How Did Jackie Robinson Make America So Great Today

536 Words3 Pages

Courageous people like Jackie Robinson is the reason why America is so great today. During a time of segregation, African-American baseball star Jackie Robinson defied all odds to be the first ever black major leaguer. His courage and perseverance greatly influenced the Civil Rights Movement, and it is safe to say without him America could be a different place today. Throughout the 9 documents provided by the National Archives, the struggle of the Civil Rights movement is shown more clearly. The first four documents showed Robinson's efforts to make the leaders of America more aware of the discrimination African-Americans face daily. In the letter to President Eisenhower, Robinson acknowledges that the government has finally decided to act upon the situation. However, Robinson states, the Government is not doing near enough to enforce an actual change in the hearts of Americans. As stated in the letter, "17 million Negroes cannot do what you suggest and wait for the hearts of men to change. We want to enjoy now the rights that we feel we are entitled to …show more content…

For instance, the purpose of the telegram Robinson sent to President Kennedy on June 15, 1963 was to help shine light on the recent tragedy in Birmingham, AL where "firehoses, billy-clubs, and attack dogs were pitted against unarmed demonstrators." A few years down the road on March 9, 1965, Robinson sent another telegram to President Johnson to tell him to "take immediate action in Alabama" where un armed protestors were beaten once again in Selma, AL. As upsetting as the tragic events in Selma and Birmingham were, they ended up doing more good then bad. As the world watched the tragic events in Selma and Birmingham unfold on the news, many people developed compassion for the suffering African-American People. These events fueled the Civil Rights Movement and for the first time, Jackie Robinson and many other Civil Rights Activist finally started to see

Open Document