For the 16th consecutive year, the Boston Red Sox will celebrate the life of Jackie Robinson by teaching New England students the story of his challenges and triumphs. The club will visit with middle school students at Thayer Academy in Braintree on Wednesday, January 31, accompanied by Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Red Sox Hall of Famer Tommy Harper. Robinson would have turned 99 this Wednesday.
In addition to students from Thayer Academy, middle schoolers from Martin Luther King Jr. School in Dorchester will also attend. Bringing students together from the two schools is part of Thayer Academy's diversity program devoted to encouraging conversation and the exploration of diversity in its many forms.  
Also joining Friday's tribute is Jackie Robinson Foundation Vice President of External Affairs Ivo Philbert, Red Sox Vice President/Club Counsel and Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar Elaine Steward, Chairman of the Great Fenway Park Writers' Series George Mitrovich, and Red Sox PA announcer and Poet Laureate Dick Flavin. Adam Pellerin of NESN will moderate the event. Wally the Green Monster will also be on hand, along with the three World Series trophies.
The program is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and will include an interactive question and answer session between the panelists and students.
Robinson became the first African-American to play in the major leagues on April 15, 1947, when he donned a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform and stepped onto the baseball diamond at Ebbets Field for a game against the Boston Braves. Dodgers President/General Manager Branch Rickey selected Robinson as much for his values and strength of character as for his baseball skills that helped him earn the 1947 Rookie Of the Year Award, the 1949 National League Most Valuable Player Award, and six trips to the All-Star Game in a 10-year major league career during which the Dodgers won six N.L. pennants and the 1955 World Series.