Jackie Robinson's contribution to the Civil Rights Movement

Jackie Robinson - Wikimedia Commons

The people of the United States voted Barack Obama to office on November 4, 2008, making him the first black president in American history. One can walk down the streets of New York and see people of all colors sharing the same schools, restaurants, and hotels. Although this generation is used to seeing equality in America and the thought of segregation does not cross the average Joe’s mind, it was not always like this.

During the 1940's, everything was segregated from bathrooms and water fountains, to schools and professional sports. Although there is still some discrimination in the United States, there are many laws to prevent segregation and there are organizations such as NAACP that are still trying to advance civil rights. Perhaps the most significant figure in the Civil Rights Movement was Jackie Robinson, who paved the way for future athletes and all people of color to be treated equally.

Signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Robinson had to endure much hate and discrimination in Major League Baseball. Despite his incredible talent, baseball fans did not accept him upon entering the league, and neither did some members of his team. The hotels that the Dodgers would stay at while traveling from city to city did not allow blacks. Robinson would have to find places to stay, which would not always be easy to find even in the same part of town. This is a task Robinson had to get used to in addition to being tired from practice, games, and time on the road. If the restaurants that the Dodgers would eat at did not allow blacks, he would have to either find a different restaurant or wait for his teammates to bring him some take-out after they ate.

His opponents also tried to hurt him on the field, from spiking him harder and more often than other players, to picking fights with him, knowing he was not allowed to fight back. Experiencing all these horrendous conditions, Robinson was still able to take the Dodgers to the World Series in his first year.

His incredible talent showed scouts that whites were not the only ones who can play baseball. The fact that he broke the barrier between whites and colored people in MLB contributed greatly to the Civil Rights Movement, not only in sports, but all angles of life.