Role Of Perseverance In Jackie Robinson's Life

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.

Jackie Robinson showed perseverance, courage, and determination wherever he went. Even when he was in the army, he moved ranks up quickly. This shows he was determined. When he was trying to achieve his goal of breaking the color barrier, he never gave up. Eventually, he integrated the major league baseball teams. When he first joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, he didn’t care about the prejudice. He just ignored it and carried on. In fact, he even stood up to it. In the text “ Free Minds and Hearts at Work” it states,” Whatever obstacles I found made me fight all the harder. But it would have been impossible for me to fight at

Jackie was a modern day hero, he went through all the 12 steps. Mainly, he was heavily doubted but he surpassed all the expectations. Jackie destroyed all the test put in front of him and broke the racial barrier. Jackie open up the international league to all races. Baseball wouldn't be baseball without Jackie

The game of baseball evolved immensely during the 1900’s. There were new rules and rule changes, new teams in new states, and then there was Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was a true legend from the day he was born in 1919. Baseball had it all in the first half of the 1900’s, fans filled the stadiums day after day, even during the war times. There was a big-name player on almost every team, children and adults admired these professional baseball players. The only thing professional baseball didn’t have during these times were African American players. Learning about the hardships that he had to overcome as a young boy, and the accomplishments he made from his college days at UCLA, to becoming the first African American professional baseball player, Jackie made it known that he was an American hero.

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.

Jackie Robinson once said “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives”. True heroes, living among ordinary people, have paved the roads of today's world. One person who has exactly done this and not received nearly enough credit is Jackie Robinson. When people think of Jackie Robinson they think of the man who stole second base continuously, when in reality he did more, Jackie Robinson opened the gate for African American’s to play major league baseball. Born in 1919 Jackie was brought up in a society that was characterized by racial segregation and inequality, He fought through the era and made himself known all around the world for being the first African American to play major league baseball. Jackie

     “ He struck a mighty blow for equality, freedom and the American way of life. Jackie Robinson was a good citizen, a great man, and the true American champion.'; Ronald Reagon. I don’t know if anyone could have summarized his life better. Jackie was a great influence to the American public. To over came diversity and succeed is a great accomplishment.

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.

It has been said that real heroes risk their lives for others and Jackie Robinson has proven to be a hero. Robinson was “the first African American major league ballplayer of the twentieth century” (Scott 2) and has influenced many people on and off the field. When he “took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day, April 15, 1947, he forever changed the face of major league baseball (“Jackie Robinson - Changing Major League Baseball”, 0:06-0:16). Throughout his years of playing on the field, he became a “militant campaigner for civil rights” (Scott 6) to show how it is important to America's history. Robinson has made major contributions to the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement by showing his courage, confidence, and what he stands for.

Jackie Robinson brought baseball fans of all races together and it improved race relations because even though their was still hatred, white people were getting eased into racial integration since Jackie Robinson was laying the foundations of civil rights. Robinson was loved by many and hated by plenty, every game he played he packed the stands whether it be fans who are cheering for him or booing him. According to the biography by Wilson “Many fans came out to cheer Robinson, and a lot came out to boo him but both groups bought tickets” (75). He performed so well on the baseball field that the fans would lose sight of his color, and the stands were predominantly white so he was doing so well with a very unsupportive fan base. In the biography

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

With the same idea as Martin Luther King Jr., he worked hard to stay non-violent and to “turn the cheek” to the many threats and racial slurs he received throughout his time in the Major League. He was the target of many cold-hearted fans, and even some of the players on his own team. He was already born a leader, but these things fueled his fire even more. 5 years after he began playing in the MLB, he testified against discrimination before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and called out the Yankees for not yet breaking the color barrier. Along with that, he also served as a leader on the board of the NAACP until 1967.(www.NAACP.org) There, he made speeches that inspired people to get on board and to fight for their rights and for changes. He said, “Certainly if such revolutionary change can be brought about in baseball, it can be brought about in education, in transportation, and in any other area of American life. (Robinson) He believed that change was just around the corner, and all it needed was a little push. Jackie was a firm believer in his ideas and that is why he is such an important figure in our

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31st 1919. In 1947, at the age of 28, Jackie became the first African American to break the “color line” of Major League Baseball when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers. During his tenure with the Dodgers, Jackie was not simply an average player. Among various other accolades, Mr. Robinson was a starter on six World Series teams as well as being named the National League Rookie of The Year in 1947. His advantageous career was then capped in 1962 when he was inducted in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.1 Contrary to popular belief, Jackie's perseverance in implementing racial integration extended beyond his career in Major League Baseball. During the Sixties Jackie Robinson was a

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)