Jackie Robinson In His Own Words

Today marks the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB's color barrier when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Of course, racism is a sin we will never excise out of existence. Yet for most people it is inconceivable that African-American would be prohibited from playing baseball or any other professional sport.

Above is a portion of an interview Robinson did with Dick Cavett in January 1972 shortly before the 25th anniversary of his MLB debut. While Robinson believed blacks needed greater opportunities, he believed America's drug problem was worse than its race problem. Sadly, his son Jackie, Jr, who had struggled with substance abuse, had died in an automobile accident.

It is good that Robinson had this conversation with Cavett because he would die 9 months later at the age of 53 though he looked considerably older than that having borne all those burdens.