Because I'm Sure Y'all Aren't Tired of Jackie Robinson

            By now anyone who has read my last two posts knows a least a light background on Robinson’s impact on American history.  For those who still want a little more here it is. Branch Rickey, General Manager at the time of the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946, signed Robinson. He played one year in the minor leagues in Montreal before making his historic debut going 0-2 with a walk and one run scored on April 15 1947. Despite that less than exceptional performance, Robinson went on to win the Rookie of Year award for 1947 and then onto a fantastic career.  I would like to focus though on the early portion of his career and what the Civil Rights movement learned from watching Jackie.

            If anyone has seen the recent film 42 you will have an idea about the story I am about to tell. Before Robinson signed the contract with the Dodgers he met with Branch Rickey.  The two men sat in Rickey’s office for hours and during this time Rickey explained to Robinson what he should expect to experience once he stepped onto the field. Rickey berated him with every racial slur in the book attacking Robinson on every level. The purpose of this was to convey to Robinson that no matter what happened he could not react. This stance of non-action is the reason that Robinson was successful in breaking the color line. There was also another historical figure who used this method of non-violence; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King’s movement has been praised for being so successful because of their lack of reaction and retaliation.

            There have been some who claim that Robinson inspired King and decided to replicate him, while there are African American leaders who claim Robinson inspired King but may not have given him the idea of non-violence. Regardless of who’s idea it was it was clear to both King and Rickey that the best way to succeed in their causes was, as Harrison Ford stated in 42 when he played Rickey, “I need a player who has the courage not to fight back”. And that is exactly what Robinson did, not a word for three years just like he promised to Rickey.

            Curt Flood described the torment that he encountered when he finally got his shot in the Major Leagues saying, “They called me everything but a child of God”. Whether or not Robinson inspired King, I think that it is a safe bet that there was someone involved in the Civil Rights movement who was.  To witness the courage and strength Robinson had would have absolutely empowered me to do the same and I think that for many young African Americans it did just that. There was finally a Black baseball player the community could look up to and to watch him do it without a single outburst must have been a sight to see.

Alexander Browning