Many people in the past have experienced racism and slavery. Because of that so many people have stood up to try and gain freedom for those who don’t have any and they also just wanted to change the world to make it a better place. All of the people that have done this did it so that everyone could be treated equally. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the people that have experienced things such as slavery and racism. King was an american baptist minister and activist.He stood up to fight for the civil rights for black americans and became the leader in the Civil Rights movement. King wrote the famous “I Have a Dream” speech and in it he talks about freedom. He mentioned in his speech that everyone should have the same amount of freedom and be treated equally. In his speech he stated,“ I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He mentioned that in his speech …show more content…
In the 1968 Olympics Tommie Smith and John Carlos won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter running event and while they were on the podium they turned to face their flag during the National Anthem and raised black-gloved fist until the anthem was over. They did it as a Human rights salute. Another athlete to stand up and make a change was Jackie Robinson. He was an american professional baseball second baseman who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. In 1947 he broke the color barrier to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson saw the flag in a different way because of all the racism he faced. He wrote an autobiography in 1972 and stated,“I cannot stand and sing the anthem, I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world.” Robinson along with many other athletes have been crucial in creating the social change that has created a more welcoming
Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered as motivation to fight for their rights and help paint the picture of what America could look like in the future. He does this by in the beginning saying that even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed African Americans are not treated as normal citizens. By saying this Martin Luther King Jr. was saying we should not just be content with being free from slavery. That now it is time to fight for our rights and to end discrimination because of the color on one’s skin.
Jackie Robinson decided to fight to be the first African American to integrate the Major League Baseball (MLB). His autobiography states he “was forced to live with snubs rebuffs and rejections” ( Robinson). This quote shows that he was treated unfairly and disrespectfully. In Robinson’s autobiography it also states that Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier and created equal oppurtunity proving that a “sport can’t be called national if blacks are barred from it”
Just two days earlier at a banquet at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, many people had paid $25 a plate to show their admiration for Jackie as both a ballplayer and a representative of the Negro race as well. Some of the most distinguished figures in the nation were present this day and their praise was loud and long (Mann 187). Jackie accepted without hesitation a challenge to break a prevailing color barrier in the national sport of America with complete knowledge of how much he depended on him. Few men had ever faced such competitive odds when becoming a player in organized baseball. Despite criticism and opposition, Jack Roosevelt Robinson has truly come a long way from his poor beginnings as the grandson of slaves in Cairo, Georgia, to breaking the racial barriers in major league baseball by becoming its first black athlete and achieving hall of fame status.
“On July 6, 1944, Robinson was riding a bus on the base and sitting next to a fellow officer’s light-skinned wife. The driver instructed Robinson to move to a seat farther back. Robinson argued with him, and when he got off at his stop, the bus dispatcher joined in the altercation”(Weblog). Robinson and other blacks were segregated as people. When Robinson started to stand up for what he believed in to become equal, he motivated blacks to achieve what they want and to stick up for themselves. He was also the face of the Civil Rights Movement, the Civil Rights Movement was a "freedom struggle" by African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s to gain equality. Jackie Robinson was most known for breaking the color barrier, making this another reason why he was an inspiration. After Jackie retired, on July 23, 1962, Jackie Robinson is inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New
Whether it was on the football field, on the basketball court, or out on the baseball field, Robinson encountered quite a bit of success wherever he went. (cite) Despite the talents of many African American baseball players, many were deemed inferior to their white counterparts. The sense of inferiority led many baseball players and owners of the teams in the Negro leagues to adjust to the status quo, however, Robinson was not one to simply seek to fulfill the status quo. Robinson was unwilling to conform with what mainstream society tried to force him to conform with, he constantly told his teammates that they should always be ready, someday one of them would be signed to break the color barrier and play in organized ball (cite to pg 48). Unlike many of his peers, he felt a different calling in the sport of baseball.
