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Objectives:
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Student will learn about the social problems (including segregation)
that blacks endured in the U.S. by learning about the struggles of
Jackie Robinson and other blacks who played Negro League Baseball.
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Students will learn how the event of breaking the baseball color
barrier by Jackie Robinson helped lay a foundation for social
improvements for blacks during the Civil Rights Movement.
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Students will learn about social forces including the terrorism and
threats that black people including baseball players like Jackie
Robinson had to endure in order to bring about changes and integrate
both baseball and the American culture.
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Students will learn how of Jackie Robinson tried to influence politics
and they will experience the inspiration that he provided to African
Americans and all other minority groups as well as to all Americans.
Background:
- Have
students define terms such as prejudice, discrimination, and
segregation. Discuss how all of these terms applied to the Negro
Leagues and the barriers faced by men like Jackie Robinson.
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Compare the limited opportunities blacks had in baseball to other
occupations and laws of that time.
Description:
Students will do the document based question on segregation in
baseball. They will answer all of the document questions, then use
those ideas to construct an essay.
Materials:
The
students will use the documents provided for them in the document based
question.
Discussion
Questions:
All of
the questions in the Document Based Question can and should be used as
discussion questions. This will get the students to analyze the
documents and think critically about them.
Assessment:
These
Document Based Questions (DBQs) could be used as a test. They should
definitely be discussed and gone over in detail, but could be evaluated
as test score as well.
Extensions:
- This
lesson can be done as one DBQ or divided up into seven small
constructed response questions. Each question would then be a short
individual activity where the students would answer the document
questions. Then, the questions could be part of a class discussion
about that particular document. This could be done for any and/or all
of the seven individual documents.
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This
assignment could lead to students doing research projects on Negro
League Baseball players or a comparison research paper with other
civil rights leaders who helped to bring about change.
Document - Based
Questions
This assignment is based on
the accompanying documents (1-7). Some of the documents have been
edited for the purpose of the question. The assignment is designed to
test your ability to work with historical documents. As you analyze the
documents, take into account both the context of each document and any
point of view that may be presented in the document.
Historical Context: Major
league baseball was segregated until 1947. African Americans were
prohibited from playing in major league baseball. African Americans
were only allowed to play in separate Negro Leagues. That all changed
in April of 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier and
became the first African American to play in major league baseball. In
addition to his successful baseball career, Robinson used his status to
become a leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
Tasks:
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Describe
what life for blacks in baseball was like before Jackie Robinson broke
the color barrier.
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Describe
some of the racism and prejudice that the African American players
encountered in baseball before they joined the Major League system and
after they joined Major League baseball.
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Explain
how Jackie Robinson used his baseball fame to try to influence the
Civil Rights Movement.
Part A: Short Answer
Directions: Analyze
the documents and answer the questions that follow each document in the
space provided. Your answers to the questions in Part A will help you
write the essay in Part B.
Document 1
“The NABBP (National
Association of Base Ball Players) soon went out of existence and was
replaced in 1871 by the National Association of Professional Base Ball
Players or the National Association as it was known. The National
Association did not have a written rule barring African Americans, but
there was an attitude of “gentleman’s agreement” to keep professional
baseball segregated…In 1876, the National Association was replaced by
the National League, the first major league…In 1882, another major
league, the American Association, began… Several African Americans
played in the minor leagues at this time…Of these men, only Moses
Fleetwood Walker and his brother, Weldy, reached the major leagues.
Catcher Moses or Fleet as he was known, appeared in 46 games with Toledo
of the American Association in 1884. This made him the first African
American to play major league baseball. His outfielder brother had
considerable less game action appearing in only five games for the same
team in 1884. Soon after the color barrier was reestablished until
broken by Jackie Robinson in 1947.”
Patricia Gracey, Education
Department, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
1. Did the NABPB have a
written agreement segregating baseball? _________ Provide a quote to
support your answer.
2. Who was the first African
American to play Major League Baseball.
3. Why was there such a long
time between the first African American player and the arrival of Jackie
Robinson in Major League Baseball?
Document 2
The Pittsburgh Crawfords -
1935
1. What can you tell about
the baseball team pictured above? Who are they? Where do they come
from? What is special about them?
2. What method of
transportation was used by the team?
Document 3
Advertisement Poster of
Harrisburg Colored Giants 1920’s
1. What evidence does this
1920’s poster contain that shows Negro League Baseball was well
organized and technologically advanced for its time?
2. What words or phrases
contained in this poster could black ballplayers find insulting?
3. Why would those words or
phrases from question # 2 be degrading or offensive to black players?
Document 4
Colored Entrance – 1920’s
1. Who was this door to
be used by? _____________________________________________
2. Why did this separate
entrance exist? __________________________________________
3. What societal
situation does this illustrate? _____________________________________
Document 5
What is the story behind the
decline of Negro baseball?
The answer is composed of
several parts. Obviously, integration in Organized Ball, which was
begun on October 23, 1945, when Branch Rickey signed Robinson for the
Brooklyn organization, is a primary contribution factor… Behind the
mentioned factors leading to the decline of Negro baseball, you can add:
A general improvement in the economic status of American Negroes,
television, the attraction of other sports and recreational facilities,
including integration of Southern golf courses, steady migration of fans
to the North, Midwest and West, increased home ownership and the
attendant responsibilities.
It all adds up to this: After 72
years, Negro baseball is just about finished. In the minds of most
Negro fans, Negro baseball is a victim of progress. And far from being
sorry, as much as Negro club owners might hate to hear it said, they are
glad.
From article entitled,
“Negro Ball Fights Bravely for Life Against Big Odds,” published in The
Sporting News, August 7, 1957
1. List five factors
that contributed to the decline of the Negro Leagues.
Document 6
Threatening Letters to
Jackie Robinson - 1947
1. What did the writer
threaten to do to Jackie Robinson if he entered a game at Crosley Field
(Cincinnati, OH)?
2. Based on the
information in the documents, why would these threats have been taken so
seriously?
3. What does the letter tell
you about the social climate of the times?
Document 7
“I was sitting in the
audience at the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders yesterday when you said
we must have patience. On hearing you say this, I felt like standing up
and saying, ‘Oh no! Not again.’ I respectfully remind you sir, that we
have been the most patient of all people. When you said we must have
self-respect, I wondered how we could have self-respected and remain
patient considering the treatment accorded us through the years. 17
million Negroes cannot do as you suggest and wait for the hearts of men
to change. We want to enjoy the rights that we feel we are entitled to
as Americans. This we cannot do unless we pursue aggressively goals
which all other Americans achieved 150 years ago.”
Excerpted from a letter from
Jackie Robinson to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, dated May 13, 1958.
1. Why did Jackie
Robinson feel like standing and saying “Oh no! Not again.”
2. How does he feel
African Americans should act in order to achieve what all Americans have
achieved?
Part B
Task: Write an essay
on the topic below using the documents as evidence. Your essay should
include three parts: (1) an introduction that states your main point,
(2) a body that develops your main point and offers evidence from the
documents and your knowledge of history, and (3) a conclusion that
restates your main point. Include specific historical details and use
information from the documents that you analyzed in Part A. Write your
essay on a separate sheet of paper.
- Describe what life in
baseball was like before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.
- Describe some of
Robinson's encounters with racism and prejudice.
- Explain how Jackie
Robinson used his baseball fame to try to contribute to The Civil Rights
Movement.
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