in the Negro Leagues and he played for the Kansas City Monarchs. Life was very tough for Jackie even though he was a supreme athlete, especially while on the road with his team. They could only stay at certain hotels, eat at certain restaurants at certain times, and were granted few privileges. However, Jackie’s strong character helped him to push through this time, but then reach an even tougher time. Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodger’s President, was looking for more than just an ordinary player; a player that would make a big impact on the game of baseball. And Jackie, a strong willed man who had lots of heart, would be thought of to do the job just fine. While meeting with Rickey, Jackie asked him what he wanted him to do. Rickey explained that by having him playing would cause great corruption and that he must sacrifice many things in order to achieve equality for blacks in sports. Jackie then asked Rickey if he should fight back towards the angry discriminators who would act harshly towards him playing. Then, Mr. Rickey told him that he wanted a man with guts. Not one that would fight back, but one that would fight silently, and have to do many more things than just play baseball casually. he would have to fight through the hard times so that other black men could follow in his footsteps until no colored man would be discriminated again. This master plan had eventually paid off, and it all started on April 15th, 1947-the first day in the modern era that a black man played professional baseball with other white men.

Jackie had faced a handful of threats, violence, discriminators, and flat out hate, but he was able to keep his head and play with honor, vigor, and determination. He opened up a pathway for other African American’s to follow in his footsteps and helped to lead in the Civil Rights Movement to better the life of blacks in the U.S alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. he accomplished many things as a man, and is seen as a savior to many. This heroic and great life of Jackie’s, filled with the hunger for civil justice is now celebrated on April 15th, called Jackie Robinson day. On this day, every MLB player wears Jackie’s number so that we remember the sacrifices he made in order for many people after him to play the game of baseball. His number, 42, is now retired in every MLB stadium and serves as a symbol of peace and freedom.


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