ELL Listening, Conversation and Writing
Essay: “Free Minds and Hearts at Work” by Jackie Robinson
Adapted from:
, Book Two
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by Mary E. Ward
Your thoughts on the title of the essay and what it might mean: ______________________________________
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Read about the essayist below.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. Baseball was the most popular sport in the United States at that time. Robinson experienced a lot of unfair treatment because he was black. Many people told him he should not play baseball. Robinson was able to overcome these challenges because of his beliefs.
Glossary
You will hear these words and expressions in the essay. Match the words with their definitions.
___ 1.
sex, religion, etc.
___ 2.
___ 3.
– v
– n
(obstacle)
– n
– n
– n a. unfair feelings of dislike against someone who is of a different race, b. beliefs people are expected to accept as true, without questioning them c. mistakes or flaws in things, including behaviors
___ 4. d. to make it possible for someone to continue or want to persist
___ 5. e. conditions or situations in someone’s way that make it difficult for
someone to do something
Exercise A: Decide if each statement is true (T), false (F) or not stated (NS) based on the information you
heard in this essay.
___ 1. It seems that Robinson always believed that one day his dream would come true.
___ 2. Robinson believes in the perfection of human beings.
___ 3. The progress that Robinson witnessed, he believed, would benefit his children and other young people.
___ 4. Robinson felt that his own children would probably not face obstacles and prejudices.
___ 5. In this essay, Robinson indicates that he was hopeful for the future of race relations in America.

Exercise B: Vocabulary for Comprehension – Read the sentences below and circle the letter of the word or
phrase closest in meaning to the boldfaced words and expressions.
1. In the scheme of human events, it was time for African-Americans to be treated more fairly. a. in the general view of a situation b. in the beginning of a situation
2. In a country where freedom and justice are very important, prejudice and racism have to
be reckoned with. a. be recognized as something valuable b. be faced with or confronted as a problem
3. Some black people worked a very long time for fair treatment. It was hard work. They were sustained
by the belief that things would eventually change for the better. a. supported b. stopped
4. When racism and prejudice are deep-rooted, it takes generations for change to happen. a. fair and open-minded b. strong and difficult to change
5. If we keep working hard, there is a high probability that one day soon we will receive fair treatment. a. uncertain time b. possibility
6. Throughout many years in our history, people in the United States have fought for their civil rights.
Many have attained these rights, and some have not. a. bought b. achieved
7. Laws in this country are not static. They are continually changing, so we have to keep ourselves educated. a. the same, unchanging. b. changing frequently
8. Not everyone joined the fight for equal rights, but most people with integrity did. a. wealth or a lot of power b. honesty and high morals
9. If you believe that what you are fighting for is doomed, you will probably not succeed. a. certain to fail b. likely to change

Exercise C: Focus on Details – Read the sentences below. Circle the word or phrase that best
completes each sentence.
1. At the beginning of the World Series in 1947, Robinson was happy because he was (included / excluded).
2. A year later, blacks and whites played baseball together (for the first time / one last time).
3. According to Robinson, (perfection / imperfection) is a human characteristic.
4. In Robinson’s opinion, handicaps, stumbling blocks, and prejudices (are / are not) part of everyday life.
5. The obstacles and prejudices Robinson faced (weakened him / made him fight more).
6. Robinson says he believes his children have a chance for a better future because many of the (dogmas /
guarantees) will have vanished by the time they are adults.
Exercise D: Thinking and Writing – Read the sets of questions below. Then choose one set and write a few
sentences in response to one or two of the questions in that set. Write three or four sentences only.
1. In the essay Robinson talks about preparing his children to meet obstacles and prejudices in life. How do
you think he did that? What did he talk to them about?
2. Robinson says he found imperfection in baseball and fought it. Have you found imperfection in another
area of life and fought it? (It could be in your native country or in the United States.) What was that
imperfection and how did you fight it?
3. What are your thoughts about prejudice and discrimination in the United States today? Who is often
discriminated against? Why is there discrimination against some groups? What can you/we do to help
overcome these prejudices and work to make our society more fair and just for all people?
My Response: Item # ____
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As Featured in the 1950s “This I Believe” Series
At the beginning of the World Series of 1947, I experienced a completely new emotion, when the national anthem was played. This time, I thought, it is being played for me, as much as for anyone else. This is organized major league baseball, and I am standing here with all the others; and everything that takes place includes me.
About a year later, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, to play in an exhibition game. On the field, for the first time in
Atlanta, there were Negroes and whites. Other Negroes, besides me. And I thought: What I have always believed has come to be.
And what is it that I have always believed? First, that imperfections are human. But that wherever human beings were given room to breathe and time to think, those imperfections would disappear, no matter how slowly. I do
believe that we have found or even approached perfection. That is not necessarily in the scheme of human events. Handicaps, stumbling blocks, prejudices – all of these are imperfect. Yet, they have to be reckoned with because
are in the scheme of human events.
Whatever obstacles I have found made me fight all the harder. But it would have been impossible for me to fight at all, except that I was sustained by the personal and deep-rooted belief that my fight had a chance. It had a chance because it took place in a free society. Not once was I forced to face and fight an immovable object. Not once was the situation so cast-iron rigid that I had no chance at all. Free minds and human hearts were at work all around me, and so there was the probability of improvement.
I look at my children now and know that I must still prepare them to meet obstacles and prejudices. But I can tell them, too, that they will never face
of these prejudices because other people have gone before them.
And to myself I can say that, because progress is unalterable, many of today’s dogmas will have vanished by the time they grow into adults. I can say to my children: There is a chance for you. No guarantee, but a chance.
And this chance has come to be because there is nothing static with free people. There is no Middle Ages logic so strong that it can stop the human tide from flowing forward. I do not believe that every person, in every walk of life, can succeed in spite of any handicap. That would be perfection. But I do believe – and with every fiber in me – that what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind us (no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past to discover the truth of today, and perhaps find the greatness of tomorrow.
I believe in the human race. I believe in the warm heart. I believe in man’s integrity. I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it – and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist.
My fight was against the barriers that kept Negroes out of baseball. That was the area where I found imperfection and where I was best able to fight. And I fought because I knew it was not doomed to be a losing fight. It couldn’t be a losing fight – not when it took place in a free society.
And, in the largest sense, I believe that what I did was done for me – and that my faith in God sustained me in my fight. And that what was done for me must and will be done for others.