42

This Sunday we take some time to remember a great baseball player and one of the most courageous people to ever step on a baseball diamond. There has been some flack about who and how many people should wear number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball 60 years ago, but wearing that number on this day is not about who deserves to and who does not. Wearing the number is about remembering what it was like for a ballplayer with Jackie Robinson's skin color to step on a baseball field in 1947. It's also about remembering how far we've come since then, and perhaps, as we were reminded by a now fired radio host, how far we still have to go. There are many more things that can be said about this anniversary, but perhaps it's best to ask you to spend your time watching these retrospectives about Jackie Robinson. The first is a link to an ABC News segment in which they chose Robinson as their Person of the Week. I recommend everyone take a few minutes to watch it here.

The second video, which is embedded below, is one of any number of tributes that are posted on YouTube. This one paints an interesting picture of the other black baseball players during Jackie's era as well as focusing on Robinson himself.