Beyond the Diamond:
Jackie Robinson's Fight for Justice

After integrating baseball, Robinson became a full-fledged leader in the Civil Rights movement. He used his celebrity status to further human rights and endeavored to change the landscape of race relations in the United States.

The Fight For First Class Citizenship For All

After integrating baseball, Robinson became a full-fledged leader in the Civil Rights movement. He used his celebrity status to further human rights and endeavored to change the landscape of race relations in the United States. Upon retiring from the game in 1957, Robinson was hired to serve as the Vice President for Personnel at Chock Full O’Nuts, the first African American to be named a Vice President of a major American company. He used his position at Chock Full O’ Nuts to improve working conditions for employees.

An active member of the NAACP, Robinson was often a featured speaker at civil rights rallies including the famed March on Washington in 1963, and frequently participated in picket lines. As a nationally syndicated columnist for the New York Post and New York Amsterdam News, Robinson wrote passionately on social issues, sports, and family life, always encouraging people in his community to become active in politics and business.

jackie robinson civil rights march

Whenever and wherever in the South the leaders believe I can help just the tiniest bit, I intend to go.

In the spring, civil rights demonstrations were in full force to desegregate stores and lunch counters in Birmingham, AL, and Jackie Robinson traveled there to show his support. That year Robinson committed himself: “Whenever and wherever in the South the leaders believe I can help just the tiniest bit, I intend to go.” To raise bail money for jailed protesters, Robinson organized a fundraising concert with jazz greats on the lawn of his home in Stamford, CT.

On August 28, 1963, the entire Robinson family joined the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Remembering that day, Robinson wrote: “I have never been so proud to be a Negro. I have never been so proud to be an American.”

robinson king abernathy African American athletes, boxer Floyd Patterson, left, and former baseball player Jackie Robinson, right, discuss Birmingham race relations with civil rights leaders, Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, second from left, and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Birmingham, Ala., May 14, 1963. The athletes addressed gatherings at two churches in the area last night. Man at far left is unidentified. (AP Photo)