Persaud honors Jackie
Robinson’s 100th birthday
By Nelson A. King
The New York State Senate
on Tuesday commemorated
the 100th birthday of Jackie
Robinson, during Black History
Month, with a resolution
introduced by Brooklyn Sen.
Roxanne J. Persaud.
The Senate adopted Resolution
J366, sponsored by Guyanese
born Persaud, representative
for the 19th Senatorial
District in Brooklyn, which
honors Robinson, a week after
the anniversary of his 100th
birthday.
The late Robinson was a
professional baseball player
for the Brooklyn Dodgers and
the first African American to
play in Major League Baseball
(MLB).
Persaud noted that Robinson
was “best known for
breaking the color barrier in
the MLB and an exceptional
career in baseball.”
Robinson, born on Jan. 31,
1919, joined the Dodgers in
1947 and was soon named
Rookie of the Year for his
extraordinary ball playing.
He went on to achieve All-
Star status, became the first
African American player to
win the Most Valuable Player
Award and helped the Dodgers
win their first World Series
championship in franchise history.
Although Robinson retired
from baseball in 1957 and died
in 1972, Persaud said “his legacy
lives on.”
Robinson was the first African
American to be inducted
into the Baseball Hall of Fame
in Cooperstown.
Additionally, the MLB retired
his uniform number, which was
a first for a major American
sports league, and named April
15 “Jackie Robinson Day,” where
every player on every team wears
his signature No. 42.
Senator Persaud urged her
colleagues to adopt the resolution
“to commend Robinson
and individuals like him who
have contributed to the historic
richness and ethnic diversity of
New York, which is also where
he lived while playing for the
Dodgers — at 5224 Tilden Ave.
in Brooklyn, known today as
the Jackie Robinson House and
listed on the National Register
of Historic Places.”
“Growing up in Brooklyn,
Jackie Robinson was a household
name for me, yet his impact
on equality stretched beyond
baseball and across the state
and country,” Persaud said. “He
inspired us to believe in our own
abilities and respect each other
regardless.
“I am delighted to commemorate
the 100th birthday of fellow
Brooklynite Jackie Robinson
with my colleagues and hopeful
his legacy will continue to
inspire generations to come,”
she added.
In addition to the resolution,
the Senate adopted others that
honor historic African American
figures during February, recognized
nationally as Black History
Month. Jackie Robinson.
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