Jackie Robinson
72.
Jackie Robinson was the first African American Major League Baseball player. He played for the Dodgers. He could hit the ball really hard and run very fast. He could steal bases like it was nobody’ s business. He was a nightmare for pitchers and catchers trying to keep him on the bases.
He played for the Dodgers during the Civil Rights Movement. This‘ movement’ fought against segregation which kept black and white people separate from going to school together, eating together, or even drinking from the same water fountain! There were a lot of people who did not want Jackie Robinson in baseball.
Opposing pitchers would throw at Jackie Robinson’ s head while he was at bat. Many of his own teammates, at first, were opposed to Jackie Robinson playing baseball with other white baseball players. Even though Jackie Robinson had many verbal and physical attacks on him and his family, he did not attack back. He chose to fight the injustice peacefully, like Martin Luther King, Jr. During his first season in MLB, his teammates saw how people were mean to him and they started to stick up for Jackie. This made Jackie feel accepted on the Dodgers.
Jackie Robinson thought that if he became one the best baseball players in MLB and did not respond with a physical attack, people might just change their mind about a black baseball player in MLB. Guess what? He was right! It took a couple of seasons, but Jackie Robinson soon became a well-‐ respected player in MLB. Not just because he was a great baseball player mind you, but because he was a greater man.