Transcript No Slide Title

Jackie
Roosevelt
Robinson
The Man Who
Broke the
Color Barrier
Baseball’s color barrier,
which stood unbroken until
Jackie Robinson crossed the
diamond lines on a fateful
day in 1947, was one of
America’s most visible
symbols of segregation.
While it was uncommon to hear of integrated teams in college or on the
club level, the fact that the Major Leagues would not allow in presented a
major obstacle to Africa-American success and a tremendous blot on the
pride and equality of a people.
An early
20th
Century
picture of
an
amateur,
all-Negro
baseball
club.
• Harvard University had an
integrated baseball team as early
as 1904, a rarity in America.
7/21/2015
Jackie Robinson as a 2nd Lt.
during WWII and faced
discrimination during his
military service.
• Robinson
served in the
military,
receiving
Army
training
during the
second
World War.
• Robinson was
court-martialed and
was threatened with
a dishonorable
discharge for
refusing to accept a
seat at the back of a
military bus.
• Before joining the Major Leagues,
Robinson played on the Negro League’s
Kansas City Monarchs.
• In one famous incident, Robinson refused
to let his teammates by fuel for their bus
if the station attendant did not let the
Negro players use the restroom.
7/21/2015
An original
painting of
Jackie Robinson
concerning his
time playing for
the Brooklyn
Dodgers’ Minor
League affiliate,
the Montreal
Expos.
The Negro Leagues,
a twisted version of
the “separate but
equal idea” were not
equal in anyone’s
mind. The Negro
Leagues often, as in
the case of this flyer,
had to resort to
clownishness in
order to attract
customers.
Life for the
Negro League
athletes, with
segregated
restrooms,water
fountains, and
movie theatres,
was difficult
beyond words.
All though Robinson faced initial
opposition from to his integration
experiment, they quickly grew to
love and support Robinson.
Robinson all out play and his team
attitude helped certainly, but so did
the often blatantly racist and
ignorant views and malicious
actions expressed by some of the
Dodgers’ opponents.
Jackie shakes hands with teammate
George Shuba after his first ever
Major League Home run.
• A color photo of the
Brooklyn Dodgers
standing around a batting
cage when Jackie was a
veteran. Note the absence
of diversity even after
Robinson integrated the
Dodgers.
• It would be a few years
before players like Roy
Campanella become
common in the “Bigs.”
7/21/2015
•Pee Wee Reese, long held
as a racist, was
instrumental in support of
Robinson when Jackie first
joined the Dodgers.
•Robinson himself was
crucial in paving the way
for later black athletes.
Willie Mays once said, “I
don’t make history, I chase
fly balls.”, a reference to
Jackie’s impact on the
game and minorities role in
baseball.
7/21/2015
The handshake of
teammates on the
Brooklyn Dodgers.
Jackie joined the Majors in 1947
and won the Rookie of the Year, and
later won the MVP in 1949.
Jackie Robinson
appeared on the cover
of Sports Illustrated in
May 1997 as Major
League Baseball
recognized his
accomplishments in
integrating baseball by
retiring his number on
all 30 Major League
teams.
Jackie Robinson in Hollywood
filming The Jackie Robinson
Story. Although some
considered Robinson’s motives
to be purely monetary,
Robinson’s story spread his
efforts for equality to the film
masses.
7/21/2015
A Screenshot from The Jackie Robinson
Story, spread the difficulties Robinson
encountered in Baseball, albeit in a
changed tone.
7/21/2015
• One of the most
famous pictures of
Jackie Robinsonhis breathtaking
steal of home
plate.
• Robinson, it’s
interesting to note,
brought a running
style back to
baseball not seen
since the days of
Ty Cobb, an
outspoken racist.
7/21/2015
Jackie playing ball with his son,
Jackie Jr. during his twilight years
in Brooklyn.
Some of Robinson’s most important
work for American Civil Rights came
after his playing days.
Though often overlooked, Robinson
work establishing the Freedom Bank
and marching with Martin Luther King,
as well as his service to the NAACP
were valuable contributions to
America that are never recognized to
the extent they deserve.
Jackie
Robinson and
his wife
Rachael at
Robinson’s
ground
breaking
induction into
the Baseball
Hall of Fame.
After his playing days
were over, Jackie
immersed himself in the
American Civil Rights
Movement, working for
the NAACP and
advising the Rev.
Martin Luther King and
the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
An older Jackie Robinson
with his son Jackie Jr.
taking part in the March
on Washington with Rev.
Martin Luther King. The
Civil Rights Movement
occupied almost all of
Robinson’s post-baseball
years.
7/21/2015
In addition to his work with Martin Luther
King, Jackie Robinson helped organize the
Freedom National Bank, which extended loans
to minority business and home owners.
A copy of a Jackie Robinson
baseball card.
Robinson is regarded
by baseball historians
as one of the most
complete players to
ever man second base
in the big leagues.
Robinson’s career stats place him in elite
company, alongside Joe Morgan as the
greatest second baseman to ever play the
game.
Bibliography
Barber, Red. 1947 When All Hell Broke Loose in
Baseball. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Co., 1982.
•Duckett, Alfred. Jackie Robinson: I Never Had It Made.
NewYork, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons Co., 1972.
Allen, Maury. Jackie Robinson: A Life Remembered.
New York, New York: Franklin Watts Co., 1987.
http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/
hofer_bios/robinson_jackie.htm
http://www.utexas.edu/students/jackie/robinson/erskine.ht
ml
http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/robinso
n/robmain.html