The North Wind

Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Sports

Photo courtesy of Google Images [Click to enlarge]

Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first ever African-American in the Major Leagues, yet the celebration was about so much more. It was a realization that sports and society wouldn't be the same today without a group of classy black athletes that cashed in on a few small chances during the first half of the twentieth century. It was recognition, that if those few individuals had given up or made slight blunders while in the public eye, the course of history would be different.

Sure I'm a cracker, a member of the Caucasian Nation to be blunt. I can't jump and certainly can't move to a beat in a fashion that even remotely reminds you of dancing. I'm white, yet posters of Kevin Garnett, trading cards of Michael Jordan and famous quotes from Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali litter my world. I'm white, yet I look up to athletes of color who helped pave the way for their predecessors that make sports what they are today-a collection of the best athletes from around the globe, indifferent of race and ethnicity.

We can't forget that pro sports were actually integrated eight years before public schools and have been more of a stepping-stone for societal integration than most people realize. Jackie Robinson and black athlete pioneers pre-dated even Dr. Martin Luther King and their impact can never be forgotten, because their stories can serve as inspiration to people of all backgrounds.

Before Robinson challenged the color barrier, when African-Americans like sprinter Jesse Owens were breaking Olympic records and boxer Joe Louis was a heavyweight-boxing champion, the predominantly white media didn't know what to attribute their success to.

It is indicative of the times that a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, Hugh S. Johnson wrote, in 1938, "The average of white intelligence is above the average of Black intelligence, probably because the white race, is several thousand years farther away from jungle savagery. But, for the same reason, the average of white physical equipment, is lower."

Right, and Dominicans are probably better at baseball than Canadians because they often have to escape the government and set sail across the ocean on makeshift rafts to cross the border.

Continued...

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