Nearly everyone recognizes the impact that Jackie Robinson had on Major League Baseball and other professional sports, but not everyone realizes that Jackie Robinson simply stepping foot on a baseball field impacted the world of politics, the entertainment industry and the entire Civil Rights movement. The United States was slowly becoming more racially equal in the mid 1900s. “In 1948, President Harry Truman ordered the armed forces to desegregate, in 1954, the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education outlawed separate but equal schools, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 opened public facilities to all races, but the movement against segregation after World War II really began in 1947 with Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball” (Costly). At the time
…show more content…
He began playing professionally after leaving the army. At that time, baseball was segregated and whites and blacks played in separate leagues. After playing in the Negro Leagues for a few years, Robinson was chosen by the President of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, as the person who would help integrate MLB. Rickey insisted that Jackie promise that when confronted with racism, he would not fight back. As soon as his baseball career started, he was tested. People in the stands, opposing players and even his own teammates objected to his presence and let him know it with insulting racial slurs, taunts and even death threats. Teammates who supported Jackie, Dodger management, and his family members also received threats and taunts. He did, however, receive support from some who defended his right to play in the Major Leagues. Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler, Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg and All-Star teammate and Dodger team captain Pee Wee Reese outwardly showed fans that they welcomed the first African-American professional baseball
He began playing professionally after leaving the army. At that time, baseball was segregated and whites and blacks played in separate leagues. After playing in the Negro Leagues for a few years, Robinson was chosen by the President of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, as the person who would help integrate MLB. Rickey insisted that Jackie promise that when confronted with racism, he would not fight back. As soon as his baseball career started, he was tested. People in the stands, opposing players and even his own teammates objected to his presence and let him know it with insulting racial slurs, taunts and even death threats. Teammates who supported Jackie, Dodger management, and his family members also received threats and taunts. He did, however, receive support from some who defended his right to play in the Major Leagues. Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler, Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg and All-Star teammate and Dodger team captain Pee Wee Reese outwardly showed fans that they welcomed the first African-American professional baseball