Smart Talk: Jackie Robinson

What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, April 11, 2016:

Jack 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.

JACKIE ROBINSON, is a two-part, four-hour film directed by Ken Burns. It tells the story of an American icon whose life-long battle for first class citizenship for all African Americans transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements. 

JACKIE ROBINSON premieres Monday night at 9 on WITF-TV and concludes Tuesday night beginning at 9.

America’s most celebrated and honored historical documentary filmmaker Ken Burns discusses the film on Monday’s Smart Talk.

We’ll also learn more about Jackie Robinson from Dr. Michael Long–Elizabethtown College Professor and author of the books Beyond Home Plate: Jackie Robinson on Life After Baseball and  First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson and Ted Knorr–a baseball enthusiast and amateur historian.