Check out Spike Lee's touching new short film about Jackie Robinson
It's hard to find a name more famous than Jackie Robinson's. Even 100 years after his birth in the small sharecropping town of Cairo, Ga., and 72 seasons after he bravely integrated (and dominated) Major League Baseball, the two words resonate a sense of awe and wonder unequaled by nearly anybody else.
To celebrate what would have been Robinson's 100th birthday in 2019, Spike Lee -- a Jackie Robinson fan both in real life and the movies -- teamed up with Budweiser to direct a short film about his impact on baseball and society that continues to blossom today. It'll air on Opening Day as part of a season-long salute to the Hall of Famer and you can watch it below:
That's renowned Brooklyn broadcaster Red Barber on the call, Jackie's daughter, Sharon, with the narration and good ole No. 42 hustling around the basepaths at Ebbets Field. Can't beat it.
The clip is also spliced with a naturalization ceremony and present-day figures hand-picked by the Jackie Robinson Foundation who, like Jackie, have persevered in the face of adversity. Nzingha Prescod became the first African-American woman to win an individual medal at the Senior World Fencing Championships in 2015. Amanda Nguyen founded RISE and helped establish a bill for sexual assault survivors after her own difficult experience as a survivor in the criminal justice system during college. Ayesha Butt helped roll out a Men "& Women" at Work Sign!
All inspiring stories and proof that Jackie's legacy stretches far beyond the world of baseball, and will continue to do so long into the foreseeable future.
Matt Monagan is a writer for MLB.com.
