On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. The color barrier was an informal barrier that was placed in all professional sports. This color barrier segregated the blacks from the whites. However, when
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. The color barrier was an informal barrier that was placed in all professional sports. This color barrier segregated the blacks from the whites. However, when Jackie joined the Dodgers, it opened the door for all other blacks and minorities who want to play in the Major Leagues. Even though Jackie broke the barrier in baseball, all other professional sports followed his lead. The impact on sports is seen today. Now, on average, rosters in the NBA are 80% minorities, rosters in the NFL are 70% minorities, and the MLB's rosters are 40% minorities. Some of the best players to play sports are minorities such as, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Albert Pujols, just to name a few of the very many great players. None of these many minorities could've made it into professional sports if it wasn't for Jackie Robinson's success.
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." - Jackie Robinson
After his career in baseball, Jackie continued supporting the Civil Rights movement and used his baseball fame to help influence changes in our society. He did deeds such as helping form the African-American owned Freedom National Bank. Jackie sent telegrams and letters to the president and other officials concerning the topic of Civil Rights. In a letter to president Eisenhower, Jackie told him to aggressively pursue the goals of the Civil Rights after Eisenhower told a group of Negro leaders to have patience. Also, Jackie contacted John F. Kennedy telling him how well he had done supporting the Civil Rights, but also told Kennedy that he had much more work to be do. He was also a director of the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Jackie's contributions to various causes for Civil Rights made his life a turning point in history.