The Jackie Robinson Foundation: A Legacy of Excellence and Impact

“After two years at UCLA, I decided to leave. I was convinced that no amount of education would help a black man get a job.” – Jackie Robinson1

Three decades after he left college, the Jackie Robinson Foundation was established to encourage, promote, and fund higher education for African American students. The cultural, economic, and political landscapes of America were changing, and Jackie Robinson had played a pivotal role.

The year was 1940 and in America, 44 years after the United States Supreme Court launched an era of legalized segregation in its Plessey v. Ferguson decision, Jack Robinson knew that it was going to take more than education to advance the cause of African Americans. Throughout the country, in the North, South, East, and West, African Americans could not stay at the same hotels as Whites, eat in the same restaurants, or even drink from the same water fountains. It was a time when Robinson’s older brother, Mack, second only to Jesse Owens in the 200-meter event in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, returned home only to wear his Olympic jacket to his street-sweeping job. And where Jack, a five-sport athlete at UCLA, was described by the Los Angeles Times as carrying a football “like it was a watermelon and the guy who owned it was after him with a shotgun.”2 It was a time when schools and neighborhoods were segregated, in some places by law, in others by unwritten codes and traditions.

April 15, 1947, was a day unlike any other. For the first time in the twentieth century, a Black man played on a White major-league baseball team. And although much of America’s focus that day was on the now-broken color line of professional baseball, the true impact of that event crossed much greater lines. The late author and former New York Post and New York Daily News editor, Pete Hamill, experienced that impact and described it years later: “The great accomplishment of Robinson in 1947 was not so much that he integrated baseball, but that he integrated those stands. Which is to say he started to integrate his country, our country. And so when Robinson jittered off second base, upsetting the enemy pitcher, the number 42 sending signals of possible amazement, we all roared. Whites and blacks roaring for Robinson.”3

“The right of every American to first-class citizenship is the most important issue of our time. … If I had to choose between baseball’s Hall of Fame and first-class citizenship for all of my people, I would choose first-class citizenship time and again.” — Jackie Robinson4

His baseball career behind him, his passion for equal rights for all still burning brightly, Robinson embarked on a journey of political and social activism. With his wife, Rachel, at his side, herself a social activist with a fire and commitment to rival that of her husband, the couple reflected Jack’s assertion that “life is not a spectator sport.” Throughout the 1960s, he conferred with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil-rights leaders and was an established presence in the movement, as the host or special guest at numerous gatherings and fundraising events.

In January 1963 Jack co-founded the Freedom National Bank in New York City to address discrimination in mortgage applications by Black people and to encourage Black entrepreneurship. It went on to become the largest Black-owned and -operated bank in New York state.5 In June of that year, he and Rachel hosted a jazz concert at their home in Connecticut to raise bail money for jailed civil-rights activists, an event that raised funds for social and education programs until 2001. Jack’s passing in October 1972 cut short his commitment to “full citizenship” for African Americans, but Rachel was undeterred.

That December, less than two months after his death, she took over the presidency of the Jackie Robinson Construction Corporation, renamed it the Jackie Robinson Development Corporation, and oversaw the company’s focus on providing housing for those with low to moderate incomes.6 In May of 1973, with the assistance of several others and a gift of corporate sponsorship, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF), with a mission to honor his life and legacy and to continue his vision for advancement and equal opportunity, specifically the growth toward “full citizenship” that defined her husband’s life work.

The JRF was founded to not only address the financial needs of minority students who aspired to attend college but to also guide them through the process of higher education. Rachel Robinson and the co-founders of the foundation recognized an achievement gap for minority students when it came to the pursuit of higher education. Years of economic and social discrimination had left many deserving students of color frequently unable to take advantage of these opportunities to the same extent as their White counterparts. If full equality was ever to be achieved, educational opportunity was deemed to be a key component.

However, the founders astutely realized that opportunity – admission to a college or university – was but the first step toward achieving academic success. Unequal access to educational opportunity had meant a historical inequality in the kinds of experience that would contribute to the development of the kinds of skills needed to not only survive in the higher-education environment, but to thrive.

