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PEOPLE & ARTS A29
Saturday 9 April 2016

PBS’ documentary on Jackie Robinson reveals complicated life

DAVID BAUDER tions about whether this His post-baseball public In this Jan. 7, 1957, file photo, retired baseball legend Jackie
AP Television Writer happened at all. It would life was complicated. As Robinson speaks on the phone at his desk in the offices of the
NEW YORK (AP) — PBS’ have required Reese, a the film states at the open- Chock Full O’ Nuts Company in New York, where he will assume
documentary on the life of shortstop, to cross the field ing of the second night, new duties as Vice President in charge of personnel.
Jackie Robinson gets most to Robinson, who played “Americans would see the
interesting when the gloves first base. There was no real Jackie Robinson, and Associated Press
and bats are put away for mention of it in newspaper they would not always like
good. accounts of the game in him.” necticut home, Robinson militant black activists.
The two-part film directed Cincinnati when it suppos- Robinson was a Repub- worked for a Republican Twenty years after he broke
by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns edly took place. Rachel lican, a member of the in New York Gov. Nelson baseball’s color barrier,
and David McMahon airs Robinson had urged a dif- party of Lincoln, and sup- Rockefeller. He clashed some blacks called him an
Monday and Tuesday at 9 ferent statue depicting the ported Richard Nixon in the with Malcolm X and more “Uncle Tom.”
p.m. EDT on most PBS sta- two players shaking hands. 1960 election against John
tions. The first part details Robinson himself indicated F. Kennedy. During the
Robinson’s early life and in an autobiography that campaign, he urged Nixon
his baseball career, when something like it had hap- to reach out to the Rev.
he became the first black pened — but a year later, Martin Luther King Jr. when
player in Major League when he played second the minister was jailed.
Baseball in 1947. The sec- base. Nixon didn’t, but Kennedy
ond part is more complex, Burns also detailed the sup- did, and narrowly won the
showing Robinson navigat- posed embrace in his 1994 election with newfound
ing a civil rights era that he documentary series. black support.
helped put in motion. “It’s white people wanting After Democrat Lyndon B.
Burns’ team was nudged to have skin in this game,” Johnson signed civil rights
into making “Jackie Rob- Burns said. “We want to legislation, Robinson sup-
inson” by Jackie’s 93-year- feel that we were good ported him in 1964 and
old widow Rachel. They enough and forward-think- urged other blacks to do
had gotten to know each ing enough. It’s a good sto- the same. He was essen-
other when Burns made ry, but it’s mythology.” tially there at the birth of
his documentary series on After being traded to the the Republicans’ strategy
baseball, which aired in New York Giants in 1957, of appealing to Southern
1994. She wanted Burns to Robinson retired rather whites, and Nixon snubbed
make a film solely on Rob- than play for the Dodgers’ him after he was elected
inson but he didn’t have hated rivals. He became president in 1968.
time, and two attempts an executive at Chock Full Although he pushed for
with other directors didn’t ‘O Nuts, and active in civil civil rights progress and
work out. rights. held fundraisers at his Con-
Finally, Burns, his daughter
and son-in-law found time,
although he gently remind-
ed her that “you can’t fire
me.”
“You can tell in the mo-
ments that she’s on
(screen) that she wants
you to understand how
complicated this was, that
it wasn’t just this simple my-
thology that we have,” he
said.
The film illustrates how pres-
sure had been building to
integrate baseball, par-
ticularly after blacks served
with distinction in World
War II. Robinson was urged
to turn the other cheek
when he endured taunts
and insults, and this took
effort — it wasn’t in Robin-
son’s nature.
They cast doubt on a mo-
ment that has been im-
mortalized with a statue
in Brooklyn. Early in Robin-
son’s rookie year, team-
mate Pee Wee Reese sup-
posedly put his arm around
Robinson to signal accep-
tance by a white player
who grew up in Kentucky.
But there are real ques-