To what extent is Jackie Robinson the father
of the civil rights movement?
Candidate Name: Pieter Bednar
Candidate #: 001371-020
Extended Essay
Subject: History
Lincoln Community School
Word Count: 3678
Abstract:
The civil rights movement was one of the more storied events in the United States. Its leaders
ranged from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. However, one
leader of the civil rights movement that is often over looked is Jackie Robinson who is best
known for breaking the color line in Major League Baseball in 1947. To what extent though
was Jackie Robinson involved in the civil rights movement? The answer to that is quite
simple; Jackie Robinson was one of the founding fathers of the civil rights movement and he
did this through his involvement in the military and by breaking the color line of Major
League Baseball. The fact that Jackie Robinson is a father of the civil rights movement
resonates with the commonly accepted father of the movement, Martin Luther King Jr.
Without the actions of Jackie Robinson, which spoke much louder than words, the civil rights
movement would not have been the same, and the USA wouldn’t be the nation it is today.
Table of Contents
pg 1……………………...........................................................................................Introduction
pg 1……………………………………………………………..Jackie Robinson and the Army
pg 3…………………………………………………………...Jackie Robinson’s Court Martial
pg 4…………………………………………………………………………Domestic Situation
pg 5…………………………………………………………………….Integration of the Army
pg 5…………………………………………………………………………….............Baseball
pg 6……………………………………………………...Obstacles in Breaking the Color Line
pg 7…………………………………………………………….Reasons to Sign a Black Player
pg 8………………………………………………………………..Jackie Robinson in Baseball
pg 9………………………………………………..Martin Luther King Jr. on Jackie Robinson
pg 10……………………………………………………………………Actions After Baseball
pg 10………………………………………………………………………………...Conclusion
pg 12……………………………………………………………………………….Works Cited
History Extended Essay
Introduction
The history of the United States during the early to mid 20th century was marked by
the fact that the United States was a segregated nation. The fact that this is how the United
States was viewed even with the efforts put forth by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War
to create equality among citizens is only too true of an assessment. The racial segregation,
despite the formal abolition of slavery through the thirteenth amendment, was maintained
through the Jim Crow laws. As time progressed and the United States entered the Second
World War, the fact that the United States was a segregated nation became a more visible
national and international issue, as the troops heading off to war marched in segregated
columns. Due to the grand scale of the war, Major League Baseball lost a third of its man
power, but ironically still remained segregated.
How can it be that the military and the national pastime of such a great nation
remained segregated? As the end of the war approached, and black troops came home with
their white compatriots, some people started to realize the injustice and integration finally
started to occur. The desegregation movement and the civil rights movement started in the
United States thanks to the involvement of African Americans within the military and
baseball. Who was the leader of this movement and how did s/he bring the movement about?
As an African American, one man sparked the movement in both military and baseball.
Through his leadership, Jackie Robinson was a father of the civil rights movement.
Jackie Robinson and the Army
The military is an essential body of any nation, and is perhaps the most public body of
a nation, particularly when military personnel generally go abroad to protect their nation and
if necessary to fight against other nations. The policy of racial segregation of the United
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History Extended Essay
States military was brought to the forefront of the worlds view during the Second World War.
Initially blacks held very few positions in the military; they were mainly airmen, shipmen or
part of tank battalions and defense battalions that did no real fighting (The War). Jackie
Robinson decided to enlist in the army due to financial difficulties. When Jackie Robinson
first entered the military in 1942 he was assigned to a cavalry unit. In 1943, he applied to
Officers’ Candidate School at Fort Riley Robinson was rejected and then off the record he
was told that blacks were not included in the Officers’ Candidate School because they lacked
leadership ability. When this occurred, rather than going to Army officials, Jackie Robinson
went to a far more commanding figure, former boxing great, Joe Louis, who was also
stationed at Fort Riley. Although Joe Louis was not a commissioned officer, he held a higher
position in the military at Fort Riley than most black people in the military due to his stature
as a world-class boxer. Joe Louis was able to organize a meeting between black members of
the military for them to voice their grievances in the presence of a representative of the
secretary of defense. Shortly after this meeting Jackie Robinson achieved his goal and he and
fellow African Americans were admitted to Officers’ Candidate School for the first time.
