Comparing Segregation In 42 And Jim Crow Law

Jackie Robinson, 42, first black man to play on a team of all whites and make it to the world championship. He rocks. His number is retired and people wear the number 42 on their jersey every year for one day because of him. All of this information I got from the movie 42. The movie was amazing and very good! In the beginning when it showed how he became selected was different than what I imagined it would’ve been done. During the movie there were threats from white people saying they’d come where Robinson lived and hurt him or something, so he left with the black reporter guy who later became a part of the American Baseball Press or whatever it was called. However, Robinson thought that he was

Since 1839, baseball was a white man’s game. That would all change when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1942. This would be a major victory for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. Before Robinson entered the league, African Americans played in the National Negro League and Whites played in the MLB(Major League Baseball). At this time in history blacks were still fighting for equality every single day. They were segregated by going to different schools than whites, drinking from different water fountains than whites, sitting in the back of the bus, etc. Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player in a white league and one of the greatest athletes of all time. He was able to achieve this despite

Another incident of discrimination that Robinson dealt with was his so called “fan mail.” While some of his mail was touching and encouraged him to keep pressing on for the sake of the game of baseball, a lot of his mail was sent as threats and insults. Robinson disposed of a lot of this kind of mail, but some of the letters would end up in the newspaper! A large number of the letters were also directed at Branch Rickey and would threaten him and his family (198). The letters appeared not to phase Robinson much like the other threats and insults that were yelled at him wherever he went. He kept his head high and he continued to play the game of baseball with lots of energy and motivation each time he came to the ballpark.

Back in the 1940s, when African Americans faced discrimination and racism in baseball and everywhere else, there was man who took a stand and proved that he could play ball, no matter the color of his skin. This man’s name was none other than, Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was a great leader and civil right activist who just wanted to play baseball. In a quote by Robinson saying, “I 'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being”, he means that he is only a human too, and that he should not be treated poorly or disrespected based on the color of his skin.

The story of Jackie Robinson has become one of America's most iconic and inspiring stories. Since 1947, American history has portrayed Jackie Robinson as a hero, and he has been idolized as a role model to the African American baseball community. It is an unarguable fact that he was the first to tear down the color barriers within professional baseball. The topic of Robinson’s role in integration has long been a point of discussion amongst baseball historians. Researchers have accumulated thousands of accredited documents and interviews with friends and team mates such as short stop, Pee Wee Reese, and team owner, Branch Rickey. However, few journalists have asked why Robinson was selected and what was Branch

Baseball is one of the nations pastimes, and accepting a black man playing baseball made it easier to see integration in more important instances. Branch Rickey was an innovative MLB executive who had high hopes for Robinson. Rickey saw the qualities that Jackie Robinson possessed and his hope was that he could use Jack to help break the color barrier. Respect and equality was important in Robinson 's career and he knew that blacks needed to be accepted in the Major Leagues in order for the league to be just. Having this knowledge made him stick with baseball even when he thought about quitting. Jackie 's commitment was one of the most important values for successfully breaking the color barrier, and his attitude of determination and persistence helped him fight for justice. With the help of Rickey and many peers, Jackie agreed to sign with the Dodgers, where he remained committed so that more could follow in his path on and off the field.

Branch Rickey decided to take a leap of faith and do what was viewed as the unthinkable at the time, sign an African-American to a baseball team. In the film there is one scene in particular

When Robinson was selected to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers, by the “General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey” (McBirney 3), he knew it was going to be a bumpy ride. Attempting to break the “color barrier” or let alone play for the Major League takes courage. Despite his fame and how he played on the field, Robinson received “explicit and persuasive death threats” (Scott 2). He also took racism within the stands and even “faced discrimination from a few of his own team members, who threatened to sit out games if he was allowed to play” (McBirney 5). During the games he got things thrown at him like trash, tomatoes, rocks, watermelon slices, and Sambo dolls. But Robinson still showed his courage to continue

Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby were very determined to stick with the game they loved and to make a change. Thanks to their performance both on and off the ball field, “other owners began to seek talented black players, and by 1952, there were 150 black players in organized baseball” (Branch). Their “actions had repercussions far beyond the sports world” (Jim). The integration of baseball was an enormous smack in the face to all of segregation. Many racial barriers quickly tumbled down with the integration of baseball; restaurants, hotels, and stores removed their “white only” signs bringing blacks and whites together. Robinson and Doby could not have won the battle against segregation on their own, the press helped to make their struggle to be known throughout the country.

