The role of Jackie Robinson in the criminal justice system
Jackie Robinson was one of the many a notable figures in the history of the United States. He broke the racial barrier when he was recruited to play for Brooklyn dodgers .Robinson was very talented and won many accolades .In spite of being talented he still was discriminated racially. He was insulted and ridiculed. (Week 7 doc)
The courage and gracefulness that he used to handle the discrimination inspired a lot of black Americans. They questioned the common doctrine of ‘separate but equal’. Jackie Robinson paved way for the rise of civil right movements. The civil right movement were to push for equality and integration of the society. (Week 7 doc)
He challenged segregation and was outspoken on matters that concerned representation of minor races in sports and other professional spheres.
Jacky Robison spoke openly about racial discrimination. He criticized the reluctant way in which the authorities were implementing policies that would allow baseball integration. Jackie led other baseball players in advocating for baseball to utilize it’s financial to bring equality in sports. (Week 7 doc)
Challenges encountered by Jacky Robinson
Despite of being talented in baseball, Jacky faced a lot of challenges. Being a black American in an all-white baseball league was not easy. He faced mistreatment from his fellows teammates as well as from the opposing team. They criticized him due to his skin color. Some tried to find fault that could make him disqualified from playing. Others sent him death threats through his mail. (Thompson, 2006).
The discrimination was too much the managers and players had to be warned against it by the baseball commissioner of that time. For instances. Louis cardinals had threatened to participate I strike if they played nine the same field as a black man. (Thompson, 2006).
If Jacky Robinson had broken racial Barrier today
Obviously, his experiences might have been totally different if he had broken the racial barrier today. First of all, in today’s world the public is much exposed as compared to the past. People have interacted with different races over time and changed their perspectives on the issue that one race is inferior to the other or that one race is superior to the other. Jacky Robinson therefore would not have faced a huge challenge after breaking the racial barrier. His civil rights movement could have taken various forms i.e. through the media and social media. (Jordan et.al, 2009)
Also, in today’s world there are various laws that heavily guard against racism or any other form of discrimination in the society. The law would create an opportunity for him to be treated equally like the rest of the other team members .Therefore he would have used the judiciary to pursuit his dreams of integration. (Jordan et.al, 2009)
He would have faced racism forum institution and he would have been short changed any time he landed major endorsement deal. This would hurt have hurt him financially. (Jordan et.al, 2009)
Two challenges that Jacky would have faced as he played his role
As the first black baseball player to play in the baseball league, he faced: racial discrimination. The whole responsibility for fighting racial discrimination fell on his shoulder. The black community looked up to him for advice and direction .This was exhausting but possible (Jordan et.al, 2009)
The second challenged he faced was convincing people to follow his course of integrating minority communities and championing for their rights. This made his journey more difficult and challenging (Jordan et.al, 2009)
References
Jordan, W. T., Fridell, L., Faggiani, D., & Kubu, B. (2009). Attracting females and racial/ethnic minorities to law enforcement. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(4), 333–341
Thompson, R. A. (2006). Black skin—Brass shields: Assessing the presumed marginalization of black law enforcement executives. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(2), 163–177.
Week 7 Application: Pioneers of diversity in Criminal justice Professions.
