African American Quotes

250 African American Quotes

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[On being asked his first question by Branch Rickey ‘You got a girl?’] It was a heck of a question. I had two reactions: why should he be concerned about my relationship with a girl; and second, while I thought, hoped, and prayed I had a girl, the way things had been going, I was afraid she might have begun to consider me a hopeless case.
Jackie Robinson

[On being told by Branch Rickey that ‘I think you could play in the major leagues. How do you feel about it?’] My reactions seemed like some kind of weird mixture churning in a blender. I was thrilled, scared and excited. I was incredulous. Most of all, I was speechless.
Jackie Robinson

I wasn’t just another athlete being hired by a ball club. We were playing for big stakes. This was the reason Branch Rickey’s search had been so exhaustive. The search had spanned the globe and narrowed down to a few candidates, then finally to me. When it looked as though I might be the number-one choice, the investigation of my life, my habits, my reputation, and my character had become an intensified study.
Jackie Robinson

He [Branch Rickey] had some grim words of warning. ‘We can’t fight our way through this, Robinson. We’ve got no army. There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owners, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans will be hostile. We’ll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I’m doing this because you’re a great ballplayer and a fine gentlemen.’
Jackie Robinson

If hundreds of black people wanted to come to the ballpark to watch me play and Mr Rickey tried to discourage them, would I understand that he was doing it because the emotional enthusiasm of my people could harm the experiment? That kind of enthusiasm would be as bad as the emotional opposition of prejudiced white fans.
Jackie Robinson

Could I turn the other cheek? I didn’t know how I would do it. Yet I knew that I must. I had to do it for so many reasons. For black youth, for my mother, for Rae, for myself. I had already begun to feel I had to do it for Branch Rickey.
Jackie Robinson

I had become the first black player in the major leagues.
Jackie Robinson

I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it – and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist.
Jackie Robinson

I honestly believe that baseball did set the stage for many things that are happening today, and I’m proud to have played a part in it.
Jackie Robinson

I know now that dreams do come true.
Jackie Robinson



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