Jackie Robinson’s second giant leap for humankind came 60 years
ago this week when he entered the clubhouse at Ebbets Field to suit
up for the National League All-Star team
Monte Poole, McClatchy Newspapers
Jackie Robinson’s second giant leap for humankind came 60 years ago this week when he entered the clubhouse at Ebbets Field to suit up for the National League All-Star team.
It was Robinson’s first All-Star Game and he felt immense pride at being voted in, for it signified his advancement from fascinating novelty to acknowledged star.
He was prouder, though, to be joined on July 12, 1949 by fellow African-Americans Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe and Larry Doby, for this meant they, too, were being acknowledged.
Sixty years later — and 37 years after his death — Robinson continues to hold open the door for those seeking a path to success.
Danielle Arrington, 22, is one such individual. She is not a professional athlete, has not been involved in sports in any tangible way since graduating from Serra High in Gardena, where she was a three-year co-captain on the basketball team. She is, however, an inspiring example of the connection between sports and society.
Now living in Richmond, Arrington grew up in greater Los Angeles, a girl trying to find her dream through a thicket of nightmares.
From his grave, through his spirit, Robinson helped show the way.
Arrington’s tale is familiar in post-Vietnam urban America: Born to a mother addicted to drugs and a father with a habit of disappearing, raised mostly by her maternal grandparents, exposed to gangs and other destructive lifestyles prevalent in L.A.
With her parents drifting in and out, she leaned on her grandparents, John and Virgie Benjamin, who supported her, showed her she could live a positive, productive life. Arrington’s willingness to serve already was evident with volunteer work on behalf of L. A. homeless community.
But she wanted more. She wanted to dedicate her life to public service, which meant going to college. The college experience and degree were the surest way to accomplish what she had identified as the most important goal in her life, helping girls born into social disadvantage.
Girls with social experiences not unlike her own or, though under a different set of circumstances, that faced by Robinson.
Which is how Arrington gravitated toward the light held by Jackie. The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a public not-for-profit founded in 1973 by Jackie’s widow, Rachel, to provide scholarships for underprivileged minority youth exhibiting academic and leadership potential.
Danielle applied to numerous colleges and one of them, UCLA, Robinson’s alma mater, provided information on the JRF. She was accepted at Cal.
Two weeks before she was to arrive in Berkeley, her mother, Leah Benjamin, who had relapsed after a period of recovery, was beaten to death and left in an alley.
Arrington shed tears. She mourned. And she stayed with her plan. If anything, she was even more determined.
“That gave me motivation to keep moving forward,” she says now of the reaction to her mother’s murder. “She really believed in me. I wanted to start doing good things in her name.”
Arrington enrolled at Cal and earned a bachelor’s degree in business. She was sponsored by Deloitte, one of the many companies working with the JRF, and accepted a full-time position there after graduating last May.
“I don’t know how college would have turned out if not for the foundation,” she says. “I thought at first it was just financial assistance, a check to help with tuition. It’s a lot more than that.
“Because of the foundation, I was able to experience college a whole different way because I didn’t have to work to keep myself (financially) afloat. I was able to get into more extracurricular activities and get involved in community service. The work I did was more of a passion.”
Which led Danielle and three classmates to collaborate in founding Akanke, a comprehensive mentoring program pairing female minority Cal students with minority girls in the East Bay public housing community.
The concept is similar to that of Big Sisters.
Arrington has spent the past year appearing at major league facilities, including the Coliseum and AT&T Park, on behalf of the JRF. Although she left her position at Deloitte and plans to start graduate school in the winter, she remains active in JRF activities.
One of Robinson’s proudest moments was the 1949 All-Star game — not so much for himself, but for others. Sixty years and 1,300 JRF scholarship graduates later, he’d be even prouder.
