Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson. Barrier Breaker. , Jack Roosevelt Robinson was the first African-American to break the modern day Major League Baseball color barrier. His extraordinary baseball skills, appealing personality, intelligence and courage, contributed to make this significant accomplishment possible. In breaking the baseball color barrier, he challenged the deeply rooted custom of racial segregation in both the north and the south. Jackie’s leadership opened the doors for other minorities into professional sports and the corporate world. In 1997, celebrating the 50th anniversary of this momentous event, Jackie Robinson was honored as a man who stood defiantly against those working against racial equality and acknowledged the profound influence of one man’s life on American culture., At Jackie Robinson’s retirement, Brooks Lawrence, a pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds and a former Negro Leaguer, paid tribute to Robinson: “You opened the door for me and others who followed you and when you opened it you threw it wide open. You gave us a new way of life for which we will be eternally grateful.”, After retiring from baseball, Jackie Robinson actively supported human rights, fighting anti-semitism and fundraising for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Jackie Robinson died in 1972, the 25th anniversary of his rookie season, actively working to promote Blacks across sports and culture.