Consequently, JRF provides an extensive curriculum for its “JRF Scholars,” titled “42 Strategies for Success,” focused not only on active support to achieve academic success but on the development and enrichment of character, responsibility, and citizenship. A sampling of curriculum topics – Navigating Campus Resources, Time Management, Money Matters 101, Health and Wellness, How to Interview, Résumé Writing, Social Etiquette, Career Discernment – reveals the broad scope of information that is provided and the skill development that is expected. Attention is also paid to professional dress and behavior. And as JRF board chairman Gregg Gonsalves emphatically states: “We make sure every scholar passes.”7

Good citizenship is introduced and developed as all scholars must participate in community service, helping to instill a sense of sense of belonging to something greater than oneself and a pay-it-forward mentality. This commitment is described by Ashley Kyalawzi, a 2018 graduate as a JRF scholar: “Jackie’s legacy challenges each and every one of us actively to do what we can with whatever resources we have, big or small, and to use our own voices to really lift up other people in tough times.”8

And finally, the curriculum includes extensive exposure to Black success. Reginald Livingston, Class of 1996, described the environment he walked into at one of the foundation’s annual weekend conferences: “Here are actual doctors we can talk to, actual lawyers we can talk to.”9 Years later, there is still a sense of wonder and amazement in his voice as he describes the experience. Jermain Robertson, ’17, echoes that wonder: “To be able to walk into the room with so (many) people who are striving to be excellent, (to be) literally drowning in Black excellence.”10 The exposure to role models of success and the ensuing advice, mentoring, and networking opportunities serve to excite and further motivate JRF scholars, and they can begin to see what is possible. As stated by JRF’s CEO and president, Della Britton Baiza, education is the initial goal, “[B]ut what’s more, JRF scholars become self-actualized, they go on to become leaders in their field and in the community.”11

The first step, as is the initial step in most social endeavors, is financial and it begins with the awarding of a scholarship. JRF advances higher-education opportunities by providing generous multiyear scholarship awards to deserving minority students. The JRF scholarship is awarded to outstanding high-school graduates who plan to earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university. The selection process is a national one and the JFR Scholars who are selected receive a grant of up to $28,000 over four years to assist with the cost of the college of their choice, complementing the financial aid they receive from the college. In addition, they are enrolled in the foundation’s comprehensive mentoring program, 42 Strategies for Success.

To again emphasize, 42 Strategies at its core is an experiential, hands-on program of support and encouragement. JRF staff, volunteer Scholar Advisory Committee members, corporate and university partners, community leaders, JRF alumni, and volunteer staff that comprise the Scholar Advisory Committee combine to provide academic, professional, and practical life mentoring to JRF Scholars on an individualized, year-round basis. JRF sponsors and institutional partners offer valuable career opportunities to JRF Scholars, providing internships, permanent employment and exposure to a rich network of professionals. The JRF staff works on a customized basis with corporations, community leaders, government agencies, and other employers to identify “good fit” job opportunities and to prepare JRF Scholars to become leaders in a global economy. In recent years JRF scholars have received over 275 internships and full-time jobs at companies like General Electric, Nike, Coca-Cola, Boeing, Bloomberg, Unilever, and the United Health Foundation.12 Noteworthy examples of scholar opportunity include Jermaine Medley, ’17, who after interning at Boeing accepted an offer as a structural engineer, and Chelsea Miller, ’18, who spent a semester interning at the White House, learning about the criminal justice system.13

The mentoring program consists of a number of specific components, all designed to help support not only ongoing academic success but to prepare for a rewarding career. In addition to the scholarship award, funding is also provided for students to attend JRF’s annual four-day Mentoring and Leadership Conference, a key component of the foundation’s curriculum.

Originally called the Scholars’ Networking Weekend, the first such conference took place at the Robinson home in 1983. It has expanded to an annual four-day event held in New York City each spring, hosted for all JRF Scholars. It is held in conjunction with JRF’s annual alumni reunion, providing the opportunity for important mentor and networking interaction between scholars and alumni. Students participate in workshops focused on career exploration, leadership development and practical life skills. They will network with corporate executives, dozens of community leaders, and government officials. This engagement is further enhanced through cultural, recreational, and community service outings. At the 2019 weekend, scholars participated in the Rise Against Hunger Project and listened to Lauren Underwood trace her path from a JRF Scholar at the University of Michigan to an advisory role at the White House to her current position as a congresswoman from Illinois.14

