Blacks have had to learn to protect
â
Blacks have had to learn to protect themselves
by being cynical but not cynical enough to slam
the door on potential opportunities.
We go through life walking a tightrope
to prevent too much disillusionment.
â
Meaning
This quote means black Americans often had to protect themselves with skepticism while still remaining open to real opportunities. Survival required emotional balance.
About Author
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson was an American baseball player and civil rights activist, famously breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball. His quotes often reflect courage, determination, and equality. Robinson inspires athletes, activists, and leaders to challenge injustice, persevere against adversity, and make a lasting impact in sports and society.
Related Quotes
â In my opinion, baseball is as big a business as anything there is. It has to be a business, the way it is conducted. â
This quote means professional baseball must be understood as a business because of the way it is organized and run. Romance does not erase its commercial reality.
â It would make everything I worked for meaningless if baseball is integrated but political parties were segregated. â
This quote means progress in one field means little if injustice remains in others. Equality cannot stop at the ballpark and ignore politics.
â I felt unhappy and trapped. If I left baseball, where could I go, what could I do to earn enough money to help my mother and to marry Rachel? The solution to my problem was only days away in the hands of a tough, shrewd, courageous man called Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers. â
This quote means Robinson felt trapped between economic need and limited opportunity until Branch Rickey opened a path forward. It marks the moment hope entered a closed future.