The Legacy Of Jackie Robinson Essay

Jackie Robinson was one of the most historically well known people in the civil rights movement. So as the first man to integrate major league baseball, Jackie Robinson had a game changing impact on the way the game was played. Having the courage to fight for what is right, Jackie broke the imaginary color barrier that has covered major league baseball for years. Through his resiliency and tenaciousness in the face of seemingly unconquerable odds, Jackie Robinson set the course for African Americans to continue the expansion for equality and true freedom while he was becoming one of the greatest Major League baseball players in history.

Jackie fought racism in his California childhood, at collage and throughout his whole life. During his childhood at California he was always picked on at school. Kids taunted him so much and so badly that he developed a hot temper.

In 1947, Robinson made his debut at ebbits field for the dodgers and became the first African American baseball player to play professional baseball. Robinson had a great season even though he took lots of threats from fans. He also won rookie of the year at the end of the season. During Robinsons decade long career with the dodgers, he and his team won the national league

Even before the integration of baseball, Robinson displayed his intolerance for racism. While in the army, Robinson was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. On a public bus, Robinson refused to move to the back when ordered to do so by a commanding officer. He was then court marshaled, but later acquitted (African American Biographies 106). Even though the dispute resulted in Robinson’s honorable discharge, it made clear Robinson’s stance on bigotry. This event would become a major factor in his selection to integrate baseball.

Robinson began his role as an advocate for civil rights in America even before he was drafted onto a major league baseball team. In 1942, he was inducted into the Army. This was during World War II. At this time, there was still racial discrimination in the Army. It wasn’t as much as back in the South, however it was still prominent. Robinson was part of a segregated unit located in Camp Hood. He became a lieutenant pretty quick, although he still had to go through opposition to become one. At the time, Lieutenant Robinson’s fight against racism started when he boarded a military bus, towards the middle. Once the bus driver saw Robinson, he ordered him to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused and argued with the driver. After the altercation, Robinson was asked to move to the hospital to stay,

If I haven’t changed your opinion I don’t care because it’s yours. But if you ever didn’t like Jackie Robinson I hope you look at him in a different way now. In conclusion I think that Jackie Robinson is one of the best players to play in the MLB in multiple

“Robinson won letters in football, baseball, basketball and track at Muir Technical High School. He also attended Pasadena Junior College. When he left in 1939, he declined offers from the major colleges around the nation and chose, University of California at Los Angeles.” Also known as UCLA. It was close to his mother, which made it more of an attractive choice. Robinson’s only had two years at UCLA because of financial pressures. He was very impressive in his two years. He was the highest scorer in basketball competition, he was the national champion in long jump, All-American running-back, and he played shortstop for the varsity baseball team. He was the school’s first athlete to letter in four sports. Sounds like a freak of nature to me. (News Break)

Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the MLB. Back then many people's point of view about African Americans was that they had some things, but the things should be worse than what the things white people had, and because of that he was proud yet uneasy because he would get a lot of hate for playing, and he did. The thing is he didn’t only get hate, but he also got threats against him and his family to physically harm him,“The hate mail piled up. There were threats against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me.” Being in the MLB was hard and he could’ve given up, but he didn’t. Jackie Robinson stayed strong and he changed our point of view about African Americans not doing things that only white people could do and he helped our country change for the better

Jackie later was drafted into the army in 1942, in a segregated Army cavalry unit in Fort Riley, Kansas. He was later left with an honorable discharge because he refused to sit at the back of the bus with the other black soldiers.

To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid

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

On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Everyone has heard of this story, but what most people don’t know is that Lieutenant Jack “Jackie” Robinson also made the same action, 11 years earlier (“Robinson Refuses to Move to the Back of the Bus”). On July 6th, 1944, Robinson was riding a military bus at Camp Hood in Waco, Texas during World War 2. Robinson was asked to move to the back of the bus by white men. He argued and fought until he arrived at his stop, in which they continued to argue with him, leading a bus dispatcher and a military policeman to join in. Robinson was then referred to as a “nigger Lieutenant” which enflamed him, causing him to say “he would break anyone in two

Even though Robinson had to face racial abuse, he had an absolute great start with the Royals. He lead the International League with a .349 batting average and a .985 fielding percentage. (“Jackie Robinson.”) Due to his successfulness, he earned a promotion with the Dodgers.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on others”(Robinson). This is the standpoint Jackie Robinson had on life being a black person during his time period. He was a strong and courageous man despite the hardships that were set in his lifetime. He was faced with poverty, low income, and racial threats, but was granted with the gift of being a great athlete. Jackie Robinson being the first black MLB player had a great affect on American history because he helped boost morale, pushed toward civil rights, and integrated blacks into white sports.

Jackie Robinson was drafted into the U.S Army On april 3rd 1942. He was a corporal at Fort Riley, Kansas when Jackie and other black troops met Private Joe Louis, the heavyweight champion They told him about the lack of black officers to Louis, who later mentioned it to Truman Gibson, an African-American civilian aide to Secretary of War Henry Stimson. He was later promoted to 2nt lieutenant & the platoon leader of the all-black 761st Tank Battalion (The Black Panthers). Jackie was unhappy with the segregation in the military so on july 6th 1944 he refused to move to the back of a military bus.