LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Jackie Robinson: African American
built 654 days ago
Robinson's first competitive game took place when his fourthgrade soccer team played the sixth graders. Then came football, tennis, basketball, the track team, and table tennis. In athletics he had more freedom to relate to people on equal terms, with less emphasis on race and more on body development, coordination, and performance level. Because of his skill as a football quarterback, .400 baseball player, and exceptional broadjumper, Robinson was accepted as a friend by white team mates, attended the same schools, and visited back and forth in each other's homes. Still, with added age and broadened experience, Robinson saw that athletic success did not guarantee full freedom in the racially and economically unequal American society. Opposing players often reminded him of his race by rougherthannecessary hits, arguments, and racial slurs.
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After baseball, Robinson headed the personnel office of the New York-based restaurant chain, Chock Full O'Nuts. He took an active role in the Harlem YMCA and other social and community organizations, and was a key figure in establishing and nurturing Harlem's African American-owned and controlled Freedom Bank — now defunct — through its initial period in the mid 1960s. Despite black America's pride in Jackie Robinson's strength as a trail blazer, his exceptional performance on the baseball diamond, and his high visibility in community efforts, he was not free from controversy or from disagreement with other popular African American figures. While Robinson had deep affection for rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and felt the pain of his suffering, he knew that his own temperament was not suited for King's nonviolent demonstrations. He preferred to volunteer time as head of fund raising drives for churches in Georgia destroyed by arsonists.
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After his retirement Robinson became a successful businessman and active supporter of political causes, devoting many of his efforts to the pursuit of a better life for African Americans. He became a vice president in the Chock Full O'Nuts restaurant chain, whose restaurants employed many blacks. He ... worked with the Harlem YMCA in New York City and was made chairman of the board of the Freedom National Bank, a project in black capitalism. He later became the head of a construction company that built housing for black families and was involved in other ventures that stimulated black participation in business. Refusing to compromise his values, Robinson rejected an offer of membership in a private golf club when he learned that some members had objected to accepting an African American member. Despite his fame, he pursued his golf game at public courses.
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Jackie had agreed to hold his temper back that first year of play but after that, he became angry when people made remarks about being an African American often getting in fights with officials or other players. He became very active in civil rights causes and helped many black players in the league. Jackie continued to play baseball until 1957. At that point, his health was declining and diabetes took away his sight in one eye and reduced his sight in the remaining eye.
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Impact upon society- Jackie Robinson’s impact upon society can only be characterized as truly groundbreaking. When Jackie Robinson broke baseballs long standing color barrier in 1947 he forever changed the course of sports history in American society. Robinson opened the door to professional baseball to black Americans. He was a pioneer in his own right, who forever changed the opinions of countless American baseball fans. Robinson lived in a time when racial segregation and prejudices were common place in American society. The courage he showed by accepting the Brooklyn Dodgers offer to play baseball in the major leagues epitomizes his personality.
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Because Jackie grew up in a time where opportunities were extremely limited for African Americans, he had to fight for everything. Jackie's mother taught him that the future would not just "work out" but that he would have to stand up for himself at all times. He did. He had a temper and a fiery personality, which often got him into trouble. Jackie loved playing practical jokes that could sometimes be cruel. He was ... the leader of the Pepper Street gang, he felt comfortable in the gang because the members were a mixture of African American, Japanese Americans, Hispanic, and some whites.
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