Jackie Robinson Persuasion

Jackie fought racism in his California childhood, at collage and throughout his whole life. During his childhood at California he was always picked on at school. Kids taunted him so much and so badly that he developed a hot temper.

In the late 40’s, particularly 1948, the Democratic Convention as well as the Republican Convention was held in Philidelphia. A lot was going on in the political world. This was an era where President Harry Truman was battling issues dealing with the anti-lynching laws, getting rid of poll taxes and allowing African Americans to join with whites in the armed forces by desegregating it. The atmosphere was filled with northern liberals Democrats who backed Truman’s ideologies on civil rights. Gaining the African American vote was a significant boost Having civil rights, and being treated as equals among whites, those conversations fell on deaf ears and were ultimately forgotten. African Americans were still being treated like second-class citizens,

Robinson began his role as an advocate for civil rights in America even before he was drafted onto a major league baseball team. In 1942, he was inducted into the Army. This was during World War II. At this time, there was still racial discrimination in the Army. It wasn’t as much as back in the South, however it was still prominent. Robinson was part of a segregated unit located in Camp Hood. He became a lieutenant pretty quick, although he still had to go through opposition to become one. At the time, Lieutenant Robinson’s fight against racism started when he boarded a military bus, towards the middle. Once the bus driver saw Robinson, he ordered him to move to the back of the bus. Robinson refused and argued with the driver. After the altercation, Robinson was asked to move to the hospital to stay,

Many influential leaders took after Jackie’s example and leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. The events that came after Robinson’s legendary baseball debut helped to further the course of civil rights. “First, President Truman issued Executive Order 9982 on July 26th, 1948, just over a year after Robinson faced his first pitcher at Ebbets Field, abolishing discrimination in the armed forces. It is certainly reasonable to assume that Truman’s timing was informed by Robinson’s successful integration of professional baseball. Truman’s desegregation of the military no doubt informed the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board decision desegregating public schools in 1954, which in turn informed the actions of Rosa Parks on her bus, leading to the Montgomery Bus Boycott… leading to the leadership role of Martin Luther King Jr.” (Gates, PBS). The actions and pioneering of Robinson inspired many other leaders to arise in the Civil Rights Movement and many big milestones like the desegregation of schools to be influenced. Without any of these, and therefore without Robinson’s actions to set them off, the modern Civil Rights Movement would not exist. Setting off the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans also looked up to Jackie, he was an empowering figure and role model for the whole African American community around the country. Hank Aaron quotes in I Never Had It Made,

Robinson was born in the year of 1919, which was during the era of discrimination against African-Americans. As Robinson got older, his talent in athletics surprised many people. Although he was very successful in sports throughout his childhood and college career, white people constantly would disrespect him. Robinson’s strong opinion against discrimination was tested many times throughout his life. One incident was on a bus after the United States Army had declared the termination of racial segregation on all military sites. A bus driver thought he saw Robinson sitting next to a white woman, but she was actually light-skinned. The bus driver told him to move to the back of the bus, Robinson refused and stated his

Even before the integration of baseball, Robinson displayed his intolerance for racism. While in the army, Robinson was stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. On a public bus, Robinson refused to move to the back when ordered to do so by a commanding officer. He was then court marshaled, but later acquitted (African American Biographies 106). Even though the dispute resulted in Robinson’s honorable discharge, it made clear Robinson’s stance on bigotry. This event would become a major factor in his selection to integrate baseball.

Born on January 31, 1919 Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the youngest of five children. His father left the family before Jackie turned one and shortly after his mom moved the family from Georgia to California in search of work (Contemporary Black Biography). Segregation was still present in California, but was less harsh than in the south. To get away from the problems and racial prejudice, Jackie turned to sports. He was an exceptional athlete excelling in football, baseball, basketball, and track in both high school and college. He played four sports for the University of California Los Angeles (commonly known as UCLA). He was mostly a football and basketball star and had no intentions of playing Major League baseball due to the fact that it was all white. Jackie had always wanted to become a social worker to help underprivileged boys and hoped that travelling the nation for sports would expose him to a job in that field

