BOOK REVIEW:It has been nearly seventy years since Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball (MLB). Yet, their place in history remains one of debate and contestation. Scholars and commentators, alike, continue to discuss what might be assumed to be settled history. The fluidity of their place in history embodies how time does not necessarily compel clarity for heroic figures. For Robinson and Rickey, the passage of time has lead to further questions that distort and complicate their role in integrating baseball. At the same, their historic imprint has grown over time, all while the contributions of the Black press, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Black community as a whole remain an elusive part of the story. This omission reflects the media biases over time as well as the power of the ‘great man’ narrative that anchor biographies of both Rickey and Robinson.
