Jackie Robinson 1m1r18

Ayeni 1 Oluwadunni Ayeni History 201 Dr. Robert Chiles August 14 2017

The American Dilemma: Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights Struggle. American ideals, or the American Dream as it is called today, represents all that has guided the United States right from the Declaration of Independence until now, as the States was founded on these very principles. These ideals advocate for democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity, equality for all persons without discrimination, and prosperity attained through hard work in a society with few obstacles. However, these ideals did not hold true for Americans, especially African Americans, specifically after World War 2 which saw a rise in Civil Rights movements. The Civil Rights Movement sought to fight against segregation and lynching which had gotten out of hand post WWII, but going back in time, the struggle against segregation really began in the 1940s when Jackie Robinson, an African American baseball player, broke the color barrier in baseball. In his Monograph of Jackie Robinson, John R.M Wilson highlights Jackie Robinson’s experiences during his years in the late 1940s and how it relates to the civil right struggles in the 1960s. Jackie Robinson’s experiences and struggles were therefore important because they became an inspiring force to fight against segregation, they encouraged peaceful resistance that was instrumental in the civil rights movement, and they reinforced the African American leadership class which W.E.B Du Bois referred to as the “Talented Tenth”. The period before the Great depression, popularly known as the “Roaring Twenties”, saw a rise to economic boom and western culture in music, sport, television, media among others. Sports saw a huge outbreak in this era as many modern sports were introduced, the most

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popular among them being baseball. Segregation was going on in the society at this time and for sports like baseball, it was no different. Baseball teams like the Major League Baseball had a “color line” policy which excluded African Americans from being a part of the all-white baseball team. Negro leagues such as the Pittsburgh Pirates had tried a few times to break this barrier but had been met with “unnamed pressures”. Jackie Robinson, along sides other negro players, had also tried a few times to get into the major league baseball team but their attempts were unsuccessful. He however kept on believing that one day they would overcome as one of them would be “signed to break the color barrier and play in organized ball”. This did not seem feasible to other negro players because of lack of hope at that time. Nevertheless, things began to change when Branch Rickey decided to integrate baseball by g a black player into Dodgers, and Jackie Robinson was on the top of his list. He noted that Jackie was an “irable aggressiveness”, courageous and defiant, and above all Robinson was keen on ending segregation which was Rickey’s end goal. Jackie Robinson changed baseball- and ultimately history- when he broke this color barrier that has existed for more than 60 years when he was signed into the Dodger; an organized baseball team that was desired by many Negro players. Before this time, no distinct action taken to end segregation stopped it from continuing, especially in a highly regarded American culture pride like Baseball. But Jackie Robinson was influential in that he “broke the path for others to follow” as more Negro players got signed into major baseball leagues, and this extended to other sports like football which also saw desegregation. Robinson opened the path for segregation to be fought against in the American Society as a whole during the civil rights movement that would later happen in years. He served as a source of inspiration because he made African Americans believe that segregation can be fought, and this made them trust their abilities to fight and win,

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thereby giving them the courage to stand up to segregation. Throughout his years before and after his breakthrough, Jackie Robinson was known to be non-violent in his efforts to end the segregation he faced. When Jackie Robinson ed the military, he was subject to the harsh segregation that was prominent in the military. Being a sports person, he wanted to make an impact on the baseball domain in Fort Riley, where he was in charge of an integrated army of soldiers. He was however told to play for the colored team that was not in existence rather than the white team he wanted to play with. He, “sadly walked away” instead of fighting back because he had every right to do so, since he was a lieutenant. Perhaps his known issue was when he sat beside a fellow black lieutenant’s light skinned wife in the bus, and the driver, Renegar, thinking she was white, told Robinson to move to the back seat of the bus. He politely refused and this led to a heated argument between him and the bus driver who told the military police to arrest Robinson who ended up getting a court martial. He was later acquitted of all his charges because of the favorable comments on his character by Colonel Bates, his commanding officer. This event was similar to the Rosa Parks bus boycott where she refused to seat at the colored side of the bus, and that sparked the civil rights movements. In addition, Rickey had chosen Robinson because he wanted someone who could persevere in the face of racism. He had observed him and saw that he was of an unquestionable character, which made him have “Robinson at the top of his list”. His peaceful resistance led the way for how African Americans acted during the movement. They were not violent; but rather peaceful in their Sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and various Marches. Even though they were faced with severe violence such as being beaten, and sometimes killed, they stayed calmed and endured all the brutality. They were so keen on non-violence that they held trainings for demonstrators on how to be non-violent in their protests. Jackie Robinson set the pace for nonviolence to be used

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in the civil rights movement because he overcame the racist struggles while being non-violent. It showed African Americans that freedom can be achieved through non-violence. Jackie Robinson lived an exemplary life, which reinforced the leadership class that African Americans had sought to attain. He exceled greatly in athletics and always led his team both in college and baseball league to success. Robinson became UCLA’s first All-American as a footballer, he also won varsity letters in four sports namely baseball, basketball, football, and track. Also, the year he broke the color line, he won the rookie of the year award in baseball. He also became the first black player to be honored with the “Most valuable player of the year” award. He stood up as a leader to urge Negro baseball players that he believed that soon, they will break the color barrier and play in the major league with no obstruction. His life as a leader awoke the leadership sensation in African Americans as the civil rights movement saw a rise to Black leaders advocating for rights of the blacks, and they were recognized by the American society. A good example is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who led the March on Washington to share the dreams he had for the future of the nation. Many other leaders arose during this period, and they were a contributory factor to the attainment of civil rights for African Americans.

Overall, the attainment of civil rights for African Americans would not have been made possible if someone like Jackie Robinson had not opened the path for segregation to be fought. He broke color line in a grand sport like baseball, he showed that non-violence was the answer to fighting segregation, and he showed strong leadership qualities all his life. The Civil Rights story that is told today cannot be complete without the man named Jackie Robinson.

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