Today Negroes play on every big
â
Today, Negroes play on every big league club
and in every minor league.
With millions of other Negroes in other walks of life,
we are willing to stand up and be counted for what we believe in.
In baseball or out,
we are no longer willing to wait until Judgment Day for equality
we want it here on earth as well as in Heaven.
â
Meaning
This quote means black Americans were no longer willing to wait passively for equality in some distant future. Justice must be demanded in real life, not postponed to heaven.
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 The black press, some liberal sportswriters, and even a few politicians were banging away at those Jim Crow barriers in baseball. I never expected the walls to come tumbling down in my lifetime. â
This quote means the fall of segregation in baseball came through long pressure from many voices, and its eventual success once seemed almost unimaginable.
â The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity. â
This quote means personal dignity is more valuable than material wealth. Self-respect is the richest possession a person can hold.
â I cannot salute the flag; I know that I am a black man in a white world. In 1972, in 1947, at my birth in 1919, I know that I never had it made. â
This quote means patriotic rituals ring hollow when a person is still denied equality in his own country. It exposes the conflict between national ideals and racial injustice.