Jackie Robinson: A Crucial Blow for Racial Equality in the World of Sports

Before Barry Bonds, before Reggie Jackson, before Hank Aaron, baseball's stars had one undeniable trait in common: they were all white. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke that barrier, striking a crucial blow for racial equality and changing the world of sports forever. I Never Had It Made is Robinson's own story, hard-hitting account of what it took to become the first black man in history to play in the major leagues. I Never Had It Made recalls Robinson's early years and influences: his time at UCLA, his army stint during World War II, when he challenged Jim Crow laws and narrowly escaped court martial; his years of frustration, on and off the field, with the Negro Leagues; and finally that fateful day when Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers proposed what became known as the "Noble Experiment.” In his thesis the author talks about his grandparents born into slavery and that times had changed, instead of physical slavery his parents were a part of an erudite slavery.

As a reviewer the author has flourished that even if slavery was illegal, black decedents were treated unequally. It goes into a quick story on how his mom and her five kids moved to California. As a single parent it was hard for her to feed her children so, she had to get welfare from the government. “Almost immediately, she found a job washing and ironing. She didn’t make enough, however, to support herself and five children she went to welfare for relief.” White people still saw blacks as less dominant and treated them unevenly. “ I was sweeping our sidewalk when a little neighbor girl shouted at me, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.””

As growing up and living his life in poverty, the author says that he and others were starting to form a gang. Frustrations were buil...

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...ids. He portrayed that hard work; love and family can lead you far in life. Regardless how much you are hated and etc. It also made life easier for African American athletes. After Jackie Robinson’s performance in the MLB, athletes in Basketball and football were becoming stars. Bill Russell is the only NBA player with the most NBA championships 11.

Another critique mentioned “He’d talk about racism in baseball with certain players and ideology, but the way it’s written sounds like ‘just another day’ as opposed to ‘can you believe this?’” Furthermore, Ricky the GM of the Dodgers had mentioned that he wanted a player that wouldn’t mind hearing racial comments. For Jackie to not take others comments seriously and to continue to perform the way he did is beyond amazing. For a player of his caliper to go through what he did trying to make a dream a reality is great.