JACKIE ROBINSON:
Breaking the Color Barrier for Baseball and America
Thesis Statement
Jackie Robinson signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He went through many hardships such as hate mail and negative comments. His team started to stand up for him and people started to enjoy watching him play. This major occurrence in history opened gates for African-Americans in baseball, changed the way African-Americans were thought of, and brought positive change to society. This connects to the theme because it expresses the fact that African-Americans deserved rights, and it was America's responsibility to promote them.
1946 - Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier playing for the Montreal Royals (AAA affiliate of his future team, the Brooklyn Dodgers).
This picture is one of many different types of hate mail he received while playing in Cincinnati for Brooklyn. These letters can be found in the Cincinnati Reds Museum.
Source: http://confessionsofasouthpaw.blogspot.com/2010/07/o-canada.html
This picture is one of many different types of hate mail he received while playing in Cincinnati for Brooklyn. These letters can be found in the Cincinnati Reds Museum.
Source: http://confessionsofasouthpaw.blogspot.com/2010/07/o-canada.html
"I don't think that I or any other Negro, as an American citizen, should have to ask for anything that is rightfully his. We are demanding that we just be given the things that are rightfully ours and that we're not looking for anything else."
"I guess you'd call me an independent, since I've never identified myself with one party or another in politics. . . . I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label."
"Civil rights is not by any means the only issue that concerns me--nor, I think any other Negro. As Americans, we have as much at stake in this country as anyone else. But since effective participation in a democracy is based upon enjoyment of basic freedoms that everyone else takes for granted, we need make no apologies for being especially interested in catching up on civil rights.
I won't 'have it made' until the most underprivileged Negro in Mississippi can live in equal dignity with anyone else in America.
"I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it--and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist." -Jackie Robinson
"I guess you'd call me an independent, since I've never identified myself with one party or another in politics. . . . I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label."
"Civil rights is not by any means the only issue that concerns me--nor, I think any other Negro. As Americans, we have as much at stake in this country as anyone else. But since effective participation in a democracy is based upon enjoyment of basic freedoms that everyone else takes for granted, we need make no apologies for being especially interested in catching up on civil rights.
I won't 'have it made' until the most underprivileged Negro in Mississippi can live in equal dignity with anyone else in America.
"I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it--and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist." -Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson Letter to the White House - April 20, 1972
Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/jackie-robinson/letter-1972.html
Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/jackie-robinson/letter-1972.html
Giles Oji and Trevor Romaine
Junior Division
Junior Division