Black History Month is celebrated across all of America during the month of February.  During this month, Americans look back on all the accomplishments and breakthroughs the country has seen from African-American people throughout history.  For sports fans, it is also a time to reflect on black athletes’ influence on both the world of sports and the world that all humans share.  There are athletes like Jackie Robinson who helped trigger a movement across the whole country, and others like Serena Williams who have gained fame more recently and have been inspirations to the people of today.

Robinson is one of the earliest examples of black excellence in sports both on and off the field.  

“Jackie Robinson had a great effect on the game of baseball, but an even greater effect on the push for equal rights.” said freshman Zach Tessler.  

Robinson began playing professional baseball in the Negro leagues in 1945, which was created so that black and white baseball players were segregated.  Robinson was an All-Star in the segregated Negro Leagues, which made him gain interest in playing in the Major Leagues.  In the MLB, he was faced with an excruciating amount of racism.  During a tryout with the Boston Red Sox, Robinson and other African-Americans endured many racially motivated insults.

However, the Brooklyn Dodgers were willing to give Robinson a shot as a player, but not an equal.  He was forced to sleep in a different hotel from the rest of the team and was constantly harassed with racial slurs.  Stadiums would be padlocked before practices or games out of protest that a black player was on the team, and some games were even canceled because of him.  

Despite the hardship and protest, Robinson put on a Dodgers uniform in 1947, breaking the color barrier as the first black player to play in the major leagues.  Still, he was met with racist remarks from fans, opponents, managers, and even his teammates.  He was frequently targeted by pitchers, who would do their best to hit him during his at-bats.  However, Robinson would continue unraveling his inspiring story and go on to win Rookie of the Year, and later the MVP.  His story is told across the country today, and has played a large role in American history as he is a role model to young athletes across the nation.

More recently, Serena Williams has been an inspiration to all boys and girls around the world.  Williams is regarded as one of, if not the greatest, female tennis player of all time.  She plays in a game that is mostly dominated by white athletes at a professional level, which made it harder for her to pave her way than most competitors.  Serena and her sister, Venus, were forced to deal with many hateful fans and were berated with many racial slurs during the Indian Wells tournament in 2001.  Despite Williams winning the tournament, she said that she was more upset about the remarks made about her.  In her career, Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles and holds many WTA records.  She has won four Olympic gold medals for our country but is still faced with great discrimination.

“I’ve grown up watching a lot of tennis because of my sister, and Serena Williams is one of my favorites because I love the way she played and impacted the game,” said junior Davin Rabman.

There have been many other prominent black athletes who have had a major impact on the world, such as Jesse Owens, Bill Russell, Lebron James, Colin Kaepernick, and many more.  Even today, unfortunately, racism is present in sports and the number of racist incidents is actually on the rise.  This month is very important for black history not only in sports, but in the world.