Black History MonthBlack History Month is an annual rememberance of famous black people that made a difference in the world during a time of racism, and also religious hatred. It was started in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson. It was first called "Negro History Week." It is celebrated in Canada and the US in February. It is also celebrated in the UK in October. Carter G. Woodson decided to celebrate it during the second week of February because two people who played major roles in abolishing slavery and improve the lives of African Americans had their birthdays during the second week of February. These two people were Frederick Douglass who helped to abolish slavery and was a former slave but escaped from slavery, and Abraham Lincoln who was president during a very racist time. Lincoln signed the 13th amendment which abolished slavery in the US, but slavery in the south still continued because they knew nothing was going to happen to stop what they were doing.
The person i chose to research for my blog is Jackie Robinson. Below, is some background on Jackie.Jackie Robinson was a very influental person when it comes to black people and sports. He was the first African American to play in the MLB. He broke the color barriers for blacks when he started his MLB career in 1947 with the Dodgers. He made an immediate impact on the Dodgers team in his rookie season, winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Besides just being an awesome baseball player, he was also very influencing on culture because the success that he had in his life gave other blacks confidence that they could achieve their goals also in their effort for civil rights. He played in SIX world series and played a major role in the 1955 world series championship and won the most valuable player award in 1949. He was born on January 31st, 1919 into a very poor family in Cairo, Georgia. Robinson went to high school at John Muir High School. He played a variety of sports including baseball, football, basketball, track, and tennis. After going to Pasadena Junior College he enrolled at UCLA, starring in baseball, basketball, football, and track. In fact, he was the first athlete at UCLA to recieve varsity letters in four sports. Jackie was also enlisted in the military from 1942-1945 in an all black Army cavalry in Kansas. Jackie died on October 24th, 1972 as the result of a heart attack.
The reason i chose Jackie was because i thought he was an extremely influental black person in a time of unequal rights because of race. He inspired many blacks to go out and do something with their life, don't just sit back and let the whites push you around. I also chose him because i thought it would be interesting to do my blog on an athlete, because i like sports a lot. This topic kept me interested and i was very intrigued to learn some new things about Jackie.Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_History_Month
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