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Summary
Summary
Explores Jackie Robinson's compelling and complicated legacy
Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball in the twentieth century. Today a national icon, Robinson was a complicated man who navigated an even more complicated world that both celebrated and despised him.
Many are familiar with Robinson as a baseball hero. Few, however, know of the inner turmoil that came with his historic status. Featuring piercing essays from a range of distinguished sportswriters, cultural critics, and scholars, this book explores Robinson's perspectives and legacies on civil rights, sports, faith, youth, and nonviolence, while providing rare glimpses into the struggles and strength of one of the nation's most athletically gifted and politically significant citizens. Featuring a foreword by celebrated directors and producers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, this volume recasts Jackie Robinson's legacy and establishes how he set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick.
Author Notes
Michael G. Long (Editor) Michael G. Long is the author and editor of four books on Jackie Robinson-First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson; Beyond Home Plate: Jackie Robinson on Life after Baseball; and Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography. He is Associate Professor in the Center of Global Understanding and Peacemaking at Elizabethtown College. Ken Burns (Foreword by) Ken Burns is an awardwinning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Sarah Burns (Foreword by) Sarah Burns is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Burns also wrote the text for the documentary. David McMahon (Foreword by) David McMahon is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. McMahon also wrote the text for the documentary.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Biographer Long (Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography), along with 13 contributors, explore lesser-known aspects of the life of Jackie Robinson, who became the first Black American to play Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson's Methodist faith is explored in Randal Maurice Jelk's "A Methodist Life," which examines how Robinson's wife Rachel's connection with the AME Church--and its message of "self-determination, self-sufficiency, and black independence"--influenced Robinson. The "First Famous Jock for Justice" catalogs the athletes who followed Robinson's efforts on behalf of racial equality with their own social justice activism. Other notable essays include "Before the World Failed Him," which discusses Robinson in context with other civil rights leaders, and "On Retirement," about his life after hanging up his glove. Even those who know nothing about Robinson will take something inpsiring away from this excellent anthology. (Feb.)
Kirkus Review
A collection of essays on the baseball great's impact on American society. Editor Long and his contributors attempt to separate the man from the myth and show how his influence continues to extend. Who was Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)? He ended racial segregation in Major League Baseball when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He succeeded in part because he refused to respond to taunts or even acknowledge hateful slurs, but he showed an aggression on the field that may have been fueled by anger. After his retirement, he became a civil rights spokesman, defender of the Vietnam War, and a man at odds with more militant figures such as Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali. All of these facts fail to capture the complexity of the man and the heroism of his achievement. These pieces embody all of what made Robinson special, assessing him through many different lenses: the Methodist faith that he shared with Branch Rickey, who signed him to the Dodgers and exploited him for financial gain while denying that he (and baseball) had felt any political pressure to integrate; the Black and communist press that pushed for integration while the mainstream press either ignored the issue or resisted integration (in their own ranks as well as in baseball); the strong female presence--mother, wife, daughter--that helped shape Robinson's values and influenced his support for Black female athletes; and the political climate of the era, which bears a resemblance to that of today. Robinson was a seminal warrior in a movement before there was a movement. As Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed, "He was a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides." Contributors include Howard Bryant, Mark Kurlansky, Jonathan Eig, Sridhar Pappu, Amira Rose Davis, and Kevin Merida, who provides the afterword, noting how Robinson "would invariably be disappointed in how white the entire decision-making infrastructure of sports remains." A successful attempt to give a towering cultural figure his due beyond the baselines. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Choice Review
This year (2021) marks the 75th anniversary of Branch Rickey signing Jackie Robinson to the Montreal Royals, which integrated organized baseball for the first time since the 19th century. Anniversaries of important historical events offer opportunities to reflect on their significance, and this collection of essays makes use of the occasion to explore Robinson's activism in civil rights, politics, and sports, supplemented by limited information on his baseball career. Essentially, at Rickey's direction Robinson evolved from being passive in the face of outright racial hostility to being more outspoken throughout his career and even more so after retirement. Initially influenced by Martin Luther King's nonviolent approach, Robinson often feuded with the more militant Malcolm X. Politically, Robinson usually allied with liberal Rockefeller Republicans, supporting Nixon in 1960 and the Vietnam War, though he opposed Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign and backed Hubert Humphrey in 1968. The book sees Robinson as an early advocate of using sports to effect social change, a widespread, and controversial, approach today. Other interesting essays cover his Methodist background, the white media's failures covering his debut, his impact on baseball's playing style, and the story behind the retirement of his number 42 throughout baseball. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. --Peter L. de Rosa, Bridgewater State University
Table of Contents
| Foreword: Taking Jackie Robinson Seriously | p. xi |
| Introduction: That Day | p. 1 |
| Part I Foundations | |
| 1 The Owner | p. 9 |
| 2 A Methodist Life | p. 15 |
| Part II Baseball | |
| 3 Jackie Robinson Ball | p. 29 |
| 4 Telling It the Right Way | p. 34 |
| 5 A Champion of Nonviolence? | p. 42 |
| 6 The White Media Missed It | p. 57 |
| 7 On Retiring 42 | p. 71 |
| Part III Civil Rights and Politics | |
| 8 Before the World Failed Him | p. 83 |
| 9 The Dilemma of the Black Republican | p. 100 |
| 10 "I've Got to Be Me": Robinson and the Long Black Freedom Struggle | p. 113 |
| Part IV The Wide World of Sports | |
| 11 The First Famous Jock for Justice | p. 131 |
| 12 Supporting Black Women Athletes | p. 177 |
| 13 The Challenges of a Gay Jackie Robinson | p. 189 |
| Afterword: The Legacy of Perfection | p. 201 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 205 |
| Notes | p. 207 |
| About the Contributors | p. 223 |
| Index | p. 229 |
