SALEM, Mass. – Melany Vasquez didn’t know much about Jackie Robinson. The eighth grader at Collins Middle School in Salem, Mass., had heard his name, knew he was a famous baseball player, knew he was important, but not much else.
She wasn’t alone.
“I'm more of a basketball guy,” said classmate Jose Toribio Francisco. “But I did know that he was very important and he played baseball.”
Which is exactly the reason a contingent from the Red Sox – including alums Sam Horn, Darnell McDonald and Manny Delcarmen; team DJ and former Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar Kahleil Blair; and NESN sideline reporter Jahmai Webster – along with Jackie Robinson Foundation vice president of community engagements and partnerships Ivo Philbert met with nearly 500 seventh- and eighth-grade students here on Friday for the 23rd annual Jackie Robinson Celebration of Life, the day before the Hall of Famer would have turned 107 years old.
Vasquez and Francisco weren’t alone. Asked at the start of the event for a show of hands of how many students were familiar with Robinson’s legacy, just a smattering of hands went up. That resonated with Horn.
“I didn't know much as far as the history of him [when I was young]. I didn't know about all of the things that he went through,” said Horn, a first-round pick of the Red Sox in 1982. “But I did know that he was the epitome of someone who wanted to reach their goals, would not give up, and basically a good role model to follow as far as trying to achieve something. Perseverance.”
Robinson became the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era, breaking the notorious color barrier on April 15, 1947, donning uniform No. 42 and taking the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He persevered through horrific racism both on and off the field. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1947 – the award that now bears his name – and Most Valuable Player in 1949. In 1962, he became the first African American inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Robinson's accomplishments were not limited to the baseball field. Before baseball, he was UCLA’s first four-sport letter winner and served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After baseball, he went on to become a vice president at a Fortune 500 company, start a bank and a housing development company, advise politicians, and serve as a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s before his premature death in 1972. In 2005, the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian award bestowed by Congress, was awarded posthumously to Robinson.
Delcarmen and McDonald became familiar with Robinson’s legacy as youngsters. McDonald, a first-round pick by the Orioles in 1997, nearly followed Robinson’s path to college.
“I knew what he stood for, the sacrifices that he made, doing what he did, being the first African American, breaking that color barrier, obviously,” McDonald said. “But it was really just more than that. It wasn't about the baseball. And that's really what I admired most about Jackie Robinson.
“Coming from a sports background, sports family, I think that's the first athlete that my dad said, ‘Study this guy.’ I think the first report I ever did as a kid was probably on Jackie Robinson. I wore 42 in high school to honor Jackie Robinson. I would have worn it in professional baseball if that was an option. So, yeah, I just studied Jackie. And that was the only reason I wanted to go to UCLA is because Jackie Robinson went there.”
Like McDonald, Delcarmen also came from an athletic family. Growing up in Boston, he was familiar with Robinson’s legacy. It’s important to him that the young people gathered in the Collins Middle School gym learn about that legacy and carry it with them.
“Really I'm hoping that they go back and actually see the movie [‘42’], read a book, and really see what he went through to get us to this point,” said Delcarmen, the Red Sox’s second-round pick in 2000. “Because they hear the name Jackie, they see the No. 42, but not understanding of what he went through. Like Darnell talked about: mindset, perseverance. They need to go back and read the book and really see what he went through to really understand the legacy of Jackie Robinson.”
During the assembly, Blair reminded the students of Robinson’s words: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
This statement is at the heart of these annual celebrations and the hope for young people to take with them.
“That they too can make a difference in the world,” said Philbert. “When you think of Jackie Robinson's life and legacy about perseverance and courage and integrity and how one man can make a difference, I hope they, too, see that they are in a space where they, too, can make a difference.”
“I think it's important that kids understand the historical significance,” said Collins principal Gavin Softic. “They hear about Jackie Robinson as the first African American player, but they don't really realize the challenges and struggles that he had to go through. And a lot of those barriers that he faced, we still face today in society, and how we have an opportunity to show courage and make change. But we need to use our voice to make that happen. So, just to know that the fight's been going on a long time, but we can all build an anti-racist organization.”
On this morning, that message got through.
“Never give up, even if you got haters,” said Vasquez. “Just keep on trying and do what you like. Follow your path. Don't let the haters win.”
“I learned that everyone has the right to freedom, and we should all treat each other with respect and equality,” said Francisco. “Just learn to see everyone as humans and as equal.”