The Mentoring and Leadership Conference is a highlight of JRF’s year-round mentoring efforts and culminates in scholars attending the foundation’s annual Robie Awards Dinner, an event that pays tribute to individuals who embody the humanitarian ideals of Jackie Robinson, while also serving as a fundraiser for the JRF. The first recipients of the award, in spring 1979, were Arthur Ashe and Ralph Ward, the latter the chairman of the board of Chesebrough-Pond Inc. (now part of Unilever), the first corporate sponsor of JRF from its very inception in 1973. In 1989 Ward established the Ralph E. Ward Achievement Award, which he gave annually to recognize the graduating JRF Scholar with the highest cumulative grade-point average. The Robie Awards have since gone on to recognize many of the most celebrated names in business, politics, education, media, sports, and the arts. Recipients have included Henry Aaron, Clive Davis, J.W. Marriott, George Lucas, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Michael Jordan, Stevie Wonder, Robert Manfred, and Maverick Carter, all of whom have in some way contributed to the promotion of social justice and human dignity and shared their success with underserved communities.

The four-day MLC conference is not a standalone event, as smaller, regional gatherings and events are held throughout the year. These events include webinars and on-site workshops focused on the development of effective study habits, practical life skills, strong character traits and leadership. Program topics include public speaking, time management, conflict resolution, personal financial management, professional and personal etiquette, and strategies to address stress and social challenges. JRF Scholars are afforded opportunities to practice and hone these skills through networking, participating in public events, engagement in national and local media, and other ambassadorial platforms facilitated by JRF. A primary example of this is the Point/Counterpoint activity that is included in the conference, in which teams of students engage in active debate. For those participating as well for those watching, it’s an opportunity to engage and to model critical thinking, an important focus of the 42 Strategies.

JRF Scholars are required to perform community service throughout their JRF experience and they are held accountable for it, an important character trait of focus and emphasis throughout the curriculum. Students must document the specifics of their work and keep all accounts on file with JRF staff. In addition to establishing their accountability, students gain practical skills that enhance their self-confidence and self-esteem and in turn impact the lives of the many others who benefit from their community-based projects. JRF Scholars contribute over 4,500 hours of community service annually.15 The vast majority of this service is of the grass-roots level, delivered locally within their home communities. Internet videos abound with displays of JRF Scholars sitting in elementary-school classrooms and working with young children. Others can be seen painting gymnasiums and restoring playgrounds. As is the case when reaching out to help others, the scholars always note that they are receiving as much as or more than they’re providing. It’s a lesson they carry with them in their subsequent careers.

Opportunities for JRF Scholars became international in 2008 with the establishment of the Rachel Robinson International Fellowship. Established to promote and support international service and study opportunities, it chooses students by a competitive process among JRF Scholars who apply, and they may use the grant for a variety of initiatives. Eligible examples include financial support for a study-abroad program, an international volunteer or philanthropic effort, or in conjunction with an approved internship or course of study abroad. To date, over 77 scholars have participated in more than 39 countries.16 Examples include Jermaine Medley, ’17, who built bathrooms in a rural village in Bolivia; Cinneah El-Amin, ’16, who traveled to both Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Cape Town, South Africa, to explore the evolution of cities in the twenty-first century;17 and Riley Jones IV, ’16, who taught financial literacy to a rural village in Panama.18 And in conjunction with the Me to We Foundation, JRF is engaging in a groundbreaking project called Project Tanzania, in which the entire graduating class of 2021 will journey to that African country to volunteer in local Masai tribe communities. Part adventure, part giving back, it will be one more way that JRF scholars are realizing Rachel Robinson’s vision in making an impact on lives around the world.19

In addition to the addition of international opportunity, JRF has expanded to include graduate education. The Extra Innings Fellowship was established to help highly motivated JRF Scholars fund the cost of advanced professional or graduate training. Through Extra Innings fellowships, JRF seeks to promote the study of a broad range of topics and disciplines that address communities in need both across the country and around the world. Extra Innings fellows receive multiyear gifts of up to $10,000 per year depending on need.

As of 2019, JRF has disbursed over $85 million in grants and direct program support to 1,500 students who have attended over 260 colleges and universities.20 With the support of JRF’s support and program curriculum, JRF Scholars have consistently achieved a 98 percent college graduation rate. JRF alumni are leaders in their communities and across a broad range of professional fields, true ambassadors of Jackie Robinson’s legacy of service and humanitarianism.

