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jackie robinson breaking barriers in history essay
the life and times of jackie robinson
jackie robinson breaking barriers in history essay
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The grandson of a slave, Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia; he was the youngest of five children. Jackie grew up very poor, but little did he know that his athletic ability would open the doors for his future. After his father deserted the family when Jackie was six months old, his mother, Mallie Robinson, moved the family to California in search of work. California also subjected blacks to segregation at that time, but to less of a degree than in the Deep South. The young Jackie defused his anger over this prejudice by immersing himself in sports. He displayed extraordinary athletic skills in high school, excelling at football, basketball, baseball, and track. After helping Pasadena Junior College win the Junior College Football Championship, Robinson took his athletic ability to the University of California at Los Angeles and became a top collegiate running back in 1939.
Having used up his athletic eligibility, as well as having some financial trouble, Robinson left UCLA before graduating. After college he held a job with the National Youth Administration work camp until the camp was closed due to the onset of World War II. In the fall of 1941 he joined the Honolulu Bears professional football team. In 1942, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the U.S. Army. He was accepted into Officer Candidate School in Ft. Riley, Kansas and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in January 1943. While stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas, Robinson worked with heavyweight champion Joe Louis to eradicate unfair treatment of blacks in the military. However, inequities would persist in the armed forces for decades to come. He was later transferred to Ft. Hood, Texas where an incident in which he refused to move to the back of the bus found Court Martial charges brought up against him. He was found innocent, but was honorably discharged in 1944 on the grounds that his ankles had been weakened during his years of playing football.
Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League in 1945 for a reported $450 a month. Although he soon became one of the league's top players, he was not fond of the low pay and relentless traveling and apparently had no intention of making baseball a career. That attitude was changed due to the efforts of Brooklyn Dodger president Branch Rickey. Starting in 1943, Rickey had been searching for a black playe...
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...ckie Robinson’s debut. On that day, Major League Baseball announced that the number forty two would be retired throughout the Major League, an event that was symbolic of the impact that Robinson had on baseball.
Jackie Robinson always went his own way, answering to his own instincts and refusing to be swayed by those who objected to his choices. He never took for granted his role as a trailblazer in the integration of sports and the opening of opportunities for blacks in the United States. By being a man with incredible physical skills, mental fortitude, and competitive fire who arrived in the right place and at the right time in history, Robinson had a major impact on the black struggle for equality in the twentieth century.
Jackie Robinson's signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers was the most significant event to occur in baseball since World War II. Although Robinson may not have been the best athlete in the Negro Leagues it was his overall character, education, and social upbringing that appealed to Branch Rickey. Collectively, they paved the way for integrating the game, allowing some of the greatest players to participate who had previously been restricted to their own league.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Georgia. On this day, a legend arrived. Jackie was raised by his mother, and his mother alone. His father left before Jackie was born, and he didn’t remember one thing about him. Jackie had many siblings, brothers and sisters. Jackie had an older brother named Matthew, who was also very athletic. Jackie’s mother tried the best she could to raise these boys right, and teach them that no matter what the whites called them...they were special.
Jack Roosevelt Johnson was born in the very segregated south in Cairo, Georgia around 1919. Jackie grew up loving baseball and knew that is what he wanted to do. About two decades before Jackie was born the MLB was split between white and Negro leagues. Jackie being an African-American, of course played for the Negro Leagues. He strived in this sport. He lead the Negro League with most stolen bases and had a great batting average. Both his statistics and love for the game brought the name Jackie Robinson to the attention of the Brooklyn Dodger's manager Branch Rickey.
Jackie Robinson was the most influential ball player of all time. Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. Robinson had a tough childhood since his dad left his family when he was only 1 year old. This was very difficult for his family, so Jackie, his mom, and his 4 siblings moved to California. This move actually helped Jackie in the long run as he later attended UCLA. At UCLA, Jackie became the first 4-letter man. This meant that he was the first person in the school’s history to join four varsity sports teams. From there, Jackie went on to the army and then to the Negro Leagues. During his time in the Negro Leagues, Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was looking for a black man to break the
Jackie was born and raised in Cairo, Georgia 1919. He was raised by his single mother Mallie along with is four siblings. He was the first person at UCLA to obtain a varsity letter in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He married Rachel Isum who he met at UCLA. He however had to leave school due to financial reasons and decided to enlist in the military, but was honorably discharged due to being court-martialed due to his actions against racial discrimination. Jackie played one season in 1945 with the Kansas City Monarchs leading to further achievements in his professional baseball career.