(Tygiel). Jackie Robinson, who graduated as a second lieutenant, and the other officers that
were admitted were the first African American officers in the military, and this action was the
first time Jackie Robinson made a stand against segregation and foreshadowed what he would
do later on in life. Based on this information many people might say that Joe Louis is an
important father of the civil rights movement as he organized the meeting that eventually led
to Jackie Robinson being admitted to the Officers’ Candidate School. However it is very
difficult to do so, seeing as it wasn’t Joe Louis who initiated the effort and Joe Louis would
not have been involved had it not been for Jackie Robinson’s persistent wish to be involved
in the Officers’ Candidate School (Tygiel). Jackie Robinson took the risk to fight for what he
saw were his rights.
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History Extended Essay
Jackie Robinson’s Court Martial
Jackie Robinson took risks that furthered the civil rights movement. While in the
military, Jackie Robinson was given a court martial in August of 1944, for refusing a direct
order. The order he refused to follow was one that stated that all black members of the
military had to sit in the back of transport buses (Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie
Robinson). Jackie Robinson was not actually the first do to this. Henry Williams, a member
of the military was shot and killed on a civilian bus, by the driver in August of 1942 for
refusing to obey the civilian law and move to the back of the bus (The War). Now it may
seem as though Jackie Robinson was emulating the actions of Williams by refusing to sit in
the back of the bus, but with Jackie Robinson being an officer, the effects of Jackie
Robinson’s actions had a greater overall effect on the fledgling civil rights movement. When
Jackie Robinson was issued his court martial he feared a conspiracy as he had been charged
with insubordination, disturbing the peace, drunkenness, conduct unbecoming an officer,
insulting a civilian and refusing to obey the lawful orders of a superior officer (Tygiel). This
was quite a long list of charges against him, all things considered. However when Jackie
Robinson went on trial for the court martial, the more serious offenses were dropped and he
was only charged with insubordination. Jackie Robinson’s fear of a conspiracy was not
without reason as during the Second World War, according to historian Jack D. Foner, many
black soldiers were unjustly court-martialed either because the officers presiding over hearing
assumed the their guilt regardless of the evidence or because they wanted to ‘set an example’
for other black soldiers (Tygiel). Even though this was the case, a white jury found Jackie
Robinson not guilty. This act by Jackie Robinson opposing segregationist policies
foreshadows the importance that Jackie Robinson would have in the civil rights movement
within the United States. Many historians argue that the fact that the person who broke the
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color barrier in the military and in baseball had refused to move to the back of the bus
influenced the actions of Rosa Parks when she refused to move to the back of the bus.
Domestic Situation
Many African Americans saw an opportunity in the Second World War to pursue a
“Double V” campaign: a victory over the enemy abroad and a victory over discrimination at
home (Davidson). Clearly they achieved their goal regarding the victory over the enemy
abroad and managed to achieve the victory at home over discrimination. An early victory at
home came when Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered that any industries (especially the arms
industry) working with the government end discrimination in hiring (Davidson). Although
discrimination in hiring had been officially abolished a fair amount of indirect discrimination
still continued. Due to the booming wartime economy, many people started to move to the
cities. In response to this, the National Housing Agency provided new housing units to
accommodate the larger populations in the city. When this was done in Mobile Alabama, a
total of 14,000 units were provided for white workers while only 1,000 units were provided
for African Americans (The War). This was a huge victory because housing had never before
been provided for African Americans. Due to the fact that President Roosevelt realized that
discrimination and segregation were such an issue within the work place, the people believed
that there was a chance that he might order changes to take place in other areas of society.
This action by FDR was the first motion in the civil rights movement and even preceded the
actions of Jackie Robinson and led to the belief that equality could be achieved.
Even though FDR is credited for the integration of the workforce, he was still
adamant that the military remain segregated (Davidson). He strongly believed this despite the
positive impact that black soldiers and black only troops had during the Second World War.
