I so appreciated this article, which brought many new facts to this fan of baseball and equal rights. Also the happy fact that certain historical artifacts will tour the country for all to see. It was important to lay the context for Robinson's and Eisenhower's words. I recall reading as a child a novel about the Little Rock incident and marveling at the courage of children my own age--and the abject hatred and lack of responsibility from so many adults, including those who purported to be leaders.
Hooray for Jackie Robinson. And also: only 2 months before pitchers and catchers report for the 2026 season. It's a long off-season.
So much to unpack here. That the Trump regime tried to erase Jackie Robinson from the Pentagon's records. That the National Archives is including his letter to President Eisenhower in its celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It is unfortunate that Eisenhower did not more forcefully support civil rights. Trump has dragged the US so far back that the fact that Eisenhower sent the National Guard to Little Rock seems amazing. He actually ensured the Supreme Court decision would be followed. How many SCOTUS decisions has this regime followed this year? My father entered the armed forces in 1956, eight years after Truman's Executive Order to desegregate the military. An EO, not a SCOTUS decision. My father gave credit to Eisenhower for ensuring that was the case when he was a young, black enlisted man in 1956. We cannot go backwards. We must get the back to the Constitution and the rule of law in this country.
My Jr yr summer from North Texas State College in 1956 found me in NYC with the New York City Mission Society and being a Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers fan (and am… ) I determined that I WAS going to see him.. so I rode the subway to EbbettsField and I did have that gift! Subsequently, North Texas integrated on the Master’s and Doctoral level and then whole school the next year (the class that welcomed, Joe Green!). North Texas in Denton,Texas integrated quietly because the School President determined as it was ‘the law of the land’ that we WOULD and we did… (we never saw the ashes of the cross burnings and the pamphlets were all picked up…no clue….) Not so down the road…. Serious violence…. In 1960 in Nashville, TN, 4!!! Couples from Vanderbilt Univ. Hosp were the only white people (that I know of) who worked for JFK…. And ended up at Meharry Medical College… It feels to me that we get a lot of negative reporting and ‘not so much’ positive…. Gives me pause…. Been here.. easy for me to write… harder to do, WE pick ourselves up and ‘move forward’… again! Thank you Robyn E, your father and everyone…..
From my calculations, you must be a nonagenarian. You have experienced so much in your lifetime. I follow the Dodgers because of Jackie Robinson. And that legacy of inclusiveness has continued with the success of African Japanese American Dave Roberts (4 time MLB World Series manager) and future legend Shohei Ohtani. Thank you for sharing your civil rights era witness. You confirm how we moved forward, together, as a nation.
The diversity in major-league baseball is a main reason that we love watching in this house. Our teams, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, have heavily Hispanic fan bases and players from many parts of the world.
But besides race and ethnicity, we like that the range of skills needed attracts players with different body types and thinking styles--it's just so much more interesting to watch than other pro sports. And the clubs do all they can to make fans feel included. It is my hope that women will finally break into MLB at every level. And I hope they rethink the robo-umps, since umpiring is one more facet of the game that makes it fun to watch.
"The May 13, 1958, letter—written less than two years after the final game of Robinson’s trailblazing career—is one of several documents that the National Archives will display across the country next year as part of the celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Among the others: the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which ended slavery, and a handwritten draft of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 speech to Congress after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor."
This is encouraging...if it really happens. Given what the regime has done to suppress / eliminate all but the (favorable?) White, Christian Nationalist, heterosexual perspective of our history, I have serious doubts these exhibits will actually be displayed. I would sure love to be wrong though.
I do believe that as long as they are human problems—because they are buried in the human heart rather than ones merely to be solved by a sense of logic and of right—we must have patience and forbearance,”
Ike got it backwards. Of all people, Nixon White House counsel, Charles Colson, got it right when he said:
If you grab them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.
That's crude but it has a point-- if you make people change their behavior by law, eventually their attitudes will change to match their deeds (cognitive dissonance). That said, Don the Con, as leader of the bumpkins, morons, Yahoos, misogynists, bigots, racists, rubes and boobs of Red America, may well prove me wrong.
Eisenhower's response to Robinson's letter was more of the same - throwing blame for 'misunderstanding' and 'impatience' on Robinson and, by inference, Black America. Robinson did not 'misconstrue' the message. The courage Eisenhower exhibited in his storied military career deserted him in this arena of American struggle.
I recall that Dr. Martin Luther King was also counseled to be patient. But I have to cut Eisenhower some slack; he didn't want a full-blown Southern revolt on his hands either.
