Jackie Robinson - Becoming Political

Because of this, HUAC decided to speak with a representative of the African-American community, and they chose Jackie Robinson. But, why pick Jackie? HUAC was looking for a representative of the black race, and they chose a ballplayer. There were some politicians that would, no doubt, have their finger on the pulse of the African-American community. If a black labor leader were selected, it is likely that they could have been able to speak from a large portion of the community, as many blacks at that time were working class citizens. A preacher might have been another good choice, as he would hear the problems of the community, a lot more often, as a parishioner. However, none of these had the notoriety of Robinson. He was a star on a popular team, in the middle of a pennant race, having an MVP season. No matter what color your skin is, if you are the best player in your league in a major sport in America, you will receive a lot of press. Further motivation for his selection could have been a want, on the part of HUAC, to get another black entertainer's opinion, making the entertainment business the common link between Robinson and Robeson.

On the contrary, it may have served against HUAC's best interests to bring in a baseball player or entertainer. Jackie likely spent most of his time with his teammates, and very little time with people one would consider the average black person. There likely existed a disconnect between his life and the lives of people in the black community. But, HUAC chose Jackie, which probably said less about what they wanted to find out, and more about what they wanted to be heard. If the head of a black labor union said something contrary to Robeson, it would not have picked up much press. However, if it were said by one of the most popular players in baseball, it would likely run in every newspaper from the New York Times to the Palookaville Post. It is quite possible that HUAC was less concerned about finding out information, than it was about getting out a certain message.

It was at this point that Jackie became more outspoken (it helped, having his Branch Rickey-enforced, two-year gag order recently removed) and more politically active. In front of HUAC, when asked if this is how the African-American community felt, he said:
The white public should start toward real understanding by appreciating that every single Negro who is worth his salt is going to resent any kind of slurs and discrimination because of his race, and he's going to use every bit of intelligence...to stop it...The more a Negro hates Communism because it opposes democracy, the more he is going to hate any other influence that kills off democracy in this country-and that goes for racial discrimination....
Robinson wanted the committee to know that the African-American community would fight Communism and Fascism, but that they would also fight racism at home (ala the "Double V" campaign), and that it sets a double standard for an African-American to fight to protect a government that protects people who oppress them. He went on to say:
Just because Communists kick up a big fuss over racial discrimination when it suits their purposes, a lot of people try to pretend that the whole issue is a creation of Communist imagination. But they are not fooling anyone with this kind of pretense, and talk about "Communists stirring up Negroes to protest," only makes present misunderstanding worse than ever. Negroes were stirred up long before there was a Communist Party, and they'll stay stirred up long after the party has disappeared-unless Jim Crow has disappeared by then as well.

This was certainly not the testimony that HUAC was expecting to hear. Jackie was speaking out against the government with such vitriolic language. He was clearly upset with racism and oppression, as well as the redbaiting that HUAC conducts. Although the committee thanked Robinson , they could have been none too pleased with his aggressive statements. His reception in the press was one of the "talking dog" . They thought it was interesting that Robinson was discussing political ideas, but their interest in what he had to say was secondary. It is similar to Shirley Temple becoming a U.S. Ambassador. They find it an oddity that a celebrity is an ambassador, and care nothing of what it would mean with U.S. relations with Ghana.

It is at this point, all the way back in 1949, when one first begins to see the roots of Jackie Robinson: political activist. However, it was well overshadowed, as that was the same year he was Jackie Robinson: National League MVP. 1949 was Jackie's best year in the majors, when he had 203 hits, batted a league-leading .342, batted in a career-high 124 runs, stole 37 bases, and scored 122 runs. It was also the first year (of six consecutive years) that he would be named to the NL All-Star team.

With all the statistics, awards, and accolades, one must ask about the attention he garnered. It is not likely that he would have been as well known, received high up jobs in the NAACP, presidential election campaigns, or corporations, and have garnered so much attention if he were to have been an average player, treading the Mendoza Line , or had played for a few games or half a season and then fizzled into obscurity. In 1958, a man by the name of Willie O'Ree was the first black man to play in a National Hockey League game, when he played for the Boston Bruins. He played one game, and went back down to the minors. Three years later, he played 43 games, scored 14 points, and went back down to the minors, again. He was Canadian, but still, he did break the color line in the NHL. But, he received nowhere near the press and attention that Robinson did. The main contributing factors to this were Jackie's high level of skill, the heated arguments for and against the integration of baseball, baseball's position in the American sporting world in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, and baseball and Jackie both being American. Because of all the notoriety he received for his stellar play, it gave him the opportunity to be a political activist, and it was an opportunity on which he seized.

Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights Leader - Index

• Jackie Robinson: Civil Rights Leader
• Jackie Robinson - Historiography
• Jackie Robinson - The Back Story
• Jackie Robinson - Black Ballplayers and Branch Rickey
• Jackie Robinson - Becoming Political
• Jackie Robinson - Post-retirement
• Jackie Robinson - Support of and Backlash Against the Movement
• Jackie Robinson - Conclusion