Although many people would say that FDR played an important role in the civil rights
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History Extended Essay
movement within the US, the impact that his actions had was very minimal His steadfast
opposition to the integration of the army stops him from being seen as the father of the civil
rights movement rather than Jackie Robinson.
Integration of the Army
The president after FDR, Harry S Truman, was also a possible predecessor to Jackie
Robinson as the father of the civil rights movement (Davidson). In 1948 President Truman
ordered that the military be fully integrated. The only reason that Jackie Robinson is viewed
as the father of the civil rights movement rather than President Truman, is because Jackie
Robinson broke the color line for baseball in 1947, while Truman was a year late with the
integration of the military. However, the fact that Truman was willing to integrate the
military is a testimony to his belief of equality, and is also a testimony to the feeling of
society as a whole, as people reluctantly began to accept in small ways the validity of equal
rights. Therefore, although Truman cannot be seen as a leader in the civil rights movement,
he did have a major impact, as he was responsible for the integration of the military. With the
military finally being fully integrated, all be it after the Second World War, the fact that black
and white troops could fight side by side to defeat totalitarian governments, the hypocrisy of
America’s national pastimes segregated status was pushed into the limelight.
Baseball
Baseball is arguably the greatest sport within the United States and is undoubtedly its
national pastime. As this is the case, the sport has continuously been under scrutiny, none
more so than at the end of the Second World War, when the Major Leagues remained
segregated. Although baseball is often credited with being the first organization to break the
color line, it was also the first to institute a color line, when it had all black players out of the
Major Leagues by 1867 (Segregated Baseball: A Kaleidoscopic review). The fact that the
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History Extended Essay
national pastime remained segregated for such a long time was perhaps one of the many
driving forces behind the decision of Branch Rickey, the manager to sign Jackie Robinson, to
break the color line.
Having lost so many players to the war effort, one would have expected Major
League Baseball would be ready for integration. The opposite was actually true. There were
many instances where the Major League teams preferred to sign schoolboys, over-aged
journeyman and physically handicapped white players than able-bodied African Americans.
Perhaps the greatest insult came in 1944 when a Major League team signed Pete Gray, a onearmed white player to pitch in the Major Leagues (Bedingfield). It is quite possible that the
only reason Major League teams were willing to sign these players rather than African
Americans was simply because the general managers felt that the time was not right to sign
an African American, or they felt they weren’t able to locate a player of the sufficient caliber
to play in the Major Leagues (Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson).
Obstacles in Breaking the Color Line
There were a great number of obstacles that stood in the way of teams and players
willing to break the color line. Economics was a fundamental obstacle. Ironically, many of
the Major League teams rented their stadiums to the Negro League teams, and if the best
players of the Negro Leagues joined the Major Leagues, the Negro Leagues would go under,
representing a significant loss in revenue for the owners of the stadiums (Segregated baseball:
A Kaleidoscopic review). Secondly, many owners of baseball teams felt that predominantly
white audiences would not be willing to watch a baseball game with black players. Thirdly
there was an issue in terms of the player who was chosen to break the color line. The player
chosen had to be skilled enough to earn the respect from his peers on the playing field, and he
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History Extended Essay
had to have the off-field demeanor to maintain composure and avoid any incidents due to his
breaking the color line (Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson).
Reasons to sign a black player
Although it seems as if the main reason to not sign an African American player was
economic, the opposite was actually true when Branch Rickey decided to sign Jackie
Robinson to break the color barrier. Branch Rickey believed that in order to generate
revenue, a team had to have the best team possible on the field at all times, regardless of race.
Therefore he went out and got the best players he could, and signed Jackie Robinson. Branch
Rickey believed that Jackie Robinson would be able to succeed in Major League Baseball as
he was a natural athlete, having lettered in four sports at UCLA and he was also an important
part of the Kansas City Monarchs, a leading Negro League team. Although his initial reason
for signing Jackie Robinson was economic, he later claimed that he was also a firm believer
in equal rights, which was part of the equation in his decision to sign Jackie Robinson
(Denenberg).
