Jackie Robinson |
Jackie broke the racial barriers and never let anything get to his head. His number is retired in every major league baseball stadium. He changed America and the way baseball is played today. Now, any race of men can play in the major leagues and he made that okay. He once said "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." Jackie was the kind of man who never let anything get to his head and wanted everything to be fair.
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Jackie Robinson didn't just break racial barriers in baseball. In 1965, Jackie became the first black baseball announcer for ABC TV. After retiring from sports, he took a job at a coffee shop chain Chock Full O' Nuts and became the first black vice president of a major American Corporation. Jackie was also a civil rights activist. He campaigned for Richard Nixon during the 1960 presidential election. Jackie thought John F. Kennedy didn't care about black people. Later during the 1960s, he reversed his opinion on John F. Kennedy and later wrote of his admiration to the president and his brother Robert F. Kennedy. After Jackie died of a heart attack on October 24, 1972. His wife, Rachel Robinson, later created the Jackie Robinson Foundation. This foundation provides comprehensive scholarships and support services to minority students enrolled at institutions of higher education.
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