How Is Sports Related To The Civil Right Movement

Luke Parlow

Mrs. Mitchell

HST-122

20 November 2015

MLA Style

Sports and the Civil Right Movement

Throughout the 1940’s, the United States, was still divided by two colors, white and black. Many white people disliked black people because of the color of their skin and felt that they didn’t deserve the same equal civil rights as whites. Eventually the civil rights movement led to the end of legal racial discrimination in America through the efforts of many people including coaches and athletes. Sports, especially baseball helped change the racial atmosphere as well as led to significant social and cultural developments in our country. For many years African-American athletes were not allowed to play Major League Baseball because of their skin

It was one of the main forms of entertainment in the 1940’s and had a huge impact on American households. Therefore, if something significant happened on the baseball field it didn’t take long for news to travel around the country. Just like all sports in the 1940’s, baseball was separated by color. There was the dominant all white MLB leagues and the lesser Negro leagues. It was a spitting image of American society (Sports in Black and White). It was unheard of for any African American to set foot on an MLB field. Until the President of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson to the organizations farm team in 1945 (). He believed that Robinson had talent as well as enough character to not fight back. Rickey felt that is was important to find the perfect black player for the MLB league because he understood the influence of sports on society. Then on April 15th, 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first African American to ever play a game in the major leagues for the Dodgers breaking the color barrier. Robinson took the first step in removing segregation in sports in the United States, but it wasn’t

He received several death threats on and off the field. Pitchers would throw at his head in an attempt to run him out of the game. Several teams refused to play the Dodgers and even some of his own teammates wanted him banned from the team (Sutton). Some of the hardest times for Robinson were on road trips. He wasn’t allowed to stay at the same hotels or even eat at the same restaurants as his teammates (Sports in Black and White). Although Robinson had to deal with many hardships, he still continued to excel on the field. Robinson established a "reputation as a black man who didn't tolerate affronts to his dignity," (Sutton). It was the price Jackie Robinson knew he had to pay to make a difference in society.

As Jackie Robinson continued his career in the MLB he became a great player and leader. He served as an American idol to both blacks and whites because of his great play on the field, and his courage off the field. Robinson became one of the first athletes in United States history to show that blacks and whites can successfully live and work in the same environment. On top of that, Robinson also set the tone for blacks to enter professional sports. By the end of the nineteen-fifties every team in Major League Baseball had black athletes on their rosters (Sports in Black and