When baseball as a sport was finally integrated, many Major League players
vehemently opposed the idea of playing on the same field as a black player. Despite the
strong opposition by players Major League Baseball management was determined enough to
maintain its course towards integration. “I don’t care if half the league strikes. This is the
United States of America and one citizen has as much right to play as another”, was stated by
then Commissioner Ford Frick when he addressed the St. Louis Cardinals players who
planned to strike when the then Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson came to town to play
in 1947 (MacDonald). The Commissioner’s viewpoint was one of the more forward looking
of the time, and because of this willingness to play a black player regardless of the
consequences is a testimony to the importance Ford Frick and baseball in general placed on
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History Extended Essay
integration, which is one of the reasons why it must be seen as one of the founding
organizations of integration within the United States.
Jackie Robinson in Baseball
Jackie Robinson was the first black player in Major League baseball. He opened the
door for other black players to follow, such as Larry Doby, who became first black player to
join the American League in 1947, the same year Jackie Robinson signed on to play in the
National League. Because other people were able to follow in the footsteps of Jackie
Robinson, he can only be seen as a leader of the civil rights movement and he was well ahead
of his time in terms of starting and maintaining this movement. Secondly, due to the success
Jackie Robinson had, many other teams were enticed to sign a black player. By 1959, every
Major League team had at least one black player on its roster. This was essential because it
shows that baseball was truly willing to fully integrate, albeit at a fairly slow pace compared
to an organization such as the military. However the integration of baseball is far more
significant because it was done as a choice, rather than by edict, which is the case with the
integration of the military.
Perhaps the most telling sign that Jackie Robinson made an influence on the
standpoint of integration within the US is the award he got at the end of his first season. The
Sporting News, a newspaper that was decidedly against integration of any kind perhaps gave
Jackie Robinson the greatest honor when they named him its first Rookie of the Year in 1947,
and later has renamed the award in his honor (Everything’s set for Civil Rights Game). The
fact that a group of people who were strongly against integration could give a black player
such a prestigious award is a testimony to the impact that Jackie Robinson had as a whole on
the psyche of the United States and on how non-blacks viewed blacks within the United
States.. A great testament to the impact that Jackie Robinson had on Major League Baseball
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History Extended Essay
and America as a whole is that 60 years after Jackie Robinson first won the Rookie of the
year Award it is still named in his honor and will remain named in his honor (Everything’s
set for Civil Rights Game).
Jackie Robinson was the flag bearer for integration in the United States and within
baseball in general. Due to the efforts put forth by Jackie Robinson and others, it allowed
other people to achieve a lifelong goal of playing in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson
set the stage for other players, such as Larry Doby and Stachel Paige to join him in the
League and gave Frank Robinson (no relation to Jackie Robinson) the chance to become the
first African American manager in 1975 (Segregated baseball: A Kaleidoscopic review).
Perhaps what is the most telling about Jackie Robinson’s impact is that he also gave other
ethnicities the opportunity to join baseball when the first Asian player, Masanori Murakami,
joined Major League Baseball in 1964. The fact that Major League Baseball teams had
dipped into the Asian market to sign players follows Branch Rickey’s logic that putting the
best players on the field is what matters most, no matter what the race of the player.
Therefore Jackie Robinson was essential in starting the integration process within the United
States and he was very much responsible for opening the doors to players in future
generations, such as Daisuke Matsuzaka and David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox.
Martin Luther King Jr. on Jackie Robinson
For many people the question may be why Jackie Robinson should be considered the
father of the civil rights movement as opposed to Martin Luther King Jr. who had an
immense effect on the civil rights movement. The answer to that is quite simple; Martin
Luther King Jr. once said “[Jackie Robinson] has the right, because back in the days when
integration wasn’t fashionable, he underwent the trauma and the humiliation and the
loneliness which comes with being a pilgrim walking the lonesome byways toward the high
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History Extended Essay
road of Freedom. He was a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides”
(Rampersad). This quote clearly shows that Martin Luther King Jr. himself believed Jackie
Robinson was well ahead of his time, and therefore a father of the civil rights movement. If
the one that many people believe to be the father of the civil rights movement believes
otherwise, it is very hard to go against him, and therefore Jackie Robinson must be seen as a
father of the movement.
