42 Today Lib/E: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy

Explores Jackie Robinson's compelling and complicated legacy Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball in the twentieth century. Today a national icon, Robinson was a complicated man who navigated an even more complicated world that both celebrated and despised him. Many are familiar with Robinson as a baseball hero. Few, however, know of the inner turmoil that came with his historic status. Featuring piercing essays from a range of distinguished sportswriters, cultural critics, and scholars, this book explores Robinson's perspectives and legacies on civil rights, sports, faith, youth, and nonviolence, while providing rare glimpses into the struggles and strength of one of the nation's most athletically gifted and politically significant citizens. Featuring a foreword by celebrated directors and producers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, this volume recasts Jackie Robinson's legacy and establishes how he set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick.

About the Author :
Michael G. Long writes about civil rights, nonviolent protest, and gender and sexuality. He's the editor of 42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, as well as the author and editor of several books on Bayard Rustin, including Unstoppable, Troublemaker for Justice, and I Must Resist. Michael G. Long writes about civil rights, nonviolent protest, and gender and sexuality. He's the editor of 42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, as well as the author and editor of several books on Bayard Rustin, including Unstoppable, Troublemaker for Justice, and I Must Resist. Michael G. Long writes about civil rights, nonviolent protest, and gender and sexuality. He's the editor of 42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, as well as the author and editor of several books on Bayard Rustin, including Unstoppable, Troublemaker for Justice, and I Must Resist. Jonathan Eig is the New York Times bestselling author of five critically acclaimed books, including the Pulitzer Prize winner King: A Life. He is a former staff writer for the Wall Street Journal, and he remains a contributing writer there. He has written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, Esquire, the Washington Post, and other publications. He has appeared on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and in two Ken Burns films for PBS. He also worked with Burns to develop a documentary on Muhammad Ali that aired in 2021. Others, as in, not you Kevin Merida is a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of The Undefeated. He was formerly the managing editor of the Washington Post. Merida is coauthor of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas and editor of Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril. Kevin Merida is a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of The Undefeated. He was formerly the managing editor of the Washington Post. Merida is coauthor of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas and editor of Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril. Kevin Merida is a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of The Undefeated. He was formerly the managing editor of the Washington Post. Merida is coauthor of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas and editor of Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril. Sarah Burns is coproducer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Burns also wrote the text for the documentary. Sarah Burns is coproducer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Burns also wrote the text for the documentary. David McMahon is coproducer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. McMahon also wrote the text for the documentary. David McMahon is coproducer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. McMahon also wrote the text for the documentary. Ken Burns is an award-winning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Ken Burns is an award-winning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Mirron Willis has narrated over 200 audiobooks across various literary genres and has won several Earphone Awards for Excellence and is an Audie Award finalist and winner. Notable works include Ginny Gall by Charlie Smith, The Smokey Dalton Series by Kris Nelscott; My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte; The Long Fall (Booklist, Best of 2009) and others by Walter Mosley; Uncle Tom's Cabin, Elijah of Buxton, The Translator; and Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B Dubois. In three seasons at the Ensemble Theatre (Houston, Texas), Mirron appeared as JP in What I Learned in Paris, Malcolm X in The Meeting, Henry in Race, and as Countee Cullen in Knock Me a Kiss (2013 Giorgee Award for Best Leading Actor). Other roles include Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Henry VI Parts 2 & 3, and A Raisin in the Sun with the world-renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has also performed as guest narrator with the Houston Symphony. Film and TV guest appearances include Criminal Minds, Private Practice, The Exes, Monk, 24, Seinfeld, Cheers, The Parkers, Living Single, E.R., Star Trek, and Independence Day, among others. Mirron resides and records audiobooks on his family's historic ranch in East Texas.

Review :

"Explore[s] lesser-known aspects of the life of Jackie Robinson...[An] excellent anthology."

"Narrator Mirron Willis...brings a powerful resonance to a subject that demands exactly that. It is the narration that helps pull together the individual chapters...Willis narrates with an interested tone and with emotion. He helps listeners understand that Robinson cannot be painted in broad strokes but rather in specific ones that reveal an enigmatic human being."

"These pieces embody all of what made Robinson special, assessing him through many different lenses...give[s] a towering cultural figure his due beyond the baselines."

"This collection of essays explores baseball legend Jackie Robinson's complicated legacy, his impact on society, and the inner turmoil that came with his historic achievements."