http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX3tv9uKj1I

In this mini video biography on Jackie Robinson, historians give an overview of Robinson’ life starting at his childhood and going all the way to his death in 1972. One historian even says “The story of Jackie Robinson put a black man at the center of the story of America and I think we’ve been an imperfect, but infinitely better society ever since.”

One particular event that the biography delves into is when Robinson refused to move to the back of a bus and this was eleven years before Rosa Parks became famous for refusing to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. On July 6, 1944, Robinson boarded a military bus on the base of Camp Hood in Waco, Texas and sat next to a fellow officer’s caucasian wife near the front of the bus. The bus driver told Robinson he had to sit in the back of the bus, but Robinson refused to move. The driver let him stay where he was sitting, but called the military police, who took Robinson into custody at the next stop. Robinson was court-martialed, resulting in him being charged with two counts of insubordination, which prohibited him from being deployed in combat overseas. Later that year, Robinson was honorably discharged from the military, which is when he started his baseball career.

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The Story of Jackie Robinson appeared first on Witnify.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJNNH2Rizt8

Red Barber, a play-by-play radio commentator for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1953, is asked about Jackie Robinson, who joined the Dodgers in 1947, making him the first African-American to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Barber remembers being told by Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, that he was going to bring in an African-American player to the team. Barber recounts going home and thinking about quitting his job, but after spending some time thinking about it, deciding to stay. Although Barber became a big fan of Robinson, Robinson’s first year in the MLB was problematic with Robinson being the target of both rough physical play and many racist insults.

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Red Barber Recalls Jackie Robinson Breaking the Color Barrier appeared first on Witnify.

Lee Pfund, a pitcher on the Dodgers when Jackie Robinson joined the team, discusses Robinson’s legacy and sacrifice by joining the Dodgers. Pfund was one of Robinson’s few friends on the team, and often talked about their faith and family on long bus rides to play games. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play Major League Baseball.

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Lee Pfund on Jackie Robinson’s Legacy appeared first on Witnify.

“…But it’s also true that some of the policies, of this Committee have become political issues. And so, naturally, I’ve had a great many messages come to me by wire, phone and letter, urging me not to show up at this hearing.”

7/18/49

“When the House Committee on Un-American Activities invited me to appear here today and express myself on the subject of your present interest, I answered that I would be glad to do so, although it isn’t exactly pleasant to get involved in a political dispute when my field of earning a living is as far removed from politics as anybody can possibly imagine.

I am sure you know that I am a professional ball player. Baseball has been called the great American sport because all Americans get their kicks out of the game some way or other, no matter what their political or social connections may be. So it’s customary, and I suppose pretty sensible, for ball players to keep out of partisan politics or any other kind of arguments and contests that may split their supporting public.

Of course it will be said, and it’s certainly true, that the question of Communist activity in the United States isn’t partisan politics. But it’s also true that some of the policies, of this Committee have become political issues. And so, naturally, I’ve had a great many messages come to me by wire, phone and letter, urging me not to show up at this hearing. And I ought to make it plain that not all of this urging came from Communist sympathizers. Of course, most of it did. But some came from people for whom I have a lot of respect and who are just as opposed to Communist methods as I am.

Front cover of July 1951 comic book featuring Jackie Robinson. Source: Library of Congress, American Memory Collections: Baseball and Jackie Robinson.

And so it isn’t very pleasant for me to find myself in the middle of a public argument that has nothing to do with the standing of the Dodgers in the pennant race– or even the pay raise I am going to ask Mr. Branch Rickey for next year;

So you’ll naturally ask, why did I stick my neck out by agreeing to be present, and why did I stand by my agreement in spite of advice to the contrary. It isn’t easy to find the answer, but I guess it boils down to a sense of responsibility. I don’t pretend to be any expert on Communism or any other kind of political ‘ism.’ Going to college at UCLA, helping to fight a war, with about ten million other fellows, trying to break into professional baseball and then trying to make good with the Dodgers, and trying to save some money for the time when my legs lose their spring– all this, together with my family life, has been enough to keep me busy without becoming an ‘expert’– except on base-stealing or something like that…”

Listen to an audio clip HERE.

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Start of Jackie Robinson’s House Committee on Un-American Activities Speech appeared first on Witnify.