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Before Martin Luther King, before Malcolm X, and long, long before the likes of Jesse Jackson, Barbara Jordan and Colin Powell, there was Jackie Robinson.
It was Robinson, the man who broke Major League Baseball's color line, who opened the door for so many to follow. The integration of baseball helped put America on a path that would lead to the integration of the military, of schools, and of neighborhoods. Robinson is cited as a hero not just to the ballplayers who followed in his footsteps, but to African Americans who were given opportunities in all fields where barriers had existed before.
While there were a number of African American ballplayers with talent equal to or greater than his, Robinson was chosen to be the first to make the majors because of his education (UCLA), his military service and his demeanor. Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers' executive who signed Robinson, knew that the success or failure of his experiment would fall squarely on Robinson's shoulders. If Robinson failed, in any way, the integration of baseball could have been set back by many years.
Robinson did not disappoint. Despite being faced with the worst kinds of racism, Robinson thrived from the very start. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1947 and MVP honors two years later. He was one of the key players during the glory years of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives," Robinson said.
That would make Robinson, without question, one of the most important Americans of the 20th century.
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