Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America

Nonfiction | Biography | Middle Grade | Published in 2004

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary: “Play Ball!”

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism, illness, and death.

In February 1946, four months after Rickey signed Jackie to the Royals, Jackie and Rachel married. A few weeks later, they traveled to the Royals’ spring training in Daytona Beach, Florida. The journey was exhausting. Due to racist norms, they had to surrender their seats on an overbooked plane. The next two flights were also overbooked. On the third flight, they made it to Pensacola, Florida, where they rode a segregated bus.

To prevent Jackie from being the only Black player, Rickey signed pitcher Johnny Wright. However, the spotlight was on Jackie. The press questioned him, and he answered frankly, with a bit of humor. While the white players stayed at the Mayfair Hotel, Jackie, Rachel, Johnny, and Black sports journalists Wendell Smith and Billy Rowe stayed within “the Black community.”

Threats of serious violence forced the Royals to rearrange their schedule and avoid certain parts of Florida. They played most of their spring training games in Daytona Beach, where the fans included “proud” Black people and “curious” white people.

The Royals’ first regular-season game was April 14, 1946, in Jersey City, New Jersey. More than 30,000 fans, including the mayor and celebrities, attended. Jackie hit a home run and stole two bases. Afterward, adoring fans mobbed him. In other cities, the experience was different. In Syracuse, New York, a player for the opposing team threw a black cat at Jackie. Jackie replied by hitting a double and scoring a run. In Baltimore, Maryland, a boycott and potential violence dramatically decreased attendance. The fans who were there gave Jackie a standing ovation after he stole home. Jackie won the batting championship and the MVP award, and the Royals won the International League’s version of the World Series.

On November 18, 1946, Jackie and Rachel’s first son, Jack, was born. On April 10, 1947, less than a week before the 1947 season starts, the Dodgers purchased Jackie’s contract, making him an MLB player and the first Black person to play on an MLB team. Jackie played first base and went hitless in his first game against the Boston Braves, but later in the week, he hit a home run against the New York Giants. Jackie’s relationship with the Dodgers was contentious, but Brooklyn fans championed him, and Black families traveled great distances to see him play.

Players on opposing teams weren’t amicable. Baserunners spiked him with their cleats, and pitchers threw at him. At a game against the Reds in Cincinnati, fans taunted the Dodgers’ captain Pee Wee Reese for allegedly corrupting “Southern” values by playing with a Black person. In response, Reese put his hand on Jackie’s shoulder and talked to him. Sharon notes that what mattered wasn’t the words but the physical proximity. The friendly interaction quieted the racist Reds fans.

The Dodgers amassed the best record in the National League and won the pennant. They lost to the Yankees (the team with the best record in the American League) in the World Series, but Jackie won Rookie of the Year. During the offseason, Jackie became the second most popular person in the US (the performer Bing Crosby was first). He signed a contract to write an autobiography with Wendell Smith, and Dodgers fans organized a Jackie Robinson Day. In 1950, Jackie starred in a movie about his life, The Jackie Robinson Story.

Sharon was born on January 13, 1950, and her younger brother, David, was born on November 14, 1952. Jackie couldn’t witness the birth of Jackie Jr. or Sharon, but when David was born, Jackie rushed to hospital after the Dodgers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. Jackie and his family lived in Brooklyn and Queens before he moved them to an “all-white community” in Stamford, Connecticut. By the time Sharon turned five, Jackie had spent 10 years with the Dodgers, establishing himself as a top MLB player. In 1955, Jackie’s Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the World Series. It was their first and only championship.

Chapter 8 Summary: “A Civil Rights Champion”

After the 1956 season, Jackie faced a different dynamic. Rickey was gone, and Jackie, at 37, was past his perceived prime. Enraging fans and upsetting Jackie, the Dodgers traded him to the New York Giants. Instead of playing for the Giants, however, Jackie gave Look magazine the exclusive rights to his retirement story. In 1957, Jackie became vice president of Chock Full O’ Nuts—the New York City restaurant chain and coffee brand (now just the former). Sharon watched as her father went from a star baseball player to a “commuter,” and she was glad that his new job allowed him to spend more time at home.

In addition to his corporate job, Jackie gave speeches and wrote articles. He attended protests and became part of the civil rights movement, raising money for it by holding jazz concerts at his home in Connecticut. Prominent activist Martin Luther King, Jr., attended one of the concerts. In addition, Jackie took charge of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Freedom Fund Drive, raising over $1 million for the anti-racist organization. On January 4, 1965, he helped open the first Black-owned bank in Harlem, Freedom National Bank.

