How do we remember jackie robinson

He was not yet two years old when his mother took the family to California. Still, many thought that because his family was from the area, and many still live there, and because what Jackie achieved abroad had an impact on the residents of Cairo and Georgia, it seemed a logical place to remember him.

Getting approval for memorials was hard to come by, though. The Department of Transportation favored a shorter section of road, but with a little extra prodding by Dr. Walden, the ten-mile stretch was approved.

A more intense debate took place over the proposal to erect a statue of Robinson in front of the courthouse. Opponents thought that remembering athletes was not appropriate there; they preferred the space be reserved for someone who fought for the freedom of the country. Ultimately the county commission chose a memorial to Confederate soldiers for the site. Other extreme opposition came to Dr. She was told that if a memorial to Jackie was approved for the courthouse lawn, a group of KKK members planned to protest.

She also received threatening calls. The rebellion squelched, Rickey announced on April 10, , that Jackie Robinson had officially been signed to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The noble experiment was in full swing. Of all the major league cities, Brooklyn, with its ethnically diverse and racially mixed neighborhoods, was just the place to break the color barrier. This warm affinity was fostered, in part, by their cramped but colorful ballpark, Ebbets Field, located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.

The double-decked grandstands stood only along the foul lines, allowing the fans a special intimacy wit the players. When Robinson made his first appearance as a Dodger on April 15, , more than 26, fans packed Ebbets Field; reportedly some 14, of those were African American. The afternoon was cold and rainy, and Robinson went hitless. Nonetheless, the sight of a black man on a major league diamond during a regular season game moved the crowd so deeply that they cheered the Dodgers on to a victory over the Boston Braves.

When the Philadelphia Phillies arrived in Brooklyn a week later, however, all hopes that integration would come peaceably were shattered. In one of the lowest moments ever in baseball history, the Phillies, led by their Southern manager, Ben Chapman, launched a tirade of racial epithets during the pregame batting practice. And the jeering did not let up throughout the entire three-game series. Two weeks later, when the Dodgers traveled to the so-called City of Brotherly Love, Chapman and his Phillies picked up where they left off, warning the Dodger players that they would contract diseases if they touched Robinson and indulging in even more personal racial slurs.

In fact, Chapman probably would have lost his job over the incident, if Robinson had not agreed to pose with him for a conciliatory newspaper photograph. Under duress, the Phillies manager agreed to stand next to the Dodger rookie. Robinson reached out and grasped it. The flicker of a smile crept across his face as the photographer snapped away, getting several shots. Years later Robinson admitted that the incessant abuse during those games with the Phillies almost led him to the breaking point.

What a glorious, cleansing thing it would be to let go. I could throw down my bat, stride over to the Phillies dugout, grab one of those white sons of bitches and smash his teeth in with my despised black fist. The experience with the Phillies revealed the shocking severity of the racism that existed in baseball. As the season unfolded, Dodger support for Robinson strengthened in response to the admirable way he handled all the adversity. Opposing pitchers threw at his head and ribs, while infielders would spit in his face if he was involved in a close play on the base paths.

And the hate mail was unending. But through it all, Robinson persevered. He even managed to keep a sense of humor. Even the white baseball establishment began to embrace the Dodger infielder.

In May of , when Ford Frick learned of the St. The National League will go down the line with Robinson whatever the consequence. In addition to a new car and other gifts, Robinson received tributes for his contribution to racial equality. And when all was said and done, no amount of hate mail or verbal and psychological abuse could tarnish the indisputable fact that Jackie Robinson was an exceptional baseball player.

He belonged in the major leagues. Thousands of blacks came to watch him play, setting new attendance records in such cities as Chicago and Pittsburgh. Even in St. Ed Charles, a black youngster from the Deep South who went on to play in the major leagues himself, remembered the thrill of seeing his childhood hero for the first time. When the game was over we kids followed Jackie to the train station.

When the train pulled out, we ran down the tracks listening for the sounds as far as we could. We wanted to be part of him as long as we could. Indeed, Robinson had jolted the national consciousness in a profound way. Suddenly, there was a black baseball star who could hit, bunt, steal, and field with the best of them.

His style of play was nothing new in the Negro Leagues, but in the white majors, it was innovative and exciting. Robinson made things happen on the base paths. If he got on first, he stole second. If he could not steal third, he would distract the pitcher by dancing off second in order to advance. And then he would steal home. By , every team in major league baseball was integrated, one of every five players being of African-American descent. His career totals, which included 1, hits, more than stolen bases, and a lifetime batting average of.

He continued to fight actively for civil rights long after his baseball career had ended, supporting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Despite his tremendous accomplishments on and off the baseball field, Jackie Robinson, with characteristic humility, never gave himself much credit. But uneasy because I knew that I was still a black man in a white world. Dan Bullock died at age 15 in and efforts to recognize the young African-American Marine continue and are highlighted in this Military Times documentary.

An cavalry clash at Boonsboro, Md. Get inside articles from the world's premier publisher of history magazines. Subscribe and save! However, around half those fans were African-Americans. He failed to get his first hit, but he was able to draw a walk and score a run in the Dodgers win. This caused African-American baseball fans to become interested when the Dodgers came to town. However, there were mixed reactions from newspapers and other white baseball players. However, some Dodger players said they would sit out rather than play alongside Robinson.

Jackie Robinson played ten years in MLB. During those ten years, he batted. Along with leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. It might seem that Jackie Robinson just affected life around the game of baseball, but in reality, he changed the world.