Today is Jackie Robinson Day. Happy Jackie Robinson Day

I don’t know a lick about baseball, as you know, but even as a child, my teachers had told me the significance of Jackie Robinson, who had broken baseball’s color barrier after lettering in four sports at UCLA. Robinson’s contributions extend far beyond baseball, and far beyond the African American community. In general, our boy Jackie had made a contribution to all minorities, facilitating — or at the very least, encouraging — integration of Mexican Americans, Asian Americans and many others into social and political institutions.

I could write a 1200 word post about our boy Jackie. I can tell you about the prevalence of success among Hispanics and Blacks in today’s society. I can remind you how racism and discrimination, though biological, can be combated with strong social values and acceptance, rather than just tolerance.

But alas, I will not. It’s been done. I could never do as good a job as the historians, or as someone who reads up on Jackie extensively, unlike myself.

Instead, I’ll leave you with the UCLA advertisement, “The Optimists,” which, fittingly, opens up with Jackie Robinson.

GO BRUINS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUiND-F9wtQ&feature=player_embedded