I had a chance to see an advanced
screening of “42”, the story of how Jackie Robinson integrated
Major League Baseball in 1947. My advice is to go without
hesitation, but take your tissues, and plan on having a glass of wine
afterwards – it's a great movie, but it is hard to watch that
special brand of hatred that just never seems to be subdued...
This account of just SOME of the things
Jackie Robinson endured is a lesson in restraint the likes of which
we can't really imagine. The fact of the matter is that Robinson was
truly a diamond in the rough. I don't even know anyone who could
have endured the taunts, the endless indignities that he suffered to
take away all of the excuses that had prevented baseball from being a
sport all Americans could participate in. As you look around the
baseball parks of today and see a rainbow coalition, remember that
one man made it possible – before the bus boycott, before Brown vs.
the Board of Education, before the Military was integrated, way
before Title IX, someone convinced Jackie Robinson to take one for
the nation. He should be on everyone's gratitude list.
Put yourself in his place for just a
second -
You want to get married, you are
barnstorming with the Negro Leagues making the most of your talent in
the only place you are allowed to play, you're doing minor league
football in the off season, and you've just given up track. Suddenly
you are asked to take on one of most incredible tasks of all time –
integrate white baseball, and hold your tongue and turn the other
cheek when ridicule rains down on you like a flashflood – what
would you do? I'm sure that even with the thought that he would be
able to make a decent living, he also had to think that this task was
too big for him....
You will note that there are no
complaints about the liberal use of the “N word” in this movie.
I saw “Django Unchained” and it's a toss up which movie used the
word more. Between that, being tossed out of restaurants, being
threatened with arrest, and with being barred from hotels, I really
don't know how he dealt with it. You hear stories about how ethnic
stars had to seek shelter in the home of friends and in little known
motels that dotted the highway when they travelled because they were
about as welcome as a plague of locusts at the five star hotels of
the day. I remember BB King telling us that he stayed at the Palmer
House because Hilton hotels were among the first to allow blacks to
stay there.
The man who got this experiment in
deferred appreciation going was Branch Rickey, the General Manager of
the Brooklyn Dodgers. Haunted by the realization that he could have
done more to help minorities in the past, Rickey decides to try and
make amends, and at the same time win some more ball games by
searching for the right person at the right time. Only Central
Casting could have created a better candidate than Jackie Robinson.
While he was a surprising candidate to some, Robinson hadn't been
known for turning the other cheek as much as he was known for
standing his ground. He understood, however, that if he didn't learn
how to call on his better angels, it would have only fueled the fire
that has kept us out of the mainstream for far too long.
Recently, the First Family hosted a
screening of the movie and invited Robinson's widow, Rachel, who was
also well depicted in the movie. Michelle Obama stated that she
didn't know how the Robinsons endured in the face of such hatred. If
you think like I do, you want to ask Michelle the same question –
right?
April 15th is Jackie
Robinson Day – please join me in wearing a #42 jersey in honor of a
real American hero.
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