Vito Salvanto Period 4A Jackie Robinson After years of having a color barrier in numerous sports, Jackie Robinson wanted to erase it in baseball. Some say he was a national hero, while others say he was just an ordinary man playing baseball. However, there’s no question that he was an American hero because he opened the door for other people of color to start playing sports. Here are a few other examples of what he did to classify him as an American hero. First, he tolerated racist fans and even racist teammates. This makes him a hero because even though he faced racism, he overcame the odds and became one of the greatest baseball players ever. Delia Wright wrote about his life; “Instead of hearing the usual cheers of the faithful Dodgers fans, you hear the crowd roar: boo! They are screaming and yelling insults, some are swearing, and many call out racial slurs. "Go back to where you belong!”, “I'm going to hurt your family!" and "Get outta here!" (Wright, Delia. “Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights on the Playing Field.” ThinkCERCA). This demonstrates that he faced bigotry but persevered. In addition, he was again able to overcome the racism in his sport, but he also served in the military. Jackie Robinson served in the military during WWII. Despite facing segregation in the war, he still managed to fight through it without letting it get the best of him. “He was drafted and served in the armed forces in a segregated unit” (Wright, Delia. “Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights on the Playing Field.” ThinkCERCA). This reveals that he endured exclusion and still maintained his role in the military. Coincidently he received punishment from the military after refusing to sit on the back of a military bus. Despite that incident, there are still those who would say that he wasn’t a hero. For example, some would say that he was just another man playing baseball, and he doesn’t deserve any praise. However, this isn’t true because if Jackie Robinson didn’t play in major league baseball, the sport might be completely different. There might even still be a color barrier integrated into the sport. Therefore, Jackie Robinson is an American hero because he started to shatter the color barrier in major sports and served in the military, which on its own is impressive. He should be praised for all of his accomplishments. In conclusion, Jackie Robinson was a national hero and an American hero to others trying to play a sport they weren’t supposed to play because they were colored. He not only served in the military, but he also played baseball back when being black was a huge disadvantage. It was a time of segregation and believing colored people couldn’t do the same thing as white people. If Jackie Robinson never did what he did, the baseball game would not be the way it is today. Works Cited Wright, Delia. “Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights on the Playing Field.” ThinkCERCA, n.d., https://learn.thinkcerca.com/lessons/28886/lesson_steps/6.
