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Oluwadunni Ayeni

History 201

Dr. Robert Chiles

August 14 2017

The American Dilemma: Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights Struggle.

American ideals, or the American Dream as it is called today, represents all that has

guided the United States right from the Declaration of Independence until now, as the States was

founded on these very principles. These ideals advocate for democracy, rights, liberty,

opportunity, equality for all persons without discrimination, and prosperity attained through hard

work in a society with few obstacles. However, these ideals did not hold true for Americans,

especially African Americans, specifically after World War 2 which saw a rise in Civil Rights

movements. The Civil Rights Movement sought to fight against segregation and lynching which

had gotten out of hand post WWII, but going back in time, the struggle against segregation really

began in the 1940s when Jackie Robinson, an African American baseball player, broke the color

barrier in baseball. In his Monograph of Jackie Robinson, John R.M Wilson highlights Jackie

Robinsons experiences during his years in the late 1940s and how it relates to the civil right

struggles in the 1960s. Jackie Robinsons experiences and struggles were therefore important

because they became an inspiring force to fight against segregation, they encouraged peaceful

resistance that was instrumental in the civil rights movement, and they reinforced the African

American leadership class which W.E.B Du Bois referred to as the Talented Tenth.

The period before the Great depression, popularly known as the Roaring Twenties,

saw a rise to economic boom and western culture in music, sport, television, media among

others. Sports saw a huge outbreak in this era as many modern sports were introduced, the most
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popular among them being baseball. Segregation was going on in the society at this time and for

sports like baseball, it was no different. Baseball teams like the Major League Baseball had a

color line policy which excluded African Americans from being a part of the all-white baseball

team. Negro leagues such as the Pittsburgh Pirates had tried a few times to break this barrier but

had been met with unnamed pressures. Jackie Robinson, along sides other negro players, had

also tried a few times to get into the major league baseball team but their attempts were

unsuccessful. He however kept on believing that one day they would overcome as one of them

would be signed to break the color barrier and play in organized ball. This did not seem

feasible to other negro players because of lack of hope at that time.

Nevertheless, things began to change when Branch Rickey decided to integrate baseball

by signing a black player into Dodgers, and Jackie Robinson was on the top of his list. He noted

that Jackie was an admirable aggressiveness, courageous and defiant, and above all Robinson

was keen on ending segregation which was Rickeys end goal. Jackie Robinson changed

baseball- and ultimately history- when he broke this color barrier that has existed for more than

60 years when he was signed into the Dodger; an organized baseball team that was desired by

many Negro players. Before this time, no distinct action taken to end segregation stopped it from

continuing, especially in a highly regarded American culture pride like Baseball. But Jackie

Robinson was influential in that he broke the path for others to follow as more Negro players

got signed into major baseball leagues, and this extended to other sports like football which also

saw desegregation. Robinson opened the path for segregation to be fought against in the

American Society as a whole during the civil rights movement that would later happen in

upcoming years. He served as a source of inspiration because he made African Americans

believe that segregation can be fought, and this made them trust their abilities to fight and win,
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thereby giving them the courage to stand up to segregation.

Throughout his years before and after his breakthrough, Jackie Robinson was known to

be non-violent in his efforts to end the segregation he faced. When Jackie Robinson joined the

military, he was subject to the harsh segregation that was prominent in the military. Being a

sports person, he wanted to make an impact on the baseball domain in Fort Riley, where he was

in charge of an integrated army of soldiers. He was however told to play for the colored team

that was not in existence rather than the white team he wanted to play with. He, sadly walked

away instead of fighting back because he had every right to do so, since he was a lieutenant.

Perhaps his known issue was when he sat beside a fellow black lieutenants light skinned wife in

the bus, and the driver, Renegar, thinking she was white, told Robinson to move to the back seat

of the bus. He politely refused and this led to a heated argument between him and the bus driver

who told the military police to arrest Robinson who ended up getting a court martial. He was

later acquitted of all his charges because of the favorable comments on his character by Colonel

Bates, his commanding officer. This event was similar to the Rosa Parks bus boycott where she

refused to seat at the colored side of the bus, and that sparked the civil rights movements.

In addition, Rickey had chosen Robinson because he wanted someone who could

persevere in the face of racism. He had observed him and saw that he was of an unquestionable

character, which made him have Robinson at the top of his list. His peaceful resistance led the

way for how African Americans acted during the movement. They were not violent; but rather

peaceful in their Sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and various Marches. Even though they were faced with

severe violence such as being beaten, and sometimes killed, they stayed calmed and endured all

the brutality. They were so keen on non-violence that they held trainings for demonstrators on

how to be non-violent in their protests. Jackie Robinson set the pace for nonviolence to be used
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in the civil rights movement because he overcame the racist struggles while being non-violent. It

showed African Americans that freedom can be achieved through non-violence.

Jackie Robinson lived an exemplary life, which reinforced the leadership class that

African Americans had sought to attain. He exceled greatly in athletics and always led his team

both in college and baseball league to success. Robinson became UCLAs first All-American as

a footballer, he also won varsity letters in four sports namely baseball, basketball, football, and

track. Also, the year he broke the color line, he won the rookie of the year award in baseball. He

also became the first black player to be honored with the Most valuable player of the year

award. He stood up as a leader to urge Negro baseball players that he believed that soon, they

will break the color barrier and play in the major league with no obstruction. His life as a leader

awoke the leadership sensation in African Americans as the civil rights movement saw a rise to

Black leaders advocating for rights of the blacks, and they were recognized by the American

society. A good example is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who led the March on Washington to

share the dreams he had for the future of the nation. Many other leaders arose during this period,

and they were a contributory factor to the attainment of civil rights for African Americans.

Overall, the attainment of civil rights for African Americans would not have been made

possible if someone like Jackie Robinson had not opened the path for segregation to be fought.

He broke color line in a grand sport like baseball, he showed that non-violence was the answer to

fighting segregation, and he showed strong leadership qualities all his life. The Civil Rights story

that is told today cannot be complete without the man named Jackie Robinson.
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