Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was born on a plantation in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919. He was the youngest of five children and was raised by a single mother. They were a family of sharecroppers until the plantation owner kicked them off of his land. Then they moved to California seeking a better life. In high school he played four sports.
He attended UCLA and became the university’s first student to win varsity letters in four sports. He was forced to leave college due to financial issues even though he was successful athletically.
From 1942 to 1944, Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, never seeing combat. During boot camp at Fort Hood, Texas he was arrested and court martialed in 1944 for refusing to give up his seat and move to the back of a segregated bus. He was acquitted of his charges and received an honorable discharge.
After being discharged in 1944 he began to play baseball professionally, when baseball was segregated. He played in a Negro League but was chosen by Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to help integrate the major league. He had joined the all white Montreal Royals in 1946. Rickey made Jackie promise to not fight back when he was confronted with racism. He had good start with the Royals and was promoted to join the Dodgers. Opposing teams threatened not to play against the Dodgers and his teammates threatened to sit out.
Robinson succeeded in putting prejudice aside, showing everyone what a talented player he was. Robinson also became a vocal champion for African American athletes, civil rights and other social and political causes.
Jesse Owens
Jesse Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama in 1913. He was the son of a sharecropper and grandson of slaves. At seven, he was picking up to one hundred pounds of cotton a day. At nine, Owens and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. There, Owens made a name for himself as a nationally recognized sprinter, setting three records. After high school he enrolled at Ohio State. Owens was not allowed to live on campus because the college didn’t have housing for black students. He would travel with the team but he had to stay in different hotels and eat in different restaurants than the rest of the Ohio State Track Team. Despite this Jesse earned his fame at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.
Hitler saw the presence of a successful black athlete as a threat. Owens won four gold medals and set three world records and tied the world record for the 100 meter dash. In Germany he was trained and was allowed to stay in the same hotels as his white teammates.
When he returned home he had given up on his education. Hitler had given Owens a friendly salute while F.D.R never recognized him for his achievements which disappointed Owens.
He spoke out favoring the Civil Rights Movement. He had went against discrimination and proved to people that there was more to him than just his color.
The E Word 