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In the first half of the 20th century, racial segregation was common in America, including in sports. At the time, Major League Baseball (MLB) did not have a single Black player. That changed in 1947 when Jackie Robinson made history by becoming the first Black athlete to join a Major League team. In his book “Jackie and Me,” author Dan Gutman imagines a boy traveling back in time to meet Robinson on the eve of his first Major League game. Listen to hear an excerpt from the book and fifth-graders discuss the man who broke baseball’s color barrier.
Story Length: 6:00
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Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist and activist who escaped from slavery, and then returned to the South to lead dozens of other enslaved people to freedom. As a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, a path leading from slave to free states, Tubman never lost a single passenger. She worked for antislavery causes in the North and during the Civil War, served as a nurse, scout, and spy for the Union army. Listen to learn more about the remarkable life and contributions of American icon Harriet Tubman.
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The Harlem Globetrotters are a traveling team of skilled basketball players known for their flashy moves, entertaining shows, and for educating youth about health. They got their start in the 1920s, when Black players were excluded from playing professional basketball in the NBA. The original Globetrotters were five African American semi-pro players who traveled the midwest looking for other teams to play against. Eventually, they challenged the top team in the NBA, twice. Listen to hear the results of those widely watched games and learn how the Harlem Globetrotters helped transform the face of American basketball.
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In 1955, racial segregation was legal and common in the United States. Unjust laws and rules dictated where Black people could eat, swim, drink, and shop in public. And while Blacks and whites could ride the same buses, laws in many areas stated that Black people had to sit at the back of the bus. One day, a woman named Rosa Parks decided she had had enough. When told to give up her seat for a white passenger, she refused. Listen to hear what happened after Rosa Parks broke an unjust rule for a good reason.
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