Segregation: Richard Wright Vs. Jackie Robinson

892 Words2 Pages

Richard Wright vs. Jackie Robinson Starting from the point where humans has realized diversity, there have been many “ism’s” that caused barriers; sexism, genderism, and ageism. One of the “ism’s” that I’m focused on is racism. Since the 1800’s there has been racial segregation that caused many barriers for people who have colored skin. There were different settings and places for people who were white and black. Living through this black and white world, a lot of people had to find ways to maneuver, and look for loopholes in order to keep and maintain identity. Some people of color even had to go through rough afflictions as a result of being labeled as something else to achieve dreams that were presented as impossible because of the …show more content…

After having his father leave him at six months old, his family moved to Pasadena, California. In Pasadena, Robinson grew up in poverty. Having this issue that many people in color had in common, Robinson took odd jobs to support the family. In 1932, Jackie graduated from John Muir High school then graduated from Pasadena Junior college in 1939. He then transferred to UCLA becoming the school's first to win varsity letters for four sports. During senior year, he met his future wife, Isum. After UCLA in 1942, Jackie Robinson was assigned to a segregated squadron at Fort Riley, Kansas. On July 6th, 1944 there was an event that destroyed his first long time job; when boarding an army bus, the driver commanded Robinson to go to the back of the bus. As a response of the bus driver’s remark, Jackie Robinson confronted him. This led to Robinson going to court being falsely charged. Being brought to court had ended his military career so he decided to move on. After Robinson’s military career, he went back to Los Angeles. Over there, were his old football and an old friend. His old friend, Rev. Karl Downs, offered Robinson a job to be a athletic director. He then taught and coached children; along with working with children Robinson worked along Huston College coaching in 1955- 1955. While working at Sam Houston, the Kansas City Monarchs offered a job to play pro negro baseball. In his baseball career, being apart of the Monarchs, Robinson experienced disorganization which frustrated him. Having his travel schedule being hectic, he couldn't make time to communicate to Isum; this became a burden in their relationship. In the total Robinson played 47 games with the Monarchs. There, he made an impeccable performance which landed him to play in the 1945 Negro League All-Star Game. Looking for jobs with more potential, trying out with the Red Sox. Trying out with the Red Sox was horrendous, with the racial

Show More
Related

  • What Obstacles Did Jackie Robinson Faced

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jackie Robinson was the most influential ball player of all time. Jackie was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. Robinson had a tough childhood since his dad left his family when he was only 1 year old. This was very difficult for his family, so Jackie, his mom, and his 4 siblings moved to California. This move actually helped Jackie in the long run as he later attended UCLA. At UCLA, Jackie became the first 4-letter man. This meant that he was the first person in the school’s history to join four varsity sports teams. From there, Jackie went on to the army and then to the Negro Leagues. During his time in the Negro Leagues, Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was looking for a black man to break the

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson and Civil Rights

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jackie was born and raised in Cairo, Georgia 1919. He was raised by his single mother Mallie along with is four siblings. He was the first person at UCLA to obtain a varsity letter in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He married Rachel Isum who he met at UCLA. He however had to leave school due to financial reasons and decided to enlist in the military, but was honorably discharged due to being court-martialed due to his actions against racial discrimination. Jackie played one season in 1945 with the Kansas City Monarchs leading to further achievements in his professional baseball career.

    Read More

  • Plessy vs. Ferguson: A Case for Desegregation

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homer Plessy vs. the Honorable John H. Ferguson ignited the spark in our nation that ultimately led to the desegregation of our schools, which is shown in the equality of education that is given to all races across the country today. “The Plessy decision set the precedent that ‘separate’ facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were ‘equal’” (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”). The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson not only illuminated the racial inequality within our education system, but also brought to light how the standard of ‘separate but equal’ affected every aspect of African American lives.

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson moved with his mother and siblings to Pasadena, California in 1920, after his father deserted the family. At the University of California, Los Angeles, he was a star player of football, basketball, track, and baseball; the only athlete in UCLA history to letter in four different sports. He played with Kenny Washington, who would become one of the first black players in the National Football League since the early 1930s. Robinson also met his future wife, Rachel, at UCLA. His brother Matthew "Mack" Robinson (1912-2000) competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics, finishing second in the 200-meter sprint behind Jesse Owens.

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson: A Journey of Resilience and Triumph

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech). [20] Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers Mack (himself an accomplished athlete and silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics)[19] and Frank inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in sports. [ 21][22] [33] While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev. Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became a confidant for Robinson, a Christian. [34] Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's family.

    Read More

  • Why Is Jackie Robinson A Hero

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jackie completed his education at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was the first student at the university to receive varsity letters in four sports. In 1941, Robinson had to leave UCLA because of financial problems just around graduation time. He ended up moving to Honolulu, Hawaii and played football for the Honolulu Bears, but that didn’t last long as the United States entered World War II. Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army from 1942 to 1944, but was honorably discharged because he refused to sit in the back of a segregated bus during boot camp in 1944.

