Great story:
When I was a kid I visited my grandmother in Baltimore every summer. I remember on her kitchen wall she had three photographs: Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Robinson. Jackie became a hero of mine by default.
One, we were born on the same day. More importantly, he wasn't just an athlete, he was also a college graduate and an officer in the army, which qualified him in the eyes of my father as a man worthy of admiration.
Today, every February a million or so American kids, black and white alike, dutifully choose Jackie Robinson as the subject of their "Black History Month" project.
One of my sons asked me what was special about Jackie Robinson and if he should do a report on him. I told him "Jackie broke the color barrier in baseball. You know. He was the first black player allowed to play in the Major Leagues."
My son stared back at me blankly ... like ... "and"?
I laughed and tried to relate why the fact that this great baseball player was "allowed" to play in the Major Leagues was a big deal.
My son asked me why did the Brooklyn Dodgers choose Jackie Robinson and how did they know he was a good player if he wasn't allowed to play. I explained that Jackie had become a star in what was called "The Negro Leagues".
My son asked me "What's a Negro League?".
I told him that in the early days of baseball there were several leagues. The American, The National and The Negro leagues were the dominant leagues. After a number of years the American League and the National Leagues merged but they would only allow white players on the teams.
"Did the Negro Leagues have stadiums and stuff?"
Oh yeah man. They had stadiums that were owned and operated by black people. The teams were owned by black men. They had radio broadcasts with black commentators, black agents, black managers, sponsors, the concessions were owned and operated by blacks and they had hundreds of thousands of fans. Even white fans attended the games because it was the best baseball in the world.
"What happened to the Negro League?"
Well, after Jackie Robinson was "allowed" to play in the Major Leagues other black stars followed him and the fans stopped supporting the Negro Leagues and followed their stars to the Major Leagues. Soon the Negro Leagues just faded away.
No disrespect to Jackie because he was a Cool ass brotha. He exemplified all the characteristics of a gentleman. He should be commended and remembered for his strength, courage and allat.
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