Dodgers commemorate 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking MLB's color barrier
The Los Angeles Dodgers Friday are celebrating the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
On April 15, 1947, Robinson started for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African American to play in the MLB.
On Friday night, Robinson's widow, Rachel Robinson, and their son David will be on hand when the Dodgers host the Cincinnati Reds at Dodger Stadium.
The team will host a special pregame ceremony on the field with 75 special guests, including 42 scholars from the Jackie Robinson Foundation and 43 students from John Muir High School in Pasadena, which Jackie Robinson attended.
On Friday morning, Dodger pitcher David Price joined former Dodger Curtis Granderson and several local and state officials, along with members of the Robinson family, at Longfellow Elementary School in Pasadena to launch the Jackie Robinson Reading Series.
"Can you imagine, 75 years ago, Black people were not allowed into the pride," David Robinson told the Longfellow students. "They were refused just because of the color of their skin."
Also taking place Friday before the game, a special mural honoring Jackie Robinson will be unveiled John Muir High. Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts will be on hand for the unveiling, along with members of the Robinson family.
"It's important for us to educate our young people in order to grow Jackie's legacy, in order to grow black participation in the game," said Nichol Whiteman with the Dodgers Foundation. "If you don't know, you don't show. If the representation is not there. I use myself as a living example every single day. I'm not on the field, but I work in baseball as a black woman executive, I think it's important for young women to see me and know this is possible."
Whiteman told CBSLA that when she was younger, she received a scholarship through the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Meanwhile, the first 40,000 fans to Friday's game will receive a special Jackie Robinson Brooklyn Dodgers jersey.
All players, managers and umpires for Friday's game will also be wearing Robinson's iconic No. 42 patch on their sleeves and caps.