42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy

Michael G. Long

Feb 2021 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Mirron Willis

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6 hr 49 min

Unabridged

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About this audiobook

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

Prolific audiobook narrator Mirron Willis has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards and an Audie Award. An accomplished actor, he has appeared on stage, in films, and on television. His many theater credits include roles in Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Knock Me a Kiss, and A Raisin in the Sun.

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.

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.

Ken Burns is an award-winning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball.

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.

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