Teaching With Documents:
Beyond the Playing Field -
Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate
PHOTOGRAPHJACKIE ROBINSON AND SON (DAVID)
BEING INTERVIEWED AT THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON
AUGUST 28, 1963
| Robinson, proud of being black, challenged racial pretensions
throughout his life. As a child he fought with rocks against taunting neighbors;
as an adolescent he went to jail for a traffic altercation involving a white
motorist; and as a college star in four sports, he took no guff from race-baiting
competitors. As an Army lieutenant, he so resisted efforts to make him move to
the back of a southern bus that he eventually faced court-martial proceedings
(where he was found innocent); and as a ball player, he railed against teams
and individuals he believed to be racist. This vigilance against racial wrongdoing
was a legacy he wanted to pass on to his children--to be willing to stand up
for what they believed and to lawfully press for their rights as full-fledged
Americans who happened to be black. |
National Archives and Records Administration |
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