On August 28, 1945, the unthinkable became a reality: a black baseball player joined an all white baseball team. In a three hour exchange, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey acquired commitment from Robinson to join international and minor league team the Montreal Royals. This commitment came with one condition. Branch Rickey wanted Jackie to have the guts to “not fight back” against the racial animus he was sure to receive. Despite not understanding this at first, Jackie agreed to not fight back. In less than two years following that exchange, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. He made his Major League debut on April 15, 1947 at the Brooklyn Dodgers to a crowd of over 26,000 spectators. Despite inevitable and predictable racial tensions (as illustrated in the movie 42), Jackie led a successful career, even leading the Dodgers to a world championship in 1955.
Aside from his successful athletic career, Jackie Robinson achieved an even more notable feat; he was able to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball and end sixty years of racial segregation in the sport. Being the first black player in league full of white men, Jackie was slandered and attacked at every corner. He eventually learned that fighting back would be counterproductive, for aggression would simply reassure the white community of their mindset of demonization of black men. Jackie once stated, “There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free,” and he definitely contributed to the social freedom of African Americans by terminating presumptions and ending prejudice.
Furthermore, he acted as a catalyst to the Civil Rights Movement. Although it would be difficult to imagine our contemporary society without Jackie’s impact, we can infer that it would not be as tolerant, accepting, or just. According to historian Doris Goodwin, “[Jackie’s] accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone’s abilities.” Even Martin Luther King Jr. recognized Jackie’s impact, calling him a “legend and symbol of his time.”
Jackie taught the world to judge a man based on his talents rather than his skin color. He truly left a positive impact on the way our world looked at race relations. He has inspired, and continues to inspire, many to make a change and challenge the norm. Because as Jackie Robinson himself once said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
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