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"I Never Had It Made":
The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson
by Earl Ofari HutchinsonOn April 15, (1999) President Clinton will stand at second base at New York's Shea Stadium with Rachel Robinson, the widow of Jackie Robinson, during the nationally televised game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. He will honor the 50th anniversary of Robinson's smashing baseball's color barrier. Clinton will salute Robinson's memory, and tell the world how his towering accomplishment permanently enriched American sport and society. Clinton will be right.
Fifty years ago when Robinson nervously stood at second base in his first game in the majors he was "uneasy" and far less hopeful that his feat would change American attitudes toward Blacks. Twenty-five years after that historic day in 1947 Robinson's unease became bitter doubts. In his autobiography, "/ Never Had it Made" he unapologetically declared: "I cannot stand and sing the anthem. I cannot salute the flag. I know that I am a Black man in a white world. I never had it made."
During the 1997 baseball season there'll be loads of romanticized testimonials and speeches about Robinson's story in baseball. But there'll probably be little about his story outside of baseball. This is the other story Robinson told in his autobiography, letters, and columns in the New York Post and the Amsterdam News.
His family. Although Robinson was raised in a fatherless home, flirted with gangs and petty juvenile crime, his family defied the stereotype of the dysfunctional, single parent Black family. He proudly described his family as a "well- knit unit." His mother worked, and provided him with a comfortable home, and received solid guidance from male family members and supporters.
Americanism. In 1949 Black singer/activist Paul Robeson made an ill-timed, and much distorted statement that Blacks were sympathetic to the Soviet Union. Robinson was pressured to testify before the witch-hunting House Un- American Activities Committee to refute Robeson. Robinson did not want to be used as a Black pawn to attack Robeson.
In his testimony he opposed Communism, criticized the Committee for its "partisan politics" and fiercely attacked racial discrimination: "We're not going to stop fighting race discrimination in this country until we've got it licked." Years later he did not regret his testimony but he told why he "would reject such an invitation" today: "In those days I had much more faith in the ultimate justice of the American white man than I have today."
Black organi/ations. For more than a decade Robinson gave speeches, helped raise funds, and made generous contributions to the NAACP and the SCLC. But in 1967, he resigned from the NAACP's board of directors accusing it of being "insensitive to the trends of our times, unresponsive to the needs and aims of the Black masses—especially the young—and more and more they seem to reflect a refined, sophisticated, 'Yassuh-Mr. Charlie' point of view." His criticism foreshadowed the identical charges made by dissidents that would nearly wreck the NAACP almost two decades later.
Political Involvement. Many Blacks called Robinson an "Uncle Tom and "sell-out" for supporting the Republican presidential bid of Richard Nixon over Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy in 1960. Robinson did not receive any money or political favors for supporting Nixon. His sole litmus test was how strongly a candidate supported civil rights: "I was not beholden to any political party. I was Black first."
Also, the Nixon of 1960 wasn't the Nixon of 1968 who inflamed law-and- order sentiment, and pandered to racist white Southerners. As Elsenhower's vice president, Nixon vigorously fought for the civil rights bills of 1957 and 1960 and for stronger action against racially- motivated violence. The Kennedy of 1960 wasn't the Kennedy of 1963 who took forceful civil rights action. As a senator, he voted to water down a section of the Civil Rights bills of 1957, and actively courted racist Southern Democrats. Robinson promised that if his candidate betrayed him on civil rights, "I'll be right back to give him hell." He did. He denounced the political mean-spiritedness of Nixon and the Republicans. "Every chance I got I said plainly what I thought of the right-wing Republicans and the harm they were doing."
Malcolm X. Like many then, Robinson regarded Malcolm as an anti-Semitic, race-bailing demagogue and criticized his approach to racial problems. But in time he came to respect and admire Malcolm: "Many of the statements he made about the problems faced by our people and the immorality of the white power structure were the naked truth."
Economic empowerment. Before self-help and economic empowerment became buzz words for Blacks. Robinson staked his career and reputation on making it a reality when he became board chairman of the Black- controlled Freedom bank. The bank made loans and investments in Harlem and other Black areas. When it ran into serious management, and solvency problems, Robinson worked hard to keep it afloat. He believed; "There were two keys to the advancement of Blacks in America—the ballot and the buck. If we organized our political and economic strength, we would have a much easier fight on our hands."
Robinson got the break of the century when he was chosen to smash the color barrier. He was courted by politicians, showered with persona] honors, and attained a measure of financial success. But at the end of his life he realized that many Blacks had continued to lose ground: "I can't believe that I have it made while so many of my Black brothers and sisters are hungry, inadequately housed, insufficiently clothed, denied their dignity, live in slums or barely exist on welfare." That's why Robinson insisted, "I never had it made" and almost certainly would say the same again today.
(Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author of "The Assassination of the Black. Male Image". His recent book titled, "Beyond O.J.., Race. Sex, and Class Lessons for America " was released in January 1996.
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