Jackie Robinson Obstacles

Joseph Campbell invented a 12 step hero's journey. A person needs to go through some of these

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919. He was born in Cairo, Georgia and was the youngest of five children. He had a grandfather that was a slave, Jackie’s dad was a sharecropper and Mallie, Jackie’s mother, was a maid. His dad ran away from the family when Jackie was only an infant.

Brave, courageous, daring, bold, these all describe the baseball legend Jackie Robinson. Jackie was the first African American major league baseball player. (Jackie Robinson official website) Things were not always easy but he had many supporters and motivators to keep him going.( Britannica encyclopedia) Since Jackie never gave up through all of the harsh comments and criticism as he carried on being the first African American baseball player, African Americans are now allowed to play in the major leagues and all around the world.

     On July 23, 1962, in the charming village of Cooperstown, New York, four new members were inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. As they gathered around the wooden platform, the fans reminisced about America’s national pastime. Edd Roush and Bill McKechnie, sixty-eight and seventy-four years old respectively, were two of the inductees that day (Robinson 142). They were old-timers chosen by the veterans’ committee. Bob Feller and Jackie Robinson, both forty-two, were youngsters by comparison. According to the rules of the Hall of Fame, a player must be retired for five years before he can be considered for induction. Both Feller and Robinson were elected in the first year they were

Jackie Robinson faced many obstacles to become one of the best baseball players ever. He used many values to become over the color barrier in baseball. Not only did Robinson change baseball, but he also changed society. Jackie completely changed the way Americans thought. Jackie used many values to break the color barrier, and here is how I used some of his values to break my own barrier.

Jackie Robinson did not only help initiate the integration of the game of baseball, but he also helped initiate integration throughout America. The film Soul of the Game does not go into all of the details regarding his career on the Brooklyn Dodgers, but rather it depicts his life and choices leading up to his career in the Major Leagues. This film portrays important themes such as segregation, perseverance, and doubt, and it applies to history in the beginning of the story of Jackie Robinson and how America has gotten to where it is now.

Baseball has always been more than just a sport to the American people. For many, it is a way of life, teaching not just brute skills but life lessons and morals. In the wake of World War I, racism and bigotry abounded in the United States. Even though the integration of schools had recently been instated, Jim Crow laws severely limited the activity of African Americans in society, resulting in baseball teams being limited to whites. Jackie Robinson made an important step in gaining rights for African Americans when he broke the color barrier of baseball in 1947. He did this by making civil rights his ambition even before the protests began (Coombs 117). Jackie Robinson’s fame as a baseball player and determination to defeat adversity

In the biography Jackie Robinson and the American Dilemma by John R. M. Wilson, it tells the story of racial injustice done after world war II and explains how Jackie Robinson was pioneer of better race relations in the United States. The obstacles Jackie Robinson overcame were amazing, he had the responsibility to convert the institutions, customs, and attitudes that had defined race relations in the United States. Seldom has history ever placed so much of a strain on one person. I am addressing the importance of Jackie Robinson’s trials and triumphs to American racial dynamics in the post war period to show how Robinson was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and brought baseball fans together regardless of race.

Since the formation of America, there have been many people who helped create the country as it is known today. Their lives and choices affected the course of history of the US for the better. Many of these characters attacked the racism of America. African Americans have had to deal with great discrimination and unequal treatment acted upon them. Because of this, these great figures rose up to fight against racism and give African Americans the rights they deserve. One of these contributors to American culture that fought against racism was Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was a famous baseball player who aided in the integration of African Americans in many areas of life.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on others”(Robinson). This is the standpoint Jackie Robinson had on life being a black person during his time period. He was a strong and courageous man despite the hardships that were set in his lifetime. He was faced with poverty, low income, and racial threats, but was granted with the gift of being a great athlete. Jackie Robinson being the first black MLB player had a great affect on American history because he helped boost morale, pushed toward civil rights, and integrated blacks into white sports.

In the year of 1747 the first african american was finally apart of the MLB, he was 28 year old Jackie Robinson. After researching him, i believe he was the barrier breaker for dark skinned people playing with or against darker skinned people. What he did wasn't the easiest, it took a lot of work and it took him a lot of emotional strength not to give up.

Jackie Robinson grew up in a single parent household after his dad left him at only one year old in 1920 in Cairo, Georgia where his family lived on a share plot and gained there menial income that way (Rampersad, 2019-2020). Jackie’s difficulties included his poverty, racial identity in a segregated nation, and the hatred that he witnessed in the world of sports because of the color of his skin. In the 1950’s, the demographic of the US was approximately 10% Black oppose to 89% white per the census bureau (Census, n.d.). Jackie was an African-American, Methodist, poverty stricken, single parent raised, nearly blind man with diabetes living in the 1900’s. Opposite to him, I was raised by two parents, I am a Caucasian, born in the middle class,

The game of baseball has been argued to be the number one game in America and also around the world. Respectively the game is also known as “America’s pastime” had over 14 million people in the U.S. alone watching the World Series in 20151. Due to the growing popularity of baseball throughout the world the players of Major League Baseball (MLB) have become more diverse. Since 1950 when baseball started to grow in popularity the attendance per game has risen over 40%2.

Jackie Robinson once said, “I’m not concerned with you liking me… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” This was my mantra when I moved to not only a new high school, but also a new state my sophomore year. It is tough being the new kid at a huge school. However, through determination and courage, I not only survived, but I achieved a great deal in my two and a half years at a new school.

Jackie Robinson was one of the most historically well known people in the civil rights movement. So as the first man to integrate major league baseball, Jackie Robinson had a game changing impact on the way the game was played. Having the courage to fight for what is right, Jackie broke the imaginary color barrier that has covered major league baseball for years. Through his resiliency and tenaciousness in the face of seemingly unconquerable odds, Jackie Robinson set the course for African Americans to continue the expansion for equality and true freedom while he was becoming one of the greatest Major League baseball players in history.