Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier by being the first African American professional baseball player. The Brooklyn Dodgers helped Jackie, especially Branch Rickey, who was the Dodgers general manager at the time. People were being so disrepsectful to him as a person just because of the color of his skin to the point where Jackie said, "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." (Baseball Hero)
Other professional baseball teams did not like the fact that Jackie Robinson was the first African American player. White fans also did not like the fact that the Dodgers had an African American player on their team. In his letter to President Einsenhower, Jackie says, "Yesterday when you said we must have patience. On hearing you say this, I felt like standing up and saying, "Oh no. Not again.""
Legacy
The short-term impact of Jackie Robinson being the first African American to play professional baseball is that most people did not like him and the fact that he was playing but they slowly started to like him because he was persistent and didn't quit when people pushed him towards quitting. Lary Doby became the second African American to play professional baseball when he played center field for the Cleveland Indians on July 5, 1947.
The long-term impact of Jackie Robinson playing professional baseball was that people of other races realized that just because they weren't white, doesn't mean that they couldn't play professional sports. When Jackie first started playing, few people liked the fact that he was playing, but he opened up a lot of doors for colored athletes, specifically baseball players, and now half of the MLB is a race other than white.
Jackie Robinson putting his stuff away after practice, 1948, DPLA
Conclusion
Jackie Robinson was the first African American professional baseball player. He broke down barriers for atheletes and colored people after him. He didn't care what anyone else thought, and didn't settle for less than he deserved. He knew that he had talent and just because he wasn't white didn't mean that he couldn't be successful.