The year 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s birth and JRF was set to culminate a yearlong schedule of special events with a significant expansion of its mission of education and the Robinson legacy. The foundation had been preparing for the anniversary year by initiating two major additions to its programming. Project IMPACT was launched in 2018, a digital online service that could offer the 42 Strategies to a larger population of college students. And ground had been broken on April 27, 2017, on the foundation’s crowning project, the Jackie Robinson Museum.

Located in Lower Manhattan’s burgeoning cultural district, just a few blocks from the World Trade Center and Freedom Tower, it will occupy the first two floors of the 16-story Hudson Square tower. It was initially scheduled to open in December 2019 as a way to culminate the yearlong celebration. Various delays, first in funding and construction and most recently the Covid virus pandemic, postponed the opening until sometime in 2021. In the absence of personal visitation, virtual experiences opened and are available at https://jrlegacy.org. Educational programming for elementary and middle-school students is offered and podcasts, specifically targeted toward teachers and parents, are also available.

The general public has a number of options as well. Once the museum opened, Jackie Robinson’s athletic career and his social impact was to be chronicled through artifacts, state-of-the-art exhibits, film, and other media, with an emphasis on interactive programming. In addition, the museum planned to partner with public schools to enrich curriculum, further functioning as a catalyst for social change. With a mission to “Educate, Inspire and Challenge, this physical tribute to Jackie Robinson will serve as a destination for those seeking innovative, educational programming and a venue for vibrant dialogue on critical social issues.”21 Its location is destined to become a dynamic venue for lectures, concerts, and receptions, all designed to provide a forum for interaction, dialogue, and debate.

*****

On the field and off, throughout his athletic career and his decades of subsequent public service and social activism, Jackie Robinson was a profile in courage. And on April 15, 1997, during a celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of his first regular-season game with the Brooklyn Dodgers, his widow, Rachel Robinson, took a moment to remember. Waiting with their daughter, Sharon, and son, Jesse, to be introduced to a sold-out crowd at Shea Stadium in New York City, Mike Lupica, a sportswriter covering the event for MLB.com, turned to her and asked what she most remembered best about her husband. “My husband was good,” she replied, “and he was brave.”22

Fast forward 23 years to April 15, 2020, and ballparks across the United States are dark. Within the midst of a growing viral pandemic, a wave of uncertainty and fear began to grow as well. Americans were being asked to be brave and for their behavior to make a difference in their communities. Robinson would be the captain of both of those teams. His life and his legacy are embodied in the mission of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, offering students the opportunity to practice his words carved on his gravestone: “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Years after leaving college with a view of the futility of education for African American advancement, the foundation in his name provides a beacon of promise and hope through education that he felt was unrealistic in his own time. The Jackie Robinson Foundation serves to honor the ideal that one life can make a difference and the life of Jackie Robinson is that example: A pretty good baseball player who embraced and embodied ideals well beyond the confines of a sport and devoted his life to making a difference.

To contact the Jackie Robinson Foundation and learn more about its work, visit https://jackierobinson.org.

Notes

1 Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made (New York: HarperCollins, 1995), 11.

2 Paul Zimmerman, “Jackie Robinson: Big Threat on U.C.L.A. Football Eleven,” Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1939: A15.

3 https:/www./brooklyndodgermemories.com/pete-hamill-on-ebbets-field-t900.xhtml.

4 https:/www.thejackierobinsonproject42.weebly.com/leadership.xhtml.

5 https://jackierobinson.org

6 https://youtube.com/watch?v=MKZNcCbQ-4s.

7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmOsh-Aryk.

8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmOsh-Aryk.

9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmOsh-Aryk.

10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmOsh-Aryk.

11 https://www.jackierobinson.org/our-programs/jrf-efect.

12 https://www.jackierobinson.org/about/sponsors.

13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfQGj5h6tzk.

14 https://jackierobinson.org.

15 https://www.jackierobinson.org/our-programs/jrf-efect.

16 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmOsh-Aryk.

17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOmOsh-Aryk.

18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKZNcCbQ-4s.

19 https://www.jackierobinson.org/category/rrif/?page=1.

20 https://www.jackierobinson.org/museum.

21 https://www.jackierobinson.org/museum.

22 Mike Lupica, “The Consummate Captain of Braveness,” MLB.com, April 14, 2020. https://www.mlb.com/news/jackie-robinson-braveness-still-holds-true.