2nd Day of Black History Month:
Black Americans are now integrated into college and professional sports. Jackie Robinson was the first professional baseball player. After a stellar career at UCLA, he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.
This isn't about UCLA, though. This is about Jackie Robinson. By the end of his career, Jackie Robinson was a well-loved pioneer. However, in his first few appearances with the Dodgers in 1947, he received an overwhelmingly negative reception. He endured derision and hatred before he was accepted. He broke the color barrier to professional baseball.
He was a pioneer in the cause of black Americans' desire to be treated equally. Here is a paragraph from the Jackie Robinson Museum.
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. He would later become the first African American named a vice president at a fortune 500 company; serve as an advisor to politicians; start a bank and a housing development company; and, was a key figure in advancing equal opportunity and first-class citizenship for all Americans during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. Hailed a “..freedom rider before freedom rides,” Robinson’s name has become synonymous with breaking barriers.
Some images (and yes, I must include the UCLA pictures by contract).
Jackie Robinson was not the biggest pioneer in the drive for acceptance, but he was one of the most visible.
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