After college, Jackie experimented with different jobs but he just didn’t like anyone. He had offers to play football and Negro league baseball but felt like he had no future in professional sports. After one the darkest days in American history, Pearl Harbor, Jackie was drafted into the war. Jackie had mixed emotions with the war because he was willing to do his part but didn’t like how blacks were being treated in the military. Jackie left for the military and from day one was called a n***** and other racial terms which left Jackie feeling down and out. “I never understood why they wouldn’t accept me, there was a good chance that we were going to die together, so we might as well be friends” (Chadwick 367). Jackie quickly began to gain a little respect when he was named an expert marksman, but not enough for them to let him play baseball with the whites. Jackie would spend three years in the military, which to this day, hasn’t talked a lot about and held anger and hostility towards

The legacy of Jackie Robinson goes beyond the April 15, 1947 afternoon at Ebbets Field, when the Brooklyn Dodger infielder became the first black in the 20th century to play baseball in the major leagues. He changed the sport, and he changed the attitude of a lot of people in this country, Jackie Robinson fought for all the people that were fortunate, a lot of them are, especially the minority guys, to be able to play in the major leagues and the impact on the people of color today.

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.

To the average person, in the average American community, Jackie Robinson was just what the sports pages said he was, no more, no less. He was the first Negro to play baseball in the major leagues. Everybody knew that, but to see the real Jackie Robinson, you must de-emphasize him as a ball player and emphasize him as a civil rights leader. That part drops out, that which people forget. From his early army days, until well after his baseball days, Robinson had fought to achieve equality among whites and blacks. "Jackie acted out the philosophy of nonviolence of Martin Luther King Jr., before the future civil rights leader had thought of applying it to the problem of segregation in America"(Weidhorn 93). Robinson was an avid

Jackie was a phenomenal athlete for young kids to look up to. After the start of World War II he served in the military from 1942 to 1944. After the war he returned to his love for baseball, playing in the Black major leagues. He was chosen by Branch Rickey, vice president of the Brooklyn dodgers, to help integrate the Major Leagues. Rickey hated segregation just as much as Robinson and wanted to change things “Rickey had once seen a Black college player turned away from a hotel… Rickey never forgot seeing this player crying because he was denied a place to lay his weary head just because of the color of his skin” (Mackenzie). He was finally able to do something about segregation and help change baseball and the United States for the better. It wasn’t that all the teams were racist and didn’t want a black player but when the major league teams had an away game they would rent out the stadium to the black teams for them to play at. And the executives of teams didn’t want to loose the money that they were making off of the black teams. “League owners would lose significant rental revenue” (“Breaking”). He soon signed with the all-white Montreal Royals a farm team for the Dodgers. Robinson had an outstanding start with the Royals, “leading the International League with a .349 batting average and .985 fielding percentage” (Robinson). After Robinson’s outstanding year he was promoted to the Dodgers he played his first game on

Jackie Robinson was a star in the eyes of the black people around him. A hero even. He gave them something to cheer for, and a reason to

Jackie incorporates the number of African Americans in the United States to explain how many Americans are striving for equality. Using the number, 17 million, Mr. Robinson injects much more power into his writing. He proves to the President that his desire for equality is far from being solitary and that his following will not cease without positive change. Jackie also shows significant power in the final two sentences of the quotation. Instead of posing questions and requesting answers, he tells the President the desires of the African American people and that they can no longer wait for future action; it must happen now. Another effective persuasive technique that Mr. Robinson adds into this paragraph is the allusion to the Constitution and the ideals that our country is founded on. He explains to the President that it is his duty to ensure true equality and that failure to do so would violate the Constitution.

Jackie believed that God had plans for him that were beyond what anyone would have thought. In 1942 more than ten years before the famous Rosa Parks incident happened, Jackie was involved in a similar conflict. He was told by an officer to leave his seat on the white section of the bus and move to the back of the bus but Jackie refused. The scene quickly escalated but Jackie stood still and refused to answer to the officer. This resulted in a court trial for Robinson, who was facing "dishonorable discharge." He fought in court and proved that what happened was a violation against the segregation code of the army and won this case. This led for him to leave the army without this incident on his record. His way of acting against racism was a strong part of his personality, a part that people will see never die. He used his talent which is his amazing athletic ability to reach the pinnacle of where he was trying to be. When it came to sports it did not take long to realize that Jackie was extremely gifted. In College at UCLA Jackie excelled in sports more than anyone else. (SABR)