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Jackie Robinson - His Life and Legacy

JACKIE ROBINSON - History/Biography - The story of an American icon whose life-long battle for first class citizenship for all African Americans transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements.   https://youtu.be/OdYoRyuErpQJack Roosevelt Robinson rose from humble origins to cross baseball’s color line and become one of the most beloved men in America. A fierce integrationist, Robinson used his immense fame to speak out against the discrimination he saw on and off the field, angering fans, the press, and even teammates who had once celebrated him for “turning the other cheek.” After baseball, he was a widely-read newspaper columnist, divisive political activist and tireless advocate for civil rights, who later struggled to remain relevant as diabetes crippled his body and a new generation of leaders set a more militant course for the civil rights movement. See Jackie Robinson's Timeline and explore the parallels between his life and the Civil Rights Movement.  

Jackie Robinson
PBS /
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson signs autographs
PBS /
Jackie Robinson signs autographs
Jackie Robinson: March on Washington
PBS /
Jackie Robinson: March on Washington
Jackie is among 35,000 demonstrators for Civil Rights on the eve of the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco.
David S. Johnson /
Jackie is among 35,000 demonstrators for Civil Rights on the eve of the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco.

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Mia Laurenzo is a 30-year veteran of public television in Miami. She began her career learning every aspect of video production. Currently she is a writer, producer, on-air host and promotions coordinator for TV, radio and the web. Her experiences include producing for a series, special events and historical documentaries. As a native Floridian, she is a perfect fit for South Florida's Storyteller Station, WLRN. She has produced award winning, nationally distributed documentaries like Journey to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade where one year she followed a high school band and a clown as they prepared for the big day and the next year, she had the privilege of being a clown herself. Previously, she produced Weird Florida: On the Road Again, a sequel to the highly successful show Weird Florida: Roads Less Traveled, where the cast and crew travel over 1,500 miles searching the Sunshine State’s weirdest and wackiest places. On a more serious note and what she considers to be her most important work, she produced Out of Darkness, Into Light, a documentary on child sexual abuse,which delved into the lives of three adult survivors, a show in which she was awarded her first of two Emmys.