For those who watched the first segment of the Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson, you may have caught a glimpse of one of the trailblazing Amherst College African American alums. As history records, and as the documentary accurately displays, there was a great deal of politics behind the push to integrate baseball and one of the key proponents was a Harlem Councilman named Benjamin Davis... a member of Amherst's Class of 1925. You can read about the politics behind the integration of baseball at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-us/how-politics-played-a-maj_b_9701456.html
and you can read about Benjamin Davis at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_J._Davis,_Jr.
Both Benjamin Davis and Paul Robeson were ardent supporters of Jackie Robinson and his valiant effort to desegregate baseball. It is not a coincidence that both Davis and Robeson had communist leanings and that they both paid a high price for their affiliation with Communist organizations. For me, one of the sad moments in the documentary occurs when Jackie Robinson consents to give testimony against Robeson before the House Un-American Activities Committee. According to the documentary, Jackie's testimony eventually led to the destruction of Robeson's career.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-us/how-politics-played-a-maj_b_9701456.html
and you can read about Benjamin Davis at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_J._Davis,_Jr.
Both Benjamin Davis and Paul Robeson were ardent supporters of Jackie Robinson and his valiant effort to desegregate baseball. It is not a coincidence that both Davis and Robeson had communist leanings and that they both paid a high price for their affiliation with Communist organizations. For me, one of the sad moments in the documentary occurs when Jackie Robinson consents to give testimony against Robeson before the House Un-American Activities Committee. According to the documentary, Jackie's testimony eventually led to the destruction of Robeson's career.
There is no doubt that Jackie's desegregation of baseball was an heroic act and that the stress that he endured in doing what he did on the baseball field probably contributed to his early death. However, based on what is seen in the video, one also must wonder if there is more to that story as well.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
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