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Fredric is a web developer based in Chicago who hopes to one day start a foundation to support young, Black males in programming and computer science.

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and 60 years later…

April 15th, 2007 • Related • Filed Under

april 15, 1947.

history was made 60 years ago, on this day, by jackie robinson of the los angeles dodgers. while we may not get a day off from work, the significance of mr. robinson’s achievement should not go unnoticed.Young Black Professional Guide Jackie Robinson

there have been recent comments by some black ballplayers that america’s game has fallen in terms of its diversity. while baseball clubs like the atlanta braves and houston astros will shockingly not have one black roster member, the entire league has a paltry 8.4 percent black membership. jimmie lee solomon, the league’s highest ranking executive was quoted saying:

This is our low point, but, hopefully, we have hit bottom. You can’t reverse overnight a trend that has been built over 30 years, but we are encouraged.

encouragement is coming in the form of revamped efforts in major league baseball’s programs targeted towards inner cities. the rbi (a double-entendre on ‘runs batted in’ and ‘reviving baseball in inner cities’) program has produced stars like dontrelle willis, coco crisp, and jimmy rollins having been instituted in over 200 cities.

jackie robinson also opened the doors for black hispanics. an often untold story, the impact of latin america in baseball is phenomenal, comprising almost 30 percent of all current 2007 players. while white hispanics broke into the league in 1902, legends like roberto clemente and martin dihigo owe their careers to the pioneer as well.

to celebrate, many athletes will be sporting robinson’s retired number 42 jersey in sunday’s games. while it is great to see his legacy continuing to be celebrated, some baseball stars (read: barry bonds, frank thomas) are still totally lost on what jackie robinson represents.

even more mind-boggling is that even after 60 years, jackie would STILL destroy all current players in terms of performance and stats.

he was THAT good.

Young Black Professional Guide Jackie Robinson

Viewing 6 Comments

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    It's great to see that baseball is honoring this great man in such a why. On a side note, I still don't get why so many people are upset that Barry Bonds is choosing to honor Jackie Robinson?
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    well, it's not so much that people are upset because he chose to honor him. it is because barry bonds is a selfish individual (always has been) and is hypocritical in his tribute.

    while many of the great players will wear it in tribute, bonds' actions in the past are not representative of what jackie stands for.

    he has been unashamedly selfish in his glory of his accomplishments, cold to fans, and empty in supporting organizations geared towards youth.

    if you read the link on the post, it'll take you to an espn article synonymously pitting barry to george w.
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    I read that article earlier this week. While I agree with some of it, like that bonds is selfish. But while we hope, it's impossible for every single person to be just like Hank Aaron or Jackie Robinson. That author is going out of way to show how Bonds basically isn't a black athlete and should not represent another great black athlete.

    Sure Bonds isn't the nice cuddly person we would like him to be. But you can't take away is impact on the game. You can't take way the fact that when baseball was at it's lowest point after the strike, that he was one of the major players that help it get back to where it is right now. I'm sure hockey would love to have a Barry Bonds right now so they could become reverlent again.
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    Dame...can't believe I actually agree with you on something. LOL (Inside Joke). Seriously though I think we put too much emphasis on the "Role of the Black Athlete". That's a huge weight to carry on your shoulders. It's like if someone in your family comes into a large sum of money, many now have their hands out and expect you to do this, do that just because you have money. That's not right. We have to realize that not every Black Pro Athlete is going to be about helping inner city youth or other underprivileged programs. The simple fact of the matter is they just may not be "connected to it" because not all professional Black athletes grew up underprivileged. It's a known fact that most people do not support certain programs, not because they don't agree with the program, but because they're not connected or don't feel a connection to said program. Also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong but what "Community Driven" programs (besides the one mentioned) does MLB have? The NBA has NBA Cares. The NFL has their partnership with United Way. So that could possibly be part of the problem as well. MLB doesn't seem to have a foothold in the overall community atmosphere.
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    i disagree.

    i've always been an advocate of 'to much privilege comes much responsibility'.

    what if our ancestors said 'not my problem'. what if those who were thrust in the spotlight because of God-given talent had thrown up their arms and said 'yeah, thats nice and all...but i dont care'.

    maybe it is a personal conviction i have, but my morals, upbringing, and values do not tell me that this world becomes a better place by us all looking out for ourselves.

    why would i write in a blog? why should anyone care? why do i, a blessed, educated, young black man care about my brothers and sisters? better question...why should i?

    the reason is simple.

    someone cared about me to allow me to have the opportunities i have. this is what jackie did.

    bonds does not represent this. he should not wear the number.
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    No it's not about believing that "it's not my problem" (personally, I don't happen to believe this. I just like to play Devil's Advocate). It's that we expect EVERYONE to be about the same things that we're about just because they are in a certain role. There's always going to be "one bad apple in the bunch" does that mean we hold the apple tree responsible? No it doesn't.
 
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