On January 23, 1962, Jackie became a member of MLB’s Hall of Fame. The museum and the ceremonies were in Cooperstown, New York, and Sharon was 12. Her grandmothers attended the ceremony, and Branch Rickey was present. Soon afterward, Jackie’s health faltered. He became diabetic, had a heart attack, and partially lost his eyesight. At game two of the 1972 World Series in Cincinnati, he threw the ceremonial first pitch and then gave a speech, noting the lack of Black people managing and running baseball teams.

Sharon married and attended Howard University, where she studied nursing. Her mother taught nursing at Yale, and her younger brother, David, went to Stanford. Her older brother, Jackie Jr., fought in Vietnam and earned a Purple Heart. At 24, he died in a car accident.

Chapter 9 Summary: “Jackie Robinson’s Legacy”

Jackie’s funeral was held on October 29, 1972, and people lined up in the streets to watch his casket travel from Harlem to Brooklyn’s Cypress Hills Cemetery. During the 2002 MLB All-Star Game in Milwaukee, Sharon’s son, Jesse, honored his grandfather by wearing a replica uniform and reenacting Jackie’s movements when he debuted with the Dodgers.

Every year, countless students bring Jackie into their lives by covering him for their National History Day projects. All MLB teams incorporate Jackie into their communities by retiring his number (42). In 1973, Sharon’s mother worked with friends to establish the Jackie Robinson Foundation, which helps cultivate young leaders to fight for justice.

Chapters 7-9 Analysis

Jackie’s time with the Montreal Royals thematically highlights Change Through Persistence. By signing with the Royals, Jackie represented a seismic shift. Nevertheless, the signing didn’t end racism. Jackie’s trip to and experiences at spring training in Florida were marred by racism. When he played for the Dodgers, the racism continued. It came from both fans and players. About the latter, Sharon writes, “Dad contained his anger. He glared at his aggressor until he had gathered the strength not to throw a punch” (43). His lack of response wasn’t acceptance but dismissal. He rejected the vileness of racism and its capacity to dehumanize both perpetrators and victims. As a model of restraint, Jackie earned the respect of the public. His celebrity grew, so his power expanded. By persisting instead of surrendering, Jackie furthered his goal of reconfiguring racial dynamics in baseball and beyond it.

Change through persistence thematically relates to The Different Methods to Combat Racism. One way to fight bigotry is to not respond to it. Rickey’s edict indicated that instant reactions didn’t stanch hate. Conversely, Jackie reacted through his playing. After a player threw a black cat at Jackie, he hit a double and then scored a run. Though Jackie made a quip after scoring, his emphasis on his play rather than the incident indicates that actions have as much power—if not more—than words. By responding subtly and keeping his focus on the game, Jackie took power away from the player’s stunt.

The scene between Reese and Jackie further highlights the impact of action in confronting racism. Sharon writes, “His words weren’t important—in fact, afterward neither man remembers what was said. It was the gesture of comradeship and support that counted” (41). The sustained emphasis on action foreshadows the criticism of contemporary activism that it puts too much emphasis on language and not enough on action. Reese, conversely, didn’t say anything to the fans, and neither he nor Jackie remembered what they said to each other. What counted were the actions. Reese’s behavior reinforces Sharon’s goal of the biography. She wants people to follow Jackie’s model, and Reese’s story provides additional proof that people can change and influence others for the better. About the dynamic between Jackie, Reese, and the racist fans, Sharon writes, “As the two teammates stood talking, the fans got the message. They stopped heckling and settled down to watch the game” (41). Following Reese’s lead, the fans restrained themselves and stopped expressing racism. Reese altered their attitude not by physically fighting or verbally eviscerating them but by showing them an alternate paradigm.

However, The Tension Between Activism and Capitalism remained. Jackie used his baseball career to create a platform for various projects. When the Dodgers unceremoniously traded him to the Giants, Jackie outmaneuvered them and turned the dispiriting transactions into a profit through the Look magazine deal. Demonstrating his business acumen, Jackie then used his baseball visibility to procure a powerful job in the corporate world. The opening of the Freedom National Bank in Harlem explicitly brought together the two nominally polar elements, and the capitalist enterprise represented a success in activism.

Circling back to the book’s goal, Sharon reflects on significant personal moments in Jackie’s life, such as her birth and that of her younger brother, David. These personal details pull Jackie away from idol status. He was a person, and his life connects to other people, like his family. Moreover, his diabetes reveals his vulnerability and enhances his relatability. Jackie’s speech about the lack of Black people running and coaching baseball teams emphasizes his commitment to others. As he neared death, he was still trying to help Black people and expand their opportunities, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation continues these efforts.