Jackie Robinson Day

Apr 15 2013

66 years after he broke baseball’s color line

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Los Angeles Dodgers will join the rest of Major League Baseball today in celebrating Jackie Robinson Day exactly 66 years after he broke baseball’s color line, with his widow, Rachel, his daughter, Sharon, and son, David, scheduled to attend the game against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.

Apr 12 2013

66th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color line

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The City Council celebrated the 12th annual Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles today, three days before the 66th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color line.

A bio-pic on Robinson, “42,” also opened this week.

“There’s a lot of energy out here because of the movie that’s out, but the energy has been here all along,” Councilman Ed Reyes said.

Apr 16 2012

It’s the 65th anniversary since integrating baseball

The Los Angeles Dodgers joined the rest of Major League Baseball in celebrating Jackie Robinson Day on Monday, April 16, marking the 65th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color barrier.

Ceremonial first pitches were thrown by Don Newcombe, a teammate of Robinson’s with the Brooklyn Dodgers and now a Dodgers special adviser to the chairman, and Tommy Davis, who signed with the Dodgers in 1956 after receiving a call from Robinson.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”