Jackie Robinson changed baseball in America in the 1940s by breaking the segregation barrier that was bestowed on baseball. Robinson played in the Negro League for the Kansas City Monarchs. In 1945 Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers negotiated a contract with Robinson that would bring Robinson into the major leagues in 1947. Baseball was segregated because of racial intolerance, economic factors, and other complex reasons. The major leagues would rent out their stadiums to the Negro League teams when their own team would be on the road. For example, if the Brooklyn Dodgers were on the road they would rent out their stadium to the Kansas City Monarchs. Major League team owners also knew if they integrated the Majors the Negro League would lose their best players and the Negro League would be lost. Also, the Majors would lose significant revenue.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and siblings to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track, and baseball; the only athlete in UCLA history to letter in four different sports. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens.
Although Jackie Robinson was not the best African-American baseball player of his time, his attitude and ability to handle racist harassment led the way for the rest of his race to play Major League Baseball, amongst other sports. Being accepted into professional sports also helped African-Americans become more easily accepted into other aspects of life. Jackie's impact in the world for the black population is enormous.
Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo. The year Jackie was born was 1919 to a family of farmers. His Mother name is Mallie Robinson. She raised Jackie and four other of her children. They were the only black family around and people gave them a hard time about living around them since they were the only black family on the block. Jackie was the very first black baseball player ever to join the white man’s league.
Jackie Robinson, born Jack Roosevelt Robinson, is known for being the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia as the grandson of a slave. He was the youngest of five children and at six months old his father left them. At this time, because it was so hard for African-Americans in the south, his mother Mallie Robinson decided to move them to Pasadena, California where it was easier for African-Americans to live and find jobs.
"In his early days in the Army, he established himself as a fighter for civil rights"(Weidhorn 40-1). The U.S. Army was segregated about the time Robinson enlisted. He felt for the first time in his life what it was like to be a second-class citizen as a part of his daily life. Jackie had too much pride though, to let things stay the way they were. Many blacks accepted how things were in the army. Robinson knew that if he tried hard enough, he could change things. One particular event caused Robinson to stand up for his rights, almost to the point of being court-martialed from the Ar...
Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play on the professional level, he was fearless, courageous, willful and strong. He was an advocate for civil rights, as well as a great baseball player. He had to try to keep quiet, and keep to himself while playing, but became a stronger and more extreme advocate over time. A leader on and off the fields dealing with much more than just baseball, he also had to deal with the criticism and racial tensions of a prominently white game. Branch Rickey, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was a showman who knew how to make money and fame in baseball “he had made a fortune for the cardinals as well as himself, and black talent could argument his bottom line by transforming his struggling dodgers into a power house” (Zeiler, 17). He wanted to make his team great by any means possible. He put his eyes on Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson changed the game and the world, and will always be a huge figure in baseball and civil rights.
...as handled by his courage were the first few years he was signed on to the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the interview between Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, Dodgers president, said to Robinson:
His middle name was chosen after Teddy Roosevelt because of his public opposition to racism. He had four brothers and sisters (Rampersad 15). As an infant Jackie Robinson’s father left him and his brothers and sisters. He would later try and return but Mallie, Jackie’s mother, had already moved on and wanted nothing to do with him. Mallie was eager to leave things behind so she moved. Robinson and his family moved to Pasadena, California (Rampersad 18). After two years she was able to collect enough money to move to a new house on Pepper Street which was an all-white neighborhood. Later on in his life Robinson went to The University of California, Los Angeles (Johnson 480). While at UCLA Robinson became the first person to letter in four different sports. It was also at UCLA where he met Rachel Isun, who would play a major role in his life. In 1941
Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919 in Cairo Georgia. There he lived with his family in dire poverty on a sharecropper’s farm. Abandoned by his father, at age one, his mother moved their family to Pasadena, California; there she raised Robinson and his four siblings all by herself. Jack became a star athlete in high school excelling in football, basketball, track, and his weakest sport baseball. Jack was not the only athlete in his family. His brother Mack, won a silver medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics for the 200 meter dash finishing second to Jesse Owens. When his brother returned the only job he could get was sweeping the streets. Robinson grew to hate Pasadena, according to Ray Bartlett, a friend he would later meet at UCLA. (Jerome 71) While Mallie, Jack’s mom, struggled to raise her family alone, she instilled the values in Robinson that made him fight not just for himself, but for others. (Berkow A16)
Forgiveness is the act of releasing an offender of any wrong or hurt they may have caused you whether they deserve it or not. It is a decision to let go of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group of people. When we choose to forgive, we’re wiping the slate clean, cancelling a debt, or as I love to say, “Letting it go.” In the Bible, the Greek word for forgiveness literally means to “let it go.” This concept, “forgiveness,” is easier said than done. Majority of people find it very difficult to let go of offenses and hurts caused by others. I really do believe that most people desire to let it go, but we lack the knowledge of how to do it. As believers, we are instructed by God maintain an attitude of forgiveness.