...u're going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you're wasting your life." "I don't think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We are demanding that we just be given the things that are rightfully ours and we're not looking for anything else." In 1972 Jackie Robinson died but his legacy would always live forever. The effects of Robinson can be seen in any place that you come across like the covers of Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and even the Wall Street Journal. Since Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947 black society in America has truly broken infinite number of barriers. More important than the improvements in the black race, are the improvements in the entire nation that from his accomplishments was now one step closer to equality. (Quotes)
Jackie Robinson was an African American baseball player who made his debut in 1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was the first African American man to play Major League Baseball. During this time America was not accepting of this change, baseball was seen as the “white man's game.” Robinson faced unimaginable trials while evolving American Society, and endeavoring in his career. Jackie was able to accomplish the most profound ideas in baseball history.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to Jerry and Mallie Robinson. President Theodore Roosevelt, who died twenty-five days before Robinson was born, was the inspiration for his middle name (42 Facts). Robinson’s first stint with adversity came just six months after he was born when his father abandoned the family and ran off to Texas with the neighbor’s wife. Robinson and his four older siblings were raised single-handedly by their mother. After his dad deserted the family, Robinson’s mother decided to sell what little they had and move herself and her children in with her brother in Pasadena, California (Robinson, Jackie). While his mother was at work, Robinson would go to school with his older sister, Willa Mae, but since he was not old enough to be enrolled, he would often times have to sit in the sandbox outside of the school all day. Robinson’s first encounter with racial scrutiny came when he was about eight years old. He was sweeping the sidewalk when a little white neighbor girl shouted “Nigger, nigger, nigger!” at him. He was old enough to know how to respond and did so by calling the little girl “cracker.” Her father stormed out of the house to confront Rob...
...play in the major leagues and Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier and people started realizing the questionable practices of segregation wanting the United States to change and accept blacks into everyday life.
Martin Luther King did not know that his “I Have a Dream” speech would still be iconic 50 years later. In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington. He was facing the problem of racial injustice for himself and everyone like him. He needed to create a speech that everyone could and would understand, could learn from, and could draw inspiration from. He had to address blacks and whites, he had to say things that everyone could relate to and he had speak in a way that he get the
To start off, for Jackie Robinsons bravery to stop the color barrier Jackie Robinson had the courage for two years no one else had. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “For two full years he ‘turned the other cheek’, his brain keeping his mouth shut while his heart burned with rage at the insults he knew he must tolerate”(2). Robinson managed to do a lot even with all the abuse he suffered. He had to walk away from name calling, death threats even as a child he faced abused being the only black family who lived in a white neighborhood. In the article “Skin Games” Gregg Guss states, “The world Jackie Robinson grew up in was separate and unequal” (3). All Jackie Robinson wanted to do was make the game he loved equal for all. He wanted to show that African Americans could play any sport just as good as anyone else that there skin color did not define their talents. Although Jackie Robinson faced a lot making the path for African Americans he did it bravely, diligently...
According to Jessie Jackson, "A champion wins a World Series or an Olympic event and is hoisted on the shoulders of the fans. A hero carries the people on his shoulders" (Robinson 3). This is what made Jackie Robinson a hero to African-Americans. Robinson's achievement goes beyond the statistics and championships he earned on the field. He opened the door for his entire race to play professional sports and gain acceptance as more desegregation took place. After fighting in World War II from 1941 until 1944, Jackie played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues from 1944 until 1946. In 1946, he was selected as the best person to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Jackie Robinson was a black man that played a white man only sport. Jackie Robinson’s life was outstanding regardless of the obstacles that were thrown in his way in order for him to make it to the top. Jackie Robinson overcame the pain people put him through with the support of his family, friends, and his God given talent, which was playing baseball. Jackie Robinson overcame the negativity of white people during the Civil Rights Movement. For this reason, Jackie Robinson never gave up on his dream and proved people wrong. Jackie Robinson became a vocal champion for the African-American athletes around the world (“Robinson, Jackie - Black History”).
King traveled the country making speeches and inspiring people to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He organized non-violent student sit-ins and fought for the rights of the black population. In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All the points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential leader of the American Civil Rights Movement as he fought for the freedom of African Americans. King’s most influential speech is his “I Have a Dream” given on August 28, 1963.1 King himself was a man whom thousands of people admired. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an expressive tone in his speeches by using verbal powerful imagery toward his audience, reminding them of the challenges facing them and defeating racism. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to take action, lead by example, as shown in his speeches and promoted non-violence as a method for change.