ipl-logo

Life Of Jackie Robinson: The Man Who Changed More Than Baseball

1323 Words6 Pages

The Man Who Changed More Than Baseball
“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me... all I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” Jackie Robinson was born into an era of inequality and racist standards that would crush most under the weight of it all. Although he was raised in poverty where street life and gangs took easy hold, Jackie’s life would grow to take a different direction. From the
Military to baseball and on to the NAACP, Jackie Robinson would create change, the likes of which the country had never seen.
Robinson’s military career began in 1942, when he was drafted and assigned to a segregated unit in the Army. While there, Robinson applied for Officers Candidate School also known as OCS. Although the Army …show more content…

Robinson did not only change the game of baseball by breaking the color barrier, but also by the way he lived his life with humility, poise and an unwavering commitment to equality. Legendary number 42 went on to continue to inspire the lives of others and effectively creating change.
Robinson once told future Hall of Fame inductee Hank Aaron, “the game of baseball is great, but the greatest thing is what you do after your career is over.” Jackie was the chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Fight for Freedom campaign. He traveled around the country giving lectures and speaking about equality. He wrote letters and sent telegrams to Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon about equality and the wait for it for his people. He believed Kennedy would be a good President but said he would openly criticize him if he didn’t make civil rights a priority. Jackie Robinson was a brave and strong individual who believed in standing and fighting for what you believed in. It was by this morality that he was elected to the board of directors of the NAACP in 1958. In October
1959, Robinson entered the Greenville municipal airport’s white only waiting room. …show more content…

He chose to impact society by implementing change. Change in the Military, change to Americas favorite past time- baseball, change to a divided country. He demanded equality and requested to simply be seen as a human being. In the military by refusing to accept that although he was qualified he would be denied entrance into the OCS, he banned together with other black activists. Together they raised enough attention and awareness to the unjust cause and gained entry for not only himself but other black Americans. In baseball he shook the standard that had been in place since the 1880’s by breaking the color barrier and becoming the first black man in the Major Leagues. He set a precedent that would stand for all those who followed. Today baseball is as we know it because of Robinson’s initial commitment to remain silent and be a vision rather than a voice in baseball. He allowed his induction to be the display of change he so eagerly urned for. After years of remaining silent on the field, Jackie was quiet no longer

Show More
Related
679 Words | 3 Pages

The spotlight on Jackie did not appear on him, however, until he was able to showcase his athletic ability at Pasadena Junior College and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Following Jackie’s days at UCLA, Robinson entered the Army and became known as lieutenant Robinson. After disputes over having to sit at the back of a military bus, Jackie Robinson was honorably discharged. This event gave Robinson an opportunity to play baseball while others were at war, and eventually resulted in him finding his way onto the Dodgers organization (with some help from Branch Rickey). Jackie started out in the minor league, but his outstanding efforts led him to being pulled up to the majors.

Read More
459 Words | 2 Pages

He paved the way for civil rights by being the first African-American male to play on an all white baseball team. Robinson stood for his moral principles no matter what anyone said. After he integrated baseball, Jackie became a full-fledged leader in the civil rights movement. He traveled across the country in a effort to build morale among African Americans fighting for racial justice in their local communities. Robinson helped many civil rights campaigns in Albany (GA.) and Birmingham.

Read More
1390 Words | 6 Pages

Robinson's life was devoted in ending segregation by playing the sport he loved most of all. By overcoming all the challenges on the baseball field from his teammates to the fans in the crowd booing him. He became the face of baseball and the person who changed the game for ever. After baseball he wasn't done there he became a great civil rights leader and helped many African Americans overcome challenges. When the bank was not treating the Africans fairly he stepped in by founding the free national bank which helped a ton of people out and made the bank fair for everyone.

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

Back then there were different leagues for people of color, but Jackie Robinson changed that. We are lucky to have virtuous leaders in this world to make a change, and one of them is Jackie Robinson. Throughout Jackie Robinson's life, his hard work paid off and he broke the color barrier in the MLB, making him a virtuous leader. In order to understand Jackie Robinson's life, it is important to know about his early life and how he became the virtuous leader he is.

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

He paved the way for many African American baseball players and other African Americans in other fields. Although Jackie was born to a family of sharecroppers he still made a change. The message he passed to us was that no matter where you started from you can still come up. Jackie was a man that fought for his rights.