Actions after baseball
Not only was Jackie Robinson a father of the civil rights movement; he was also an
activist within the movement. As previously stated, it all started off while he was in the
military and built up to when he broke the color line in 1947. While in baseball he faced
multiple challenges and continued his fight for civil rights. Once he retired from baseball he
still fought for civil rights. As a retiree, he organized a march on the White House in 1958.
He led a march of 10,000 high school students in the “Youth March for Integrated Schools”
in Washington D.C. The purpose of the march was to protest the brutality suffered by black
children seeking integrated education in the South. The march was a great success, and
shortly thereafter, the schools in the Washington D.C. area started integration (Rampersad).
After the first successful Youth March for Integrated Schools, Jackie Robinson took it upon
himself to lead another march in April 1959. This time the march consisted of over 30,000
marchers, blacks and whites inclusive (Rampersad).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the United States remained a segregated nation well into the 1950s, but
there are certain areas of society that managed to segregate ahead of time. The two aspects of
society that managed to integrate ahead of the curve was the military and in the sport of
baseball. Jackie Robinson, who was on the front lines of both military and baseball
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History Extended Essay
integration, broke the color line and was the first African American to play in the Major
Leagues when he played for the Brooklyn (now Los Angeles) Dodgers in 1947. Although this
is a massive step towards integration within the United States, it took until 1959 for baseball
to become fully integrated when every single team in Major League baseball had a black
player. The military on the other hand had the ability to integrate immediately and this
occurred in 1948 when an order to integrate was given by President Truman. The year that
Truman chose to integrate the army was a safe bet, because there was no need for the
integrated armies at the time and Jackie Robinson had already broken the color line by
integrating baseball and had already broken the color line in the military by becoming one of
the first African American officers. As a whole, both the sport of baseball and the military
were essential in starting the desegregation process within the United States, as both areas
managed to integrate well before any civil rights movements took place within the United
States. However, the impact of the integration of the organizations differs. Given that both
organizations were integrated successfully, the difference is in the impact that integration
generated. The integration of the military was important because it is essential that the
organization that defends a nation portray the forward thinking viewpoints of that nation. On
the other hand, even though as a whole Major League Baseball was far slower in completing
total integration the impact that the integration of America’s national past time was far more
evident than the impact of the integration of the military. Therefore at the time there is no
doubt that Jackie Robinson is the father of the civil rights movement, being the individual to
integrate baseball and without him, there very well may be the chance that the United States
would not be the integrated nation it is today.
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History Extended Essay
Works Cited
Baseball, the Color Line, and Jackie Robinson. 2006. Library of Congress. 17 Jan.
2008. <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/robinson/>
Bedingfield, Gary. “Baseball in Wartime.” E-mail to Author. 16 Jan. 2008.
Davidson, James W., and Michael B. Stoff. The American Nation. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall, 2003.
Denenberg, Barry. Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson. New York:
Scholastic Inc., 1990.
“Everything’s set for Civil Rights Game.” Major League Baseball. 2001-2008. 17
Jan. 2008.
<http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070326&content_id=1859895&vkey=n
ews_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb>
Kranz, Rachel and Philip J. Koslow. The Biographical Dictionary of African
Americans. New York: Facts on File, 1999.
MacDonald, Allan. Personal Interview. 7 Feb. 2008.
Rampersad, Arnold. Jackie Robinson: A Biography. New York: Random House, Inc., 1997.
“Segregated baseball: A Kaleidoscopic review.” Major League Baseball: Negro
Leagues Legacy. 2001-2008. 15 Jan. 2008.
<http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_negro_leagues_story.jsp?story=kaleidoscopic>
The War. Dir. Ken Burns. PBS Home Video. 2006.
Tygiel, Jules. “The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson.” American Heritage Magazine.
Aug/Sept. 1984. 10 Aug 2008.
<http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1984/5/1984_5_34.shtml>
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