Segregation: Richard Wright Vs. Jackie Robinson

892 Words2 Pages

Richard Wright vs. Jackie Robinson Starting from the point where humans has realized diversity, there have been many “ism’s” that caused barriers; sexism, genderism, and ageism. One of the “ism’s” that I’m focused on is racism. Since the 1800’s there has been racial segregation that caused many barriers for people who have colored skin. There were different settings and places for people who were white and black. Living through this black and white world, a lot of people had to find ways to maneuver, and look for loopholes in order to keep and maintain identity. Some people of color even had to go through rough afflictions as a result of being labeled as something else to achieve dreams that were presented as impossible because of the …show more content…

After having his father leave him at six months old, his family moved to Pasadena, California. In Pasadena, Robinson grew up in poverty. Having this issue that many people in color had in common, Robinson took odd jobs to support the family. In 1932, Jackie graduated from John Muir High school then graduated from Pasadena Junior college in 1939. He then transferred to UCLA becoming the school's first to win varsity letters for four sports. During senior year, he met his future wife, Isum. After UCLA in 1942, Jackie Robinson was assigned to a segregated squadron at Fort Riley, Kansas. On July 6th, 1944 there was an event that destroyed his first long time job; when boarding an army bus, the driver commanded Robinson to go to the back of the bus. As a response of the bus driver’s remark, Jackie Robinson confronted him. This led to Robinson going to court being falsely charged. Being brought to court had ended his military career so he decided to move on. After Robinson’s military career, he went back to Los Angeles. Over there, were his old football and an old friend. His old friend, Rev. Karl Downs, offered Robinson a job to be a athletic director. He then taught and coached children; along with working with children Robinson worked along Huston College coaching in 1955- 1955. While working at Sam Houston, the Kansas City Monarchs offered a job to play pro negro baseball. In his baseball career, being apart of the Monarchs, Robinson experienced disorganization which frustrated him. Having his travel schedule being hectic, he couldn't make time to communicate to Isum; this became a burden in their relationship. In the total Robinson played 47 games with the Monarchs. There, he made an impeccable performance which landed him to play in the 1945 Negro League All-Star Game. Looking for jobs with more potential, trying out with the Red Sox. Trying out with the Red Sox was horrendous, with the racial

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