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Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson was the first Black American to join baseball's major league in 1947 as a prominent member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson's belief in equality gave him the chance to bring the message to America and the world that race should not be a consideration for anything.

It's hard to believe that American sports of the past only allowed white players. Robinson grew up in a poor family in California, but his family always verified that they should have pride and honor in everything they do in life. California didn't have the same extreme level of prejudice that many of the other states had during that time. Robinson was inspired by his older brother who won a Silver Medal in the Olympics held in Hitler's Germany, and yet when he returned to the U.S. he could not get any job except as a garbage collector.

Robinson was not used to segregation when he entered the military service and refused to move to the 'black section' that the military required of him. He began fighting the system of inequality even during the early areas of his life. When he was going to be court martialed for his actions, the news spread across the country in the NAACP publications and the charges were dropped.

Robinson had always been involved in athletics in high school and then later in college. In 1944 he joined one of the African American baseball leagues, called the "Negro Leagues". There was a movement within baseball to attempt to integrate the sport and the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, was looking for a potential team member that had honor and integrity and had an excellent background. In 1946 he became a member of the all-white team called the Montreal Royals, which was a branch of the Brooklyn Dodgers. This was a moment in history, as he was the first African American baseball player on a white team.

As a member of the team, Robinson experienced all forms of racial discrimination and even potential violence. People yelled and screamed names at him and threw things at him, but he had made a promise to Rickey to not fight back. The worst situation that occurred was during a Philadelphia Phillies game when the opposing team refused to play with a Black American and even his own team objected. At the time, Leo Durocher, the Dodgers manager told his team that he would rather trade them all than lose Robinson. This set the tone for future baseball games.

Robinson wasn't just a baseball player, he was an incredibly talented player. The first year with the Dodgers, he hit 12 home runs and the Dodgers won the National League pennant. The same year, Robinson was chosen as the Rookie of the Year and he elevated his playing ability by having a .342 batting average during the season of 1949, was a leader in the most stolen bases and earned the National League's Most Valuable Player Award. He went on his career to have the Dodgers team win the National Pennant quite a few times and the World Series in 1955.

At the root of all of Robinson's efforts was his continued pursuit to see equality in sports and all facets of American life. Each time Robinson achieved an award or recognition, he included comments about his passion for equality. As his popularity grew, the resistance to having African American players lowered as well. He testified in 1949 before the House Un-American Activities on the topic of discrimination and in 1952 he publicly announced that the Yankees team was a racist organization for not having broken the all-white team with people of color as the Dodgers had five years earlier.

Jackie Robinson retired from baseball in 1957 and continued as a businessman, supporting the Freedom Bank, which was the first African American controlled bank and participated in the NAACP as a board member. In 1962, Robinson was the first Black American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Dodgers retired his number 42 uniform in 1972; the number never to be assigned to anyone else.

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Jackie Robinson was the first Black American to join baseball's major league in 1947 as a prominent member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson's belief in equality gave him the chance to bring the message to America and the world that race should not be a consideration for anything.

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Rosa Parks

The civil rights movement in the United States was at the edge of happening in 1955. During that time, Black Americans had specific seating positions in the back of all busses and public transportation and were required to give up their seats if the transportation was full when a white person needed a seat. When Rosa refused to give up her seat, she was arrested and put in jail. This single situation prompted an official launch for the Montgomery bus boycott and the civil rights movement across the nation.

Rosa was the daughter of two former slaves and was raised in a home that encouraged freedom without consideration of race. She was a grass roots activist in the pursuit of the rights for African Americans. She experienced racial prejudice every day as she walked to school because the school buses wouldn't take black Americans. The schools for African Americans were also shoddy and didn't have very good supplies.

Rosa married Raymond Parks at the age of 19. Raymond was a member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). Rosa's interest in equality allowed her to join the NAACP and work in the Montgomery, Alabama chapter as well as the position of secretary to the chapter's President.

The Montgomery City Code allowed a bus driver to demand and then physically move any person, regardless of color, to relocate to another seat. This law enforced the existing belief that Black Americans be required to board the bus, pay the fare and then get off of the bus and re-board at the back. The day that Rosa refused to move, not just because she was tired after a full day's work, but because she was tired of 'giving in', it verified her belief as an activist to demand equality for all people.

The evening that Rosa was arrested, the President of the NAACP organized a boycott (not support) of public transportation for December 5, 1955. The NAACP handed out pamphlets, took ads in the paper and sent the word out that people were to stay at home, not take public transportation, take a cab or walk to support the cause of equality. The estimated 40,000 Black Americans supported the boycott and buses appeared, almost completely empty. The boycott continued for a number of months, causing financial problems for the city.

When Rosa went to court, there were 500 people waiting outside to support her. Her fine was small, but the message had been sent loud and clear. Unfortunately, there were those in the community that fought back, burning down African American churches and the homes of the leading supporters, including the home of Martin Luther King, Jr and the President of the NAACP.

Black Americans followed up with legal action and a lawsuit began to fight the laws. In June, 1956, the court ruled that the law supporting the segregation (also known as "Jim Crow" laws) were unconstitutional and could not be enforced.

Even though Rosa had become a symbol of the civil rights movement, her life was affected and she lost her job due to her celebrity and her husband was fired when his boss required that he not speak with his own wife during the trial. The Park family relocated to Detroit, Michigan where Rosa was receptionist and secretary in the congressional office of U.S. Representative, John Conyer and was also on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America board.

