Halfway to Home

I'm about halfway through Jackie Robinson's biography now, and I continue to learn about the man's life.  It's now the early fifties, when Jackie has established himself as a professional ballplayer and more people of color are entering major league baseball. But while the story of his ordeal in getting there was riveting, it was also hard to read about; what Jackie had to put up with from the time he signed with the Dodgers' minor league team through his first season in the majors was appalling.  I'm deeply impressed that he managed to get through it.

By the fifties, the vocal opposition to integrating baseball has not stopped but has lessened--publicly, at least.  What was interesting to learn about the late forties period, though, was that Jackie didn't make as much money as some other star ballplayers were making at the time, so he had to take other jobs to increase his income.  He frequently went on barnstorming tours following the baseball season, and did some endorsements and work on television.

Also interesting was the fact that Jackie testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee in response to Paul Robeson's statements about black Americans' patriotism.  He managed to stand up for black Americans (including Robeson) while making it clear that he did not share Robeson's views.

Right now in the book Jackie's life story is being made into a movie, The Jackie Robinson Story, which came out in 1950.  Jackie has reached the point where he is treated well by most everyone he meets, though Jim Crow continues for the rest of black America, even his wife when he is not with her. This is troubling to him, says the author.  There may be more on this subject later in the biography.

I'm still enjoying the book though sometimes the details get a bit overwhelming and I find myself "fast forwarding" through some sections.  I'm also picking up on the author's purpose in writing the book.  Much like the author of The Bounty, Arnold Rampersad seems to want to rehabilitate the reputation of his subject.  Since I know little of Jackie Robinson's reputation for other than playing baseball, I don't know what assertions the author's countering when he emphasizes again and again Robinson's restraint, kindness, good nature, and friendliness.  To Rampersad, it seems, Jackie's the model baseball player, husband, father, business man, friend, and associate.  No one could be that perfect, so it makes me think Rampersad "doth protest too much"--is he failing to tell us the bad things because he doesn't want to give the stories about Jackie credence?  Or is it true that Jackie Robinson was simply a good guy?  I don't know, but in order to find out, I'd have to read the past stories about Jackie, which I don't want to do, at least not now.

So I'll go along with Mr. Rampersad a bit further, skip over some of the details and try to take his protestations of Jackie's perfections with a tiny grain of salt.

And I'll keep you posted!