How Did Jackie Robinson Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement

During the Civil Rights Movements, most of the problems were dealt with by politicians and movement leaders, however few would emerge of different status and be just as effective in gaining support with the people. Gaining support from a different status as a politician, at the time, would take an incredible amount of publicity. Status, such as an athlete, from the standpoint of a people’s person was a great way to unify people together. Athletes like Paul Robeson, Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Arthur Ashe were incredible athletes who had a large reputation in the media and Civil Rights activism. During the span of the Civil Rights Era, athletes were able to provide momentum for the movement in actions as well as portray themselves towards

Jackie Robinson, however, was still extremely passionate about race equality even in his early 20s when, “Jackie Robinson joined the US army in 1941 but was discharged in 1943 due to his views in relation to incidents of racism.” Jackie Robinson from there on out took up the career of a professional baseball player but also as a beacon for the Civil Rights Movement. “Robinson's excellent reputation, combined with the united efforts of friends, the NAACP and various black newspapers, shed public light on the injustice, and he was ultimately acquitted of the charges and received an honorable discharge.” Robinson being not so far into his career had gained much momentum from press and reporters, he was now able to speak his voice. After Jackie Robinson was harassed in 1945 by Phillies manager Ben Chapman, Jackie gave great words to a journalist. “Even before I went to high school and college I resolve not to take insults without retaliating. Growing up in Pasadena, I encountered many situations which I considered unjust. I remember going to the YMCA and being told that Negroes were allowed to use the facilities of the Y only on a certain day of the week.” Jackie Robinson’s voice would be heard by many written in newspapers as prominent as The New York Times. In 1981 a journalist wrote on the subject of the civil rights activists and wrote, “Although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most prominent spokesman for civil rights, other movement leaders, including A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, and Julian Bond, actively opposed the war in Vietnam or at least resented the increased amount of Federal money going toward the conflict, resources that otherwise could be spent on domestic problems. Some, like Robinson, believed that King's open opposition endangered the credibility of the movement as charges of Communist infiltration continued to be leveled by