Читать книгу Jackie Robinson онлайн

4 страница из 10

Once the Robinsons were in the South, they were not allowed to eat in the airport coffee shop. They saw signs for whites-only bathrooms and drinking fountains. The airline sold too many tickets for their flight to Florida and gave the Robinsons’ seats to white passengers. Jackie took a sixteen hour bus ride for the last part of his trip. Because of Jim Crow laws, the Robinsons sat in uncomfortable seats at the back of the bus even though there were comfortable empty seats in the white section.

When Jackie arrived at spring training, he could not stay in the nice hotel with his white teammates. He boarded with black families in the city. He could not change into his uniform in the team clubhouse with the other players. Instead, he changed at home.

The bias against Jackie even affected him on the field. When it was time for the Royals’ first exhibition game in Jacksonville that spring, the city said that “Negroes and whites cannot compete against each other on a city-owned playground.” His team canceled the game. When they tried to play another one, the city canceled it. Other cities in Florida decided to keep the team from playing games if Jackie was on the field.