The veteran moundsman is seen intentionally throwing a pitch at Robinson’s head, hitting him with that pitch, and then attempting to insult him with a dismissive and racially tinged remark. This is just one of numerous instances of intentional harm towards Robinson while trying to play in the MLB. Jackie Robinson grew up in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 in a family of five. Growing up he had always excelled in sports being the first athlete in UCLA history to get varsity letters in four sports. However, Robinsons would have to put sports off for a few years to enroll in the U.S. Army to help financially. Jackie Robinson’s astonishing physical ability, paired with his mental toughness, helped him take down the white wall of the major leagues and later …show more content…
Robinson began to speak freely after he was an established figure in baseball and attempted to use his role in the public eye to speed integration. “He criticized the slow pace of baseball integration and objected to the Jim Crow practices in the southern states where most clubs conducted spring training. Robinson led other ballplayers in urging baseball to use its economic power to desegregate southern towns, hotels, and ballparks.” (History.Com). Robinson knew all to well what it is like the one excluded from staying with his teammates on road trips and not being able to eat with them. Due to his personal experience he made a goal to try and speed up the integration process of expanding equality not only on the field but also with all aspects of life. After retiring Robinson continued to help with the Civil Rights by joining the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). In a speech to NAACP members, Robinson said, "Certainly if such revolutionary change can be brought about in baseball, it can also be brought about in education, in transportation, and any other area of our American life” (Jackie Robinson-Civil Rights Activist). Robinson has a valid point that it is silly to see that sports have easier times integrating race than everyday citizens do. However, the NAACP can use the integration of sports as a step stool into working integration all throughout everyday life. Robinson’s impact not only spread across the diamond and world of baseball, but all over the entire nation together as a