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First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson
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Product Description
“Brings together not only an extraordinary set of documents by and about the postbaseball Robinson but, through these letters, an extraordinary account of the times.” —Gerald Early, BookForum
Jackie Robinson’s courage on the baseball diamond is one of the great stories of the civil rights struggle, but he was a fighter off the field as well. In First Class Citizenship, Michael G. Long unearths a remarkable trove of Robinson’s correspondence with such towering political figures as Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, and Barry Goldwater. These extraordinary conversations reveal the scope and depth of Robinson’s effort to rid America of racism.
Writing eloquently and with evident passion, Robinson offered support to both Democrats and Republicans, and challenged the nation’s leaders when he felt they were guilty of hypocrisy—or worse. Through his words and actions, Robinson personified the “first class citizenship” he considered the birthright of all Americans, whatever their race.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #676700 in Books
- Published on: 2008-09-02
- Released on: 2008-09-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 384 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's entry into major league baseball, which broke the sport's color barrier, this absorbing collection of letters reveals new facets of the icon's sometimes private nature. The correspondence ranges from 1946 to 1972, with such pen pals as Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Barry Goldwater. Among the more fascinating exchanges are Robinson's dialogues with Richard Nixon over civil rights; his conciliatory responses to damning missives from Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell accusing him of an Uncle Tom stance; his blistering note to Mississippi segregationist James Eastland on prejudice; and his quest to make the Republican Party color-blind with notes to Nelson Rockefeller and Goldwater. Assembled by Elizabethtown College religious studies professor Long, the letters trace Robinson's political life, seeking to rationalize the schism between his equal rights fantasies and the reality of a tarnished American dream. Fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers star will find this collection more satisfying than much other published work about him. (Oct.)
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Review
“Here is Jackie Robinson as we’ve never seen him before – wielding a pen instead of a baseball bat, and doing so with devastating effect. Michael G. Long’s book is not only an important contribution to history, it’s a thrilling story that reveals the making of a true American hero. Page by page, we watch as a great athlete becomes a great man. First Class Citizenship is first class all the way.”—Jonathan Eig, author of Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig
“When I was growing up in Atlanta, I saw Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers play an exhibition game against the local white team. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my childhood. I remember feeling as if Robinson had won something for all of the black people in the stands that day, and I had much the same feeling as I read the letters in this remarkable book. First Class Citizenship shows us Jackie Robinson at the center of the political battles of the civil rights movement, and we are fortunate to have his words to help guide us today.”—Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., senior managing director, Lazard, former president of the National Urban League, and author of Vernon Can Read! “First Class Citizenship is a rich and impressive reminder of how a courageous, pioneering athlete can also become an insistent and independent-minded political activist on behalf of human rights for all.”—David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bearing The Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference “These letters from and to Jackie Robinson demonstrate clearly the stirring political and intellectual reach of the man, his rare courage and vision. They document his unrelenting desire to match his prowess on the baseball field with significant achievements in politics, business, and civil rights. It is clear that, compared to Robinson, few of our star athletes have possessed as profound a sense of responsibility to their fellow citizens--rich and poor, black and white--and to their nation as a whole.”—Arnold Rampersad, author of Jackie Robinson: A Biography
“First Class Citizenship presents a full picture of the man whose grace and confidence on the field were matched (if not surpassed) by a voice that spoke out, long and loud, for the equal opportunity, civil rights, and humanity of all Americans. Jackie Robinson’s letters are a rich and invaluable contribution to his singular legacy and to the dynamic history of the civil rights movement.”—Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
“Offers a personal perspective on the ballplayer’s political evolution.”—The New York Times
“More revealing than much of what has been written about Robinson over the years.”—Ebony/Jet
About the Author
Michael G. Long is an associate professor of religious studies at Elizabethtown College and is the author of several books on religion and politics in mid-century America, including Against Us, but for Us: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the State and Billy Graham and the Beloved Community: America’s Evangelist and the Dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. He lives in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
Customer Reviews
The remarkable correspondence of a remarkable man
I was 9 years old, and living in Brooklyn, when Jackie Robinson broke in in 1947. I saw a few Dodger games - from the center field bleachers (only $.60) - and was a huge fan of Jackie's. Over the years I thought I'd kept up pretty well with his both his baseball career and his later business and political involvments. Nevertheless, this wonderful collection/selection of his correspondence, accurately sub-titled "The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson," just blew me away.
Let me be clear: This is not a book primarily for baseball fans, it is a book for all Americans - all people - who want to know more about both this remarkable man and many of the most prominent American leaders of the 1950s and '60s. Robinson corresponded often, and sometimes at considerable length, with Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johson, Barry Goldwater, and many others.
Michael Long, who edited this collection - and provides useful, brief introductions as needed - includes not only Robinson's letters but also many of the responses he received. As with Robinson's letters, these replies shed wonderful insight on the letter-writers. Almost always they are writing for their recipient, not for the public or posterity. I taught American History at a college prep school for 38 years; I thought I knew well the history of the Civil Rights era and the men who made it. It's rare at my age that I find a book that brings genuinely knew information and perspective which causes me to re-think my assessments of men and events. "First Class Citizenship" has done so. I very much hope it gains a wide audience. Readers will become more familiar not only with Jackie Robinson in all his passion and complexity and integrity but also with the men in power, good and not-so-good, who shaped the history of that tumultuous time.