Rosa published her autobiography book: "Rosa Parks: My Story" in 1992 and then her second book of memoirs "Quiet Strength" in 1995. She received an incredible number of awards, including the NAACP highest award, and the Spingarn Medal; the Martin Luther King, Jr. award. President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996, which is the highest honor that is awarded by the U.S. executive branch. Rosa was also given the highest award given by the U.S. legislative branch, Congressional Gold Medal in 1997, and in 1999, Rosa Parks was named on the TIME magazine list of "The Top 20 most influential People of the 20th Century".

At the age of 92, Rosa passed away in Detroit, Michigan. Memorial services were held at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. and was attended by over 50,000 people. She was buried at the Detroit Woodlawn Cemetery and the chapel was renamed the Rosa L. Parks Freedom Chapel.

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The civil rights movement in the United States was at the edge of happening in 1955. During that time, Black Americans had specific seating positions in the back of all busses and public transportation and were required to give up their seats if the transportation was full when a white person needed a seat.

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the leading men involved in the civil rights movement.

He was a Baptist Minister and most well-known for following Mahatma Gandhi's belief of non-violent protest.

King was involved in many of the social and political activist movements from the mid 1950's until the day he was assassinated in 1968.

Martin Luther King Jr. born and raised

He was born in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia and was from a family that had its roots in the country areas of Georgia; and his father and father-in-law had been ministers in the local church.

He and his father adopted the name of 'Martin Luther' to honor the German protestor that established the Protestant religion.

King's family environment discouraged any prejudice based on race, religion or economic situation.

These lessons would be the founding base for King's beliefs for the rest of his life.

What school did Martin Luther King Jr go to?

By 1944, King attended Moorehouse College an early-admission student at the age of 15 and then Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.

He was considered to be a good student, but rebelled against what he thought was the more conservative religious attitude of his father.

A friend of his father, theologian Reinhold Niebbuhr, became the single individual that had the most influence over King's growing spiritual and intellectual development.

King was accepted by a number of colleges and universities for his doctoral study which included Yale and Scotland's Edinburgh; he chose to go to Boston University.

He graduated when he was 25 years old and became pastor of a Montgomery, Alabama church.

Rosa Parks

December 1, 1955 was the date that Rosa Parks, a Black American woman, refused to give up her seat to a white person and was arrested.

The segregation and prejudice of the time was bad and the local chapter of the NAACP met with King and other community members to arrange a boycott of the bus system.

King was elected to speak to the community and this speech started his career on the road to the many protests against unfair situations.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

The success of King's reception and his ability to speak to the people led him and others to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Their purpose was to address unfair practices for the Black American community and other race-related topics. He traveled all over the country preaching reform and especially non-violent protest.

Martin Luther King Arrested

Dr. King encouraged and participated all types of non-violent protest efforts including 'sit-ins' at lunch rooms where the black and whites were separated.

Returning to Atlanta, he took over his father's church, and continued to support civil rights.

He was arrested in 1960 when he and 75 other Black Americans entered a department store and requested service at the lunch counter and were denied due to their race.

They continued to sit until the time they were arrested.

The story was brought to the attention of the then candidate for President, John F. Kennedy, who called King's wife and expressed concern for the treatment.

What happened in Birmingham Alabama 1963?

In 1963 King organized a demonstration in Birmingham, Alabama.

Police turned fire hoses on the demonstrators and the attention for mistreatment became nationwide.

King was arrested along with a number of other people and it was from his jail cell that he announced the nonviolent way to achieve success:

"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community, which has constantly refused to negotiate, is forced to confront the issue."

I Have a Dream Speech

King worked with others to organize a massive 1963 demonstration to Washington, D.C. Over 200,000 people showed up and it was there, at the podium, that Dr. King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech.

Tensions were mounting in cities and towns across the country and it became obvious that change in discrimination had to occur.

Dr. King's actions helped the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize.

What happened on Bloody Sunday in Selma?

While Dr. King always asked for nonviolence and peaceful protest, violence broke out in Selma, Alabama during Civil Rights march.

This horrible situation became known as "Bloody Sunday" and while Dr. King wasn't there, the nation watched as police turned violent against the demonstrators.

By the time a third march was planned, Dr. King knew they couldn't violate the restraining order that had been set in place, so instead, white and black demonstrators marched to the Pettus Bridge where the barricades had been set in place and everyone kneeled in prayer.

They then turned and walked away.

His point had been made at the bridge, without violence, but some of the less patient younger supporters began to shy away from these kinds of tactics. Dr. King made the decision to extend the protests to include the Vietnam War.

The unpopular and politically motivated war was taking American lives and many across the country was in opposition to it.

He added additional positions to address the poor and unemployed.

In 1968, Dr. King was frustrated with the slow movement of civil rights and equality and was attempting to broaden the range of programs that he wanted to address in the hope that it would attract leaders that would take action.

Martin Luther King Assassination

On Thursday, April 4th, 1968, while standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, he was killed by a sniper bullet from James Earl Ray who was a former convict.

King's last words were to musician Ben Branch, "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."

James Earl Ray was later sentenced to 99 years' imprisonment for the murder of Dr. King.

Facts about Martin Luther King

Born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia

His birth name was Michael, not Martin

He went to Booker T. Washington High School

He started his college education at Morehouse College in 1944

Arrested on Oct 19 1960 at Atlanta sit-in

The civil rights leader went to jail 29 times

Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Assassinated On Thursday, April 4th, 1968

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a national holiday held on the third Monday of each January.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the leading men involved in the civil rights movement. He was a Baptist Minister and most well-known for following Mahatma Gandhi's belief of non-violent protest. King was involved in many of the social and political activist movements from the mid 1950's until the day he was assassinated in ...