    Read More

  • Essay On Jackie Robinson

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jackie Robinson overcame many struggles in life such as being included in the civil rights movement, facing discrimination, and he achieved being the first black man in major league baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia on Hadley Ferry Road. It is a blue-collar town of about 10,000 people. Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even though he achieved this major goal he still had trouble getting there. He and his siblings were raised by his single mother. Jackie attended Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College. He was a great athlete and played many sports. He played football, basketball, track, and of course baseball. He left school in 1941, worked as an athletic director and played semiprofessional football for the Honolulu Bears before being drafted to the Army in 1942. While he was in the army he became close friends with Joe Louis. The heavyweight used his popularity to protest about the delayed entry of black soldiers. Two years later he got the honor to be second lieutenant in 1943. After an accident where he refused to sit in the back of an unsegregated bus, military police arrested Robinson. A duty officer requested this and then later he requested that Jackie should be court martialed. Since this happened Jackie was not allowed to be deployed overseas to the World War II. He never saw combat during the war. Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson

    1467 Words  | 3 Pages

    At this time Jackie was very into sports so this move made him pretty upset. He played baseball, basketball, football, and ran track while attending the University of California, Los Angeles. He was one of the top players on the football team as well as the only athlete to letter in four different sports. Unfortunately, Jackie left college before getting a chance to graduate due to financial problems but not before meeting his future wife Rachel. After his departure from UCLA he began working for the National Youth Administration at a work camp but it soon closed down and in 1941 he joined the Honolulu Bears, a professional football team in Honolulu, Hawaii.

    Read More

  • Essay On Jackie Robinson

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    Since early on, Jackie Robinson believed that God had a special purpose for him. Coming from a Christian background, Jackie Robinson believed that God was preparing him for something big, but he could still not see just what that would be (cite to pg 37). Growing up he excelled in many sports. Whether it was on the football field, on the basketball court, or out on the baseball field, Robinson encountered quite a bit of success wherever he went. (cite) Despite the talents of many African American baseball players, many were deemed inferior to their white counterparts. The sense of inferiority led many baseball players and owners of the teams in the Negro leagues to adjust to the status quo, however, Robinson was not one to simply seek to fulfill the status quo. Robinson was unwilling to conform with what mainstream society tried to force him to conform with, he constantly told his teammates that they should always be ready, someday one of them would be signed to break the color barrier and play in organized ball (cite to pg 48) . Unlike many of his peers, he felt a different calling in the sport of baseball. While many of his peers in the Negro leagues were openly accepting institutionalized racism, Robinson demanded equality and dignity as an African-American athlete and

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson Thesis

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    His middle name was chosen after Teddy Roosevelt because of his public opposition to racism. He had four brothers and sisters (Rampersad 15). As an infant Jackie Robinson’s father left him and his brothers and sisters. He would later try and return but Mallie, Jackie’s mother, had already moved on and wanted nothing to do with him. Mallie was eager to leave things behind so she moved. Robinson and his family moved to Pasadena, California (Rampersad 18). After two years she was able to collect enough money to move to a new house on Pepper Street which was an all-white neighborhood. Later on in his life Robinson went to The University of California, Los Angeles (Johnson 480). While at UCLA Robinson became the first person to letter in four different sports. It was also at UCLA where he met Rachel Isun, who would play a major role in his life. In 1941

    Read More

  • Racism and the American Dream From 1492 and 1877

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let’s begin with racism, which dates back to as far as humans can remember. “It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes” One of the most known acts of racism was the enslavement of Africans in the new world. This racism was a result of the racist belief that black Africans were less human than white Europeans.

    Read More

  • Being Mulatto in America

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    Due to their immensely different pasts, the two races have a hard time relating to one another, which keeps us apart as people. I have had to deal with a lot of racism in my lifetime, more so from my family than anywhere else. I have been disliked and not "accepted" by my grandparents and great aunts and uncles, some of whom I have never met, due to the color of my skin. My first-hand experience with racism and dealing with it effectively has made me a better, more complete person. The point of my writing this essay is to hopefully open one’s eyes to realize EVERYONE is equal.

    Read More

  • Jakie Robinson

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    Robinson attended Pasadena Community College, where he excelled in basketball, track, baseball, and football. (Hageman 1) After community college, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In 1941 he became the first athlete in the history of UCLA to letter in all four of those sports in the same year. It was in 1940 when Bartlett introduced Robinson to, his future wife, a nursing student named Rachel Isum. Two years later they were separated when Robinson was drafted into the US Army. Robinson served stateside during the war, and achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant status. While in serving in Texas, Robinson was court-martialed for refusing to move to the back of the bus, almost eleven years before Rosa Parks. Robinson was later acquitted and received an honorable discharg...

    Read More

  • Jackie Robinson Essay

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jackie Robinson was also known as Jack Rossevelt Robinson. Jackie Robinson had very many struggles; Jackie was drafted and assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he faced racial discrimination on a daily basis, he was the first African American in baseball, transformed the face of American sports forever, and his father abandoned the family when Jackie was an infant, and forced his mother and four older siblings to join the "Great Migration" of the time and move to California. Jackie was born on January 31, 1919. He was born into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. It is still said that he never "completely" knew his real father, but there are other stories to. Jackie's real father is also said to have left the family the same year he was born, 1919. About 3 months after his birth, he left to go to the Great Migration, and he never returned. At the same time as all that was going on, he was dealing with lots of racism and torture. The white men were a lot more educated than Jackie and other black men, yet black men were still very educated. All these struggles are just the ones in his early years, the struggles that are more known happen later when he becomes very well known by most whites, yet just because he was well known does not mean that they all liked him.

    Read More

  • The Role of Social Movements in Fighting Racism

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).

    Read More

More about Segregation: Richard Wright Vs. Jackie Robinson

Open Document