The Impact Of Jackie Robinson And The Civil Rights Movement

Improved Essays
Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ozzie Smith, and Barry Bonds were all great baseball players with outstanding accolades, but where would they be without Jackie Robinson. He changed the world in a positive way. He broke the color barrier in 1947 and helped in the Civil Rights movement. Jackie Robinson was born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. He was a star athlete at the University of California Los Angeles in four different sports, and he became UCLA’s first four letterman for his multisport skills. Robinson served as a second Lieutenant in the United States army from 1942 to 1944. Robinson finally played his first major league game with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. Jackie Robinson changed the world in sports and through helping the …show more content…
He also helped the Civil Rights Movement by playing baseball. According to William Rubinstein he states, “Brown vs. Board of Education decision 1954, the Birmingham bus Campaign and other landmarks of the civil rights campaign might have occurred without Rickey and Robinson, but the integration of baseball made them far more likely to succeed and to receive support from whites.” He made it easier for them to receive support from the whites which was a big deal and it helped out a lot. It was very shocking for them to get support from the whites. Robinson not only changed the world in baseball but also in civil …show more content…
He became head chairman of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People. He raised an outstanding 1 million dollars for the organization. Robinson said in one of his speeches to his N.A.A.C.P. members, “Certainly if such revolutionary change can be brought about in baseball, it can be brought about in education, in transportation, and any other area of our American lives” (Anderson and Moser n.pag.). He also marched in many marches and he participated in many protest. He also gave speeches to people about interrogation. He walked in one of the most famous marches the March on Washington in Washington D.C. where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a Dream Speech.” He also was an outspoken opponent of the racial discrimination. He resigned from the N.A.A.C.P. in 1967 because he thought the leader of one of the factions was being racist and being discriminating. He also helped create the Freedom National Bank to help black business owners and other minorities receive loans that they would not be able to get from white banks. Robinson also helped push for black managers and coaches. He did not play in the Old- Timers game in 1969 because white owners still had not hired any black coaches or managers. Finally his persistence paid off when a black manager was hired in 1975, it was right after Robinson passed away so he never got to see

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Robinson was the first African American to ever play professional baseball and changed many people’s lives, but nothing came easy for him as he was tormented, abused, and heckled night in and night out. In 1946 history was made; Jackie Robinson became the first ever player to play in a professional baseball game with an African American in it. This was a big for the sport and country as many did not agree with this. For Robinson, he was excited to get the…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Drew Fleming Mr. Litz American Lit December 5, 2016 Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson was an African American man. He broke the color barrier in America by being the first African American to play professional baseball. During Robinson’s life, America was a segregated nation.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The African American man known as Jackie Robinson broke the baseball Color barrier. Signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the year of 1947.Born on January 31,1919,Jack R. Robinson was the first African American to ever play on an integrated major baseball league. Jackie Robinson was number 42 of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and spent…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (Robinson 48) Jackie played two thirds of the games in 1955. (Robinson 78). Jackie retired in October of 1956 he was a six time all-star, one time world series champion, one time N.L. MVP,and the 1947 rookie of the year.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African-American player in Major League Baseball when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years. Exactly 50 years later, on April 15, 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired by all teams in the league. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    During the 1940’s there were two major leagues. The white league and the negro league. The two leagues had always been separated until the manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers chose Jackie to play on their team. According to the reading Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play in the major white league.…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jackie Robinson April 15, 1947 is the day that one of the most important events in American history took place. The impact Robinson made on Major League Baseball is one that will be forever remembered. On April 15 each season, every team in the majors celebrates Jackie Robinson Day in honor of when he truly broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the first African-American player in the 20th century to take the field in the big leagues. He opened the door for many others and will forever be appreciated for his contribution to the game. Jackie Robinson took the biggest risk that any young black man could take during the late 1940’s, when he became the first black person play on a professional team.…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    After his release from the Armed force in 1944, Robinson started to play baseball professionally. At the time, the game was isolated, and African-Americans and whites played in particular associations. Robinson started playing in the Negro Associations, however he was soon picked by Branch Rickey, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to incorporate significant alliance baseball. He joined the all-white Montreal Royals, a ranch group for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946. Rickey knew there would be troublesome times ahead for the youthful competitor, thus made Robinson guarantee to not battle back when stood up to with prejudice.…

    • 200 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jackie Robinson used his activism and talent in baseball to change a political view on african american by being the first african american baseball player. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in cairo,georgia. His daddy walked out on him, his mom and 4 other siblings. Soon after his birthday he and his mom and 4 other siblings moved to Pasadena, California. In high school Jack Roosevelt Robinson played baseball, basketball, football, broad jump, and track at UCLA.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. He played first base, second base, third base, and outfield. Robinson played with the Dodgers for 10 years before retiring. When he ended his career, he left with a .311 lifetime batting average.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After being honorably discharged from serving in the United States Army for many years, he then went on to play baseball for the Kansas City Monarchs of the American Negro League. It was then that Robinson was chosen to be the one suited for breaking the color barrier. Because Rickey knew of Robinson's boundless talent, he sent a Dodger scout out to set up a get-together where he asked Robinson if wanted the opportunity to break baseball's color barrier. At first Robinson was confused on why he was brought to a so called “meeting” with Rickey. Rickey told Robinson "You were brought here to play for the Brooklyn organization.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lieutenant Jackie Robinson

    • 1758 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Most of all he wanted to see a black manager in professional baseball, which became a reality when Frank Robinson became the first black major league baseball manager. Robinson was asked to throw out the ball to open the second game of the 75th World Series at Riverfront Stadium in 1972. Although still in his early 50s, Robinson was not in the best health. He had survived one heart attack, and was going through years of diabetes and high blood pressure. Less than two weeks after his ceremonial toss at the World Series, he collapsed at his home in Connecticut and died later that day on October 24th, 1972.…

    • 1758 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Another similarity that he had with Beals was that he also had to face threats of violence “against me and my family and even out-and-out attempts at physical harm to me” (Robinson). Despite the racism and danger, many African-Americans came out to support him “with total loyalty” (Robinson). Over time, the acceptance for Robinson began to increase, and he was finally proudly recognized as the first of many African-American ballplayers. Robinson believed that this was an extremely important step for African-American equality. He was proud, as Robinson stated in the second paragraph of his autobiography, “to be used to prove that a sport can’t be called national if blacks are barred from it.”…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the first acknowledged black player to perform in the majors. Jackie Robinson went on to be the first to win a batting title. The first to win the most…

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He was named to the All-Star team six times and was the National League MVP in 1949. 1956, his tenth season in the Major Leagues, was his last. After his retirement, Robinson took a job as a Vice-President in Personnel for Chock-Full-O '-Nuts, he helped improve economic lives of employees. Until his death in 1972, Robinson continued to raise funds for the NAACP and lent his celebrity status to the Civil Rights Movement.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays