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Before Branch Richey had the idea of signing African American Jackie Robinson, he was playing in the negro league. Black Americans' playing conditions weren’t the same as in the MLB. For Instance, they didn’t have lights when they played, making for unsafe playing conditions.
At the time the MLB was an all-white sport. World War II just ended and African Americans who served came back and nothing had changed for them. Everything was separated, and people of color couldn't use whites' facilities, including baseball league and fields.
During spring training with the Royals, Jackie Robinson was getting death threats. After joining the Brooklyn Dodgers nothing changed. He was still getting death threats and teammates who were playing with him were making petitions so that he wouldn’t be part of the team so they didn’t have to play with him.