The last hero of perseverance this month is a famous baseball player.  He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time.  This man’s name was Jackie Robinson.

 

Jackie Robinson was born in 1919 in Georgia.  He grew up in a poor family that suffered under the laws of segregation.  That means that in the area he lived, black people and white people were not allowed to ride on the same buses, go to the same schools, and eat at the same restaurants.

 

As a young boy, Jackie distinguished himself as an athlete.  In high school, Jackie played varsity football, basketball, track, and baseball.  He was also a member of the tennis team.  Athletic accomplishment ran in the family.  Jackie’s older brother, Mack, finished just .4 seconds behind Jesse Owens in the 200m dash in the 1936 Olympics and received the silver medal.

 

In 1942, Jackie Robinson was drafted into the US Military.  He became an officer and was stationed in a tank unit at Fort Hood.  However, he was never sent overseas to fight.  One day, a Texas bus driver told him to give up his seat.   However, he refused to move.   After all, he was an American in uniform, preparing to go into battle for the nation that had declared “all men are created equal.”  

 

Even though Jackie got in trouble for his brave actions, he handled the situation with dignity.  The army gave him an honorable discharge.   Throughout his life Jackie showed a noble attitude when faced with discrimination. Rather than getting angry with unfair people and rules, he honorably continued to simply do his best, and by doing so, he won people over.

 

In 1947, the L.A. Dodgers recruited him to play baseball.  He was the first black major league baseball player in 60 years – since 1880!  The Dodgers President, Branch Rickey, had to convince Jackie not just to join the team, but endure whatever hostility came his way.

 

To make his point, the Dodgers President told Jackie that, “Turning the other cheek does not mean receiving the second blow.  It means cutting the chain of the inevitable wrongs at the first link.  Your adversary is ready for anything but this. Robinson, I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back.”

 

Jackie realized that he could be part of a big change in American society.  He could blaze the trail for change in America, not just play baseball.  The National League Baseball President also supported Jackie saying, “This is the United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another.”

 

Jackie Robinson worked very hard to play baseball well, not SIMPLY for his own success, but because it would make society better. He SHOWED his enemies that skin color should not make a difference in how someone is treated. With every homerun that he hit, every base he stole, he gradually convinced the members of his team, then the crowd, then the opposing team. His skill and sportsmanship won people over. In just one year there were many more African Americans in major league baseball.

 

One historian wrote, “Jackie Robinson’s accomplishments allowed black and white Americans to be more respectful and open to one another and more appreciative of everyone's abilities.”  In 1962, five years after he retired, Jackie Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 

For the rest of his life, he fought for an end to racial discrimination. He said, “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.” 

 

Jackie Robinson became a supporter and speaker for the Southern Leadership Conference.  He was also founder of the Church Fund that raised money to rebuild black churches damaged for their roles in civil rights organizing.