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Jackie Robinson

As anyone with eyes and a conscious mind recognizes, a human of less-than-white complexion in America must be an athlete, minister, cinema star or politician to gain any respectability as a full-fledged human being. Thus, Rampersad’s depiction of Jackie Robinson as more than the first black human to hit a homerun for humanity over the color barrier of Jim Crow in sports is on the money. His depiction of Robinson as being of the “right stuff” in the “right place” at the “right time” to be perfect for the role in doing so is his insightful thesis in Jackie Robinson. Rampersad’s book is full of details, with many of the documents, photographs and personal memorabilia the Princeton professor had access to released by Robinson’s widow, Rachel, for the first time. However, this book does not focus on baseball and athletics as much as it does on the influences which allowed Robinson to have the courage and conviction of his principles as he smashed the color barrier in professional baseball with heroism and decency that cut far beyond the foul lines. His mother, his wife and his religious faith were the three most powerful influences in Robinson’s life. Like Martin Luther King, Jr., Robinson remained convinced that god was on the side of anyone fighting for the right to basic humanity and human worth, and this was the higher purpose for which he used his athletic skills to gain recognition. However, this goal did not end the day Robinson walked onto Ebbet’s Field in April of 1947, instead it was a goal that continually presented Robinson with hatred, racism and a host of obstacles Robinson would refuse to accept, His athletic achievements and skills were often overshadowed by his color and the struggle against racism in an American society hostile to blacks, “’I do nothing that others on my club and on the other clubs do not do.’ Racial intolerance, he insisted, was the cause. ‘If the public will analy...

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Jackie Robinson. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:15, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1685749.html