Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson, the first player to break the color barrier in baseball. His Major League debut occurred with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947 and his career as a professional ballplayer lasted just over nine years.
Jackie’s tremendous accomplishments can only be fully understood if we are clear-eyed about the racism that white people, from fellow Dodgers to baseball spectators to the United States military, subjected him to throughout his life.
We invite you take to take a deeper look at Jackie’s life and career through our exhibit “Against the Most Tremendous Odds,” which will be up through February on The Ames Library main floor.
