42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy

by Michael G. Long (Editor), Ken Burns (Foreword by), Sarah Burns (Foreword by), David McMahon (Foreword by), Kevin Merida (Afterword)

Overview

Explores Jackie Robinson’s compelling and complicated legacy

Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball in the twentieth century. Today a national icon, Robinson was a complicated man who navigated an even more complicated world that both celebrated and despised him.

Many are familiar with Robinson as a baseball hero. Few, however, know of the inner turmoil that came with his historic status. Featuring piercing essays from a range of distinguished sportswriters, cultural critics, and scholars, this book explores Robinson’s perspectives and legacies on civil rights, sports, faith, youth, and nonviolence, while providing rare glimpses into the struggles and strength of one of the nation’s most athletically gifted and politically significant citizens. Featuring a foreword by celebrated directors and producers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, this volume recasts Jackie Robinson’s legacy and establishes how he set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781479805624
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Series:	Washington Mews Books , #9
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,100,539
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Michael G. Long (Editor)
Michael G. Long is the author and editor of four books on Jackie Robinson—First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson; Beyond Home Plate: Jackie Robinson on Life after Baseball; and Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography. He is Associate Professor in the Center of Global Understanding and Peacemaking at Elizabethtown College.

Ken Burns (Foreword by)
Ken Burns is an awardwinning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball.

Sarah Burns (Foreword by)
Sarah Burns is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Burns also wrote the text for the documentary.

David McMahon (Foreword by)
David McMahon is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. McMahon also wrote the text for the documentary.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Taking Jackie Robinson Seriously Ken Burns Sarah Burns David Mcmahon xi

Introduction: That Day Michael G. Long 1

Part I Foundations

1 The Owner Howard Bryant 9

2 A Methodist Life Randal Maurice Jelks 15

Part II Baseball

3 Jackie Robinson Ball George Vecsey 29

4 Telling It the Right Way Jonathan Eig 34

5 A Champion of Nonviolence? Mark Kurlansky 42

6 The White Media Missed It Chris Lamb 57

7 On Retiring 42 David naze 71

Part III Civil Rights and Politics

8 Before the World Failed Him Sridhar Pappu 83

9 The Dilemma of the Black Republican Gerald Early 100

10 "I've Got to Be Me": Robinson and the Long Black Freedom Struggle Yohuru Williams 113

Part IV The Wide World of Sports

11 The First Famous Jock for Justice Peter Dreier 131

12 Supporting Black Women Athletes Amira Rose Davis 177

13 The Challenges of a Gay Jackie Robinson Adam Amel Rogers 189

Afterword: The Legacy of Perfection Kevin Merida 201

Acknowledgments 205

Notes 207

About the Contributors 223

Index 229

Editorial Reviews

11/09/2020

Biographer Long (Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography), along with 13 contributors, explore lesser-known aspects of the life of Jackie Robinson, who became the first Black American to play Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Robinson’s Methodist faith is explored in Randal Maurice Jelk’s “A Methodist Life,” which examines how Robinson’s wife Rachel’s connection with the AME Church—and its message of “self-determination, self-sufficiency, and black independence”—influenced Robinson. The “First Famous Jock for Justice” catalogs the athletes who followed Robinson’s efforts on behalf of racial equality with their own social justice activism. Other notable essays include “Before the World Failed Him,” which discusses Robinson in context with other civil rights leaders, and “On Retirement,” about his life after hanging up his glove. Even those who know nothing about Robinson will take something inpsiring away from this excellent anthology. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Whether you consider yourself a baseball scholar or not, 42 Today has something to teach you. With 13 essays as well as a foreword by Ken and Sarah Burns and David McMahon and an introduction by the editor, there is no shortage of information about the man’s life, some well known and some obscure. In addition to correcting the errors in what we know about Robinson, there is also detail of how Robinson and his legacy affected groups beyond the typically male-dominated realm of baseball fans."

