What he did was truly incredible for all baseball players. Jackie basically paved a road for all African American baseball players to follow in his footsteps. Jackie “was proud to be in the hurricane eye of a significant breakthrough.” He was proud that Mr. Ricky, “a man
ackie Robinson was the first African American player in Major League Baseball. Branch Rickey wanted to break the historical color barrier present in baseball. He chose Jackie Robinson, who had been playing in the Negro Leagues, to join the all white Brooklyn Dodgers. In his early career, Jackie Robinson experienced numerous obstacles and was treated as an outsider. He was rejected by fellow teammates, fans, and team owners because of his race.
(S1) Aside from being one of the world’s greatest baseball players, he was also a vocal civil rights activist. (s1) In this time, segregation and discrimination were still big and Jackie wanted to stand up
Jackie expanded the fanbase of the Brooklyn Dodgers, since most blacks looked to Robinson for courage, and they saw Jackie as a hero. At first, most people were against
"You don't belong here you n****r. Why don't you look in the mirror? This is a white man's game. Get that through your thick monkey skull. You hear me?"- Ben Chapman (Philadelphia Phillies Head Coach).
Jackie Robinson was a first, not only for African Americans in baseball, but also in other sports. His influence did not just stop there. He made it possible for people to believe in themselves to breakthrough and fulfill their own kinds of “firsts”. Jackie Robinson is an influential figure and also a representational one. It is important for people to know who he is, especially young African American children, because it gives them hope for their lives.
Breaking the Color Barrier Have you ever wondered how you were going to overcome that difficulty in life? Even though life comes with difficulties, Jackie Robinson had to learn to persevere through them. With racism, and segregation standing in his way, he pulled through and broke the color barrier in major league baseball. Jackie Robinson was the first African American baseball player to make it to the big leagues. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia, and died on October 24, 1972, in Stamford, Connecticut.
Times as an African American family was challenging when he was growing up. Jackie Robinson faced more adversity than any athlete
Jackie was a board member of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which is a civil rights organization that fought for equal rights. He also traveled the country leading civil rights campaigns. Jackie also criticized civil rights activist Malcolm X in an attempt to keep the peace in the country. Jackie Robinson not only had a massive impact on America’s pastime, but also on America
When he broke the color barrier he created opportunities for many generations of African American Baseball players. After he joined the MLB four other African Americans players followed in his footsteps and joined that same year their names were Larry Doby, Hank Thompson, Willard Brown and Dan Bankhead. This shows how Jackie Robinson opened up potential for the African American community to be in the Major leagues by breaking the color barrier. This also shows how fast of an impact he had on the MLB that same year after he joined 4 other African Americans joined. “Jackie Robinson wasn’t the only Black baseball player to suit up in the big leagues in 1947.
Jackie succeeded in putting the racial strife aside and was able to show people what a talented player he truly was. He soon was able to win over respect from fans and over time gained respect from teammates. “In their response to Jackie Robinson, African-Americans rejected “separate but equal” status and embraced integration. Robinson’s presence in baseball electrified them, and they flocked to see the Dodgers in huge numbers and from great distances. African-American sportswriters, many of whom had advocated baseball integration for years, focused their attentions on Robinson and the black players who followed him.
Jackie Robinson challenged white America’s societal perception of African American at the time. “Robinson won Rookie of the Year in 1947. In later seasons, more African-Americans joined other teams in the Major Leagues, as Robinson continued to excel. His success gained him fans from all over the country.” (Mcbirney 14).
Jackie Robinson not only made impacts on the field that were monumental, but he made impacts off the field that were equally as important. Jackie helped presidents get elected, get kids off the streets and into the most prestigious schools there is, and most importantly he broke the black color barrier in baseball. Jackie Robinson is one of the most influential people to ever live, he did things that people would dream about, he stood up for what he believed. To begin, Jackie’s biggest accomplishment was breaking the black color barrier on baseball, “ Jackie Robinson broke through the color barrier that kept blacks out of the Major League Baseball [MLB].
Not just in sports, but in the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. During Jackie’s prime, “people began to view him as a spokesman for other African-Americans. He was an outspoken activist for African-Americans’ rights. He participated in many protests for fair wages and workers’ rights.” (Santella)
And became the first league to integrate with black players. While this did come with a lot of backlashes Jackie performed above and beyond in his MLB career and quieted the rowdy crowds that disliked him. Through the success of Jackie other teams in baseball took chances and signed more black players to their teams. Through the somewhat successful integration of baseball other sports took chances and signed and took on more black talents. Even the Olympic teams started taking more black