I so appreciated this article, which brought many new facts to this fan of baseball and equal rights. Also the happy fact that certain historical artifacts will tour the country for all to see. It was important to lay the context for Robinson's and Eisenhower's words. I recall reading as a child a novel about the Little Rock incident and marveling at the courage of children my own age--and the abject hatred and lack of responsibility from so many adults, including those who purported to be leaders.
Hooray for Jackie Robinson. And also: only 2 months before pitchers and catchers report for the 2026 season. It's a long off-season.
So much to unpack here. That the Trump regime tried to erase Jackie Robinson from the Pentagon's records. That the National Archives is including his letter to President Eisenhower in its celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It is unfortunate that Eisenhower did not more forcefully support civil rights. Trump has dragged the US so far back that the fact that Eisenhower sent the National Guard to Little Rock seems amazing. He actually ensured the Supreme Court decision would be followed. How many SCOTUS decisions has this regime followed this year? My father entered the armed forces in 1956, eight years after Truman's Executive Order to desegregate the military. An EO, not a SCOTUS decision. My father gave credit to Eisenhower for ensuring that was the case when he was a young, black enlisted man in 1956. We cannot go backwards. We must get the back to the Constitution and the rule of law in this country.
My Jr yr summer from North Texas State College in 1956 found me in NYC with the New York City Mission Society and being a Jackie Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers fan (and am… ) I determined that I WAS going to see him.. so I rode the subway to EbbettsField and I did have that gift! Subsequently, North Texas integrated on the Master’s and Doctoral level and then whole school the next year (the class that welcomed, Joe Green!). North Texas in Denton,Texas integrated quietly because the School President determined as it was ‘the law of the land’ that we WOULD and we did… (we never saw the ashes of the cross burnings and the pamphlets were all picked up…no clue….) Not so down the road…. Serious violence…. In 1960 in Nashville, TN, 4!!! Couples from Vanderbilt Univ. Hosp were the only white people (that I know of) who worked for JFK…. And ended up at Meharry Medical College… It feels to me that we get a lot of negative reporting and ‘not so much’ positive…. Gives me pause…. Been here.. easy for me to write… harder to do, WE pick ourselves up and ‘move forward’… again! Thank you Robyn E, your father and everyone…..
From my calculations, you must be a nonagenarian. You have experienced so much in your lifetime. I follow the Dodgers because of Jackie Robinson. And that legacy of inclusiveness has continued with the success of African Japanese American Dave Roberts (4 time MLB World Series manager) and future legend Shohei Ohtani. Thank you for sharing your civil rights era witness. You confirm how we moved forward, together, as a nation.
The diversity in major-league baseball is a main reason that we love watching in this house. Our teams, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, have heavily Hispanic fan bases and players from many parts of the world.
But besides race and ethnicity, we like that the range of skills needed attracts players with different body types and thinking styles--it's just so much more interesting to watch than other pro sports. And the clubs do all they can to make fans feel included. It is my hope that women will finally break into MLB at every level. And I hope they rethink the robo-umps, since umpiring is one more facet of the game that makes it fun to watch.
"The May 13, 1958, letter—written less than two years after the final game of Robinson’s trailblazing career—is one of several documents that the National Archives will display across the country next year as part of the celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Among the others: the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which ended slavery, and a handwritten draft of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 speech to Congress after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor."
This is encouraging...if it really happens. Given what the regime has done to suppress / eliminate all but the (favorable?) White, Christian Nationalist, heterosexual perspective of our history, I have serious doubts these exhibits will actually be displayed. I would sure love to be wrong though.
I do believe that as long as they are human problems—because they are buried in the human heart rather than ones merely to be solved by a sense of logic and of right—we must have patience and forbearance,”
Ike got it backwards. Of all people, Nixon White House counsel, Charles Colson, got it right when he said:
If you grab them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.
That's crude but it has a point-- if you make people change their behavior by law, eventually their attitudes will change to match their deeds (cognitive dissonance). That said, Don the Con, as leader of the bumpkins, morons, Yahoos, misogynists, bigots, racists, rubes and boobs of Red America, may well prove me wrong.
Hey: if there can be a backlash to the first Black president, there can be a backlash to the last corrupt and stupid one.
Eisenhower's response to Robinson's letter was more of the same - throwing blame for 'misunderstanding' and 'impatience' on Robinson and, by inference, Black America. Robinson did not 'misconstrue' the message. The courage Eisenhower exhibited in his storied military career deserted him in this arena of American struggle.
I recall that Dr. Martin Luther King was also counseled to be patient. But I have to cut Eisenhower some slack; he didn't want a full-blown Southern revolt on his hands either.