CoveringtheCorner.com

"This collection of essays explores baseball legend Jackie Robinson’s complicated legacy, his impact on society and the inner turmoil that came with his historic achievements."

USA Today

"2021 marks the 75th anniversary of Branch Rickey signing Jackie Robinson to the Montreal Royals, which integrated organized baseball for the first time since the 19th century. Anniversaries of important historical events offer opportunities to reflect on their significance, and this collection of essays makes use of the occasion to explore Robinson's activism in civil rights, politics, and sports."

Choice

★ 2020-11-21
A collection of essays on the baseball great’s impact on American society.

Editor Long and his contributors attempt to separate the man from the myth and show how his influence continues to extend. Who was Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)? He ended racial segregation in Major League Baseball when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He succeeded in part because he refused to respond to taunts or even acknowledge hateful slurs, but he showed an aggression on the field that may have been fueled by anger. After his retirement, he became a civil rights spokesman, defender of the Vietnam War, and a man at odds with more militant figures such as Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali. All of these facts fail to capture the complexity of the man and the heroism of his achievement. These pieces embody all of what made Robinson special, assessing him through many different lenses: the Methodist faith that he shared with Branch Rickey, who signed him to the Dodgers and exploited him for financial gain while denying that he (and baseball) had felt any political pressure to integrate; the Black and communist press that pushed for integration while the mainstream press either ignored the issue or resisted integration (in their own ranks as well as in baseball); the strong female presence—mother, wife, daughter—that helped shape Robinson’s values and influenced his support for Black female athletes; and the political climate of the era, which bears a resemblance to that of today. Robinson was a seminal warrior in a movement before there was a movement. As Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed, “He was a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides.” Contributors include Howard Bryant, Mark Kurlansky, Jonathan Eig, Sridhar Pappu, Amira Rose Davis, and Kevin Merida, who provides the afterword, noting how Robinson “would invariably be disappointed in how white the entire decision-making infrastructure of sports remains.”

A successful attempt to give a towering cultural figure his due beyond the baselines.

Kirkus Reviews

"Juxtaposing events in the sports world from the ‘40s to now, 42 Today recalls Robinson’s legacy and establishes how he paved a way for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick."

TheRoot.com

"The value of this collection is in its breadth and accessibility… an excellent addition to an undergraduate course on baseball, race, and American history."

Journal of African American History - Sarah L. Trembanis (University of Delaware)

"The value of this collection is in its breadth and accessibility… an excellent addition to an undergraduate course on baseball, race, and American history."

Journal of African American History - Sarah L. Trembanis (Universityof Delaware)

This collection of essays is, at its base, about Jackie Robinson’s off-the-field religious beliefs, opinions on civil rights, and other non-baseball topics. But it extends further, with the assorted writers taking on the ramifications of those topics. The one constant is narrator Mirron Willis, whose voice brings a powerful resonance to a subject that demands exactly that. It is the narration that helps pull together the individual chapters. The writers have different voices—which yield slight overlaps, considering the common theme is Robinson. (Many well-known moments are mentioned briefly in various chapters.) Willis narrates with an interested tone and with emotion. He helps listeners understand that Robinson cannot be painted in broad strokes but rather in specific ones that reveal an enigmatic human being. M.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

MAY 2021 - AudioFile

This collection of essays is, at its base, about Jackie Robinson’s off-the-field religious beliefs, opinions on civil rights, and other non-baseball topics. But it extends further, with the assorted writers taking on the ramifications of those topics. The one constant is narrator Mirron Willis, whose voice brings a powerful resonance to a subject that demands exactly that. It is the narration that helps pull together the individual chapters. The writers have different voices—which yield slight overlaps, considering the common theme is Robinson. (Many well-known moments are mentioned briefly in various chapters.) Willis narrates with an interested tone and with emotion. He helps listeners understand that Robinson cannot be painted in broad strokes but rather in specific ones that reveal an enigmatic human being. M.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

MAY 2021 - AudioFile