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 was a phenomenal athlete for young kids to look up to. After the start of World War II he served in the military from 1942 to 1944. After the war he returned to his love for baseball, playing in the Black major leagues. He was chosen by Branch Rickey, vice president of the Brooklyn dodgers, to help integrate the Major Leagues. Rickey hated segregation just as much as Robinson and wanted to change things “Rickey had once seen a Black college player turned away from a hotel… Rickey never forgot seeing this player crying because he was denied a place to lay his weary head just because of the color of his skin” (Mackenzie). He was finally able to do something about segregation and help change baseball and the United States for the better. It wasn’t that all the teams were racist and didn’t want a black player but when the major league teams had an away game they would rent out the stadium to the black teams for them to play at. And the executives of teams didn’t want to loose the money that they were making off of the black teams. “League owners would lose significant rental revenue” (“Breaking”). He soon signed with the all-white Montreal Royals a farm team for the Dodgers. Robinson had an outstanding start with the Royals, “leading the International League with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage” (Robinson). After Robinson’s outstanding year he was promoted to the Dodgers he played his first game on

Since the abolition of slavery in the USA in 1883 and through the first half of the 20th Century, African Americans had been in a constant struggle to try and gain an equal footing in society. Like many aspects of American life, black sportsmen were segregated, and no African American had played professional baseball since 1884. For this reason, the integration of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers as the first African American to play Major League baseball in the modern era had a grand impact on the entire country. From the moment that Dodgers owner, Branch Rickey decided that Robinson would break the colour lone, the history of sport and the history of African Americans would not be the same again. The importance of his integration and the effect it had on civil rights can be looked at in many different ways. It had great effect on the African American community, instilling pride and belief once again in the American Dream for many who had once thought it impossible. It also had significant importance for civil rights groups, and brought about a figure who would fight his peoples quest for equal rights until the day he died. It was a significant risk taken by both Rickey and Robinson, professionally and personally. But it was a risk that both in the short term for African American sport, and in the long run for African American civil rights, was ultimately well worth taking.

The movie 42 is a story about Jackie Robinson’s life as a baseball player, and how he broke the baseball color barrier by becoming the first African American player in the league. The story begins with Wendell Smith giving the audience background information about the United States and their segregation laws, and he brings it in comparison with baseball. He discusses how baseball was made up of 16 professional teams of all white players, but then Robinson comes in the picture. The movie then goes on to talk about Robinson’s career on the Brooklyn Dodgers, but mentioning before his time on the Kansas City Monarchs and the Montreal Royals. When Robinson advances to play with the Dodgers some of his fellow players sign a petition saying they refuse to play with him, but as the season progresses they become close friends with Robinson. Some examples of their kindness to him include backing him up when the manager of the Phillies said some racial slurs to Robinson. Another is when a Pittsburgh player hit him in the head, and his teammates stood up for him. The movie ends with some facts about other African American players joining the league, and a summary of the rest of Robinson’s career.

After, Robinson played a great season and spring training in Panama, he moves up the branch to play for the Dodgers. When the Dodger’s heard about a “Negro” joining the team, Robinson’s teammates started signing a petition, saying they refuse to play with Robinson. This scene shows how his teammates doesn’t want to play with him because of the color of his skin. But manager Leo Durocher demanded that Robinson will play with the major team. When Durocher was suspended by Happy Chandler, the Commissioner of Baseball, for actions in his personal life, Burt Shotton agrees to take care of the team.

After World War II, Baseball was most beloved game in America. Africans had served their country gallantly with others. However, they return home fighting to free the world from tyranny only to find racism, Jim crawlism and segregation still waiting at home. The film is about the challenges Robinson face to come to play Baseball as a first negro player through social segregation.