Read More
485 Words | 2 Pages

Robinson attended UCLA where he played four sports at the varsity level. Shortly after,America was brought into World War II, and Robinson joined the military. After the war was over, Robinson began playing baseball in the Negro Leagues. During this time, Branch Rickey, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was scouting for players in the Negro Leagues that could help the team win. He discovered Jackie Robinson, and was amazed by his performance, and decided to sign him onto the team.

Read More
682 Words | 3 Pages

Jackie Robinson was a man who overcame incredible obstacles to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He was an exemplary figure of courage and strength in the face of kind of daunting odds, similar to the protagonist in Shirley Jackson''s short story, "The Lottery\", sort of contrary to popular belief. In the story, a small village is forced to pick one of its citizens to be sacrificed to the gods, and the protagonist refuses to accept the unfairness of the situation. Like the protagonist in the story, Jackie Robinson had to fight against the racism and prejudice of his time. He essentially worked kind of hard to generally prove that he was capable of playing in the major leagues, despite the negative opinions of those in power.

Read More
2212 Words | 9 Pages

According to Jesse Jackson, "When [he] took the field, something within us reminded us of our birthright to be free. And somebody without reminded us that it could be attained. There was strength and pride and power when the big rock hit the water, and concentric circles came forth and ripples of new possibility spread throughout the nation” (qtd. in “Jackie Robinson,” Notable). Jackie Robinson, a man among legends, spread hope and inspired the nation for change that had not been considered before him.

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

Jackie Robinson was a role model to people of all races and inspired other minorities to become professional sports athletes. He became a symbol of advanced civil rights progress for minority athletes and fans

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

After gaining such a huge name thru baseball Jackie used that to influence the presidency, “Robinson took to the political world too, again using his fame as a lightning rod to draw attention to the issues”(Williams,Juan 5). Jackie understood he had a following so he used that to his advantage. Gradually Jackie’s name got so big that he joined John F. Kennedy 's presidential campaign and then Richard Nixon’s campaign, “... so influential that both Kennedy and Nixon campaigns believed he was their key to success”(Williams,Juan 5). People respected Jackie for what he did on the field so he used that to influence them. Throughout the years Jackie received lots of criticism, but he took that criticism and used it to his advantage, “He answered critics by staying involved, by taking action”(Williams Juan 6).

Read More
1376 Words | 6 Pages

He was a big part in the fight for equal rights. Jackie Robinson took so much abuse on the field because of his race that it gave him mental breakdowns. These breakdowns sometimes took days to recover from but he went through all of that so other people would have better opportunities. But this didn’t just go on for one season, Robinson had to deal with that racism for about two years before he was really accepted as a “respected” baseball player. (Kuhn,web) and (Wilson,web).

Read More
713 Words | 3 Pages

Jackie has been an inspiration to all blacks around the world, for his determination even when times were tough, always standing up for his rights. As said in a past article, “Jackie had a huge part to play in how Americans thought about racial integration.” (Novak) He made Americans realize that African Americans could play with whites in the big leagues and be able to deal with the controversy that comes with it. Some may think otherwise, but Jackie Robinson is a role model for millions of people around the

Read More
1358 Words | 6 Pages

Robinson retired in 1957 due to him pushing his body to his limit. When Robinson retired he became a successful businessman, and he started to support the civil rights movements to help improve relationships between races. Robinson wanted a better life for blacks everywhere, “As his fame grew, Robinson became more fervent in his protests against racist attitudes, and he offered more support for civil rights causes”("Jackie Robinson." DISCovering Multicultural America: African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Gale, 2003). Robinson then became a chairman for the YMCA, which didn't last very long, and then became the manager of a construction company that built homes for black families and created many other things that sparked participation of African Americans in business and other such duties.

Read More
2245 Words | 9 Pages

Jackie changed the game of baseball, because of him players from any ethnicity had a chance at becoming big” (Sports Museum). Jackie was one of the heros who began the end of segregation. This was not easy and his legacy will forever be remembered. He paved the way for so many athletes. If it wasn't for him many people of color would not be where they are today.

Read More
395 Words | 2 Pages

He wound up being a second lieutenant. Jackie went to his court-martial for not moving to the back of the bus. He was on trial because a few officers were working a vengeance against a uppity black man. Several months later, Robinson received an honorable discharge from the army. In 1945, Jackie Robinson played shortstop for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro League.

Read More

More about Life Of Jackie Robinson: The Man Who Changed More Than Baseball

Related Topics

Open Document