42 Today

Explores Jackie Robinson’s compelling and complicated legacy

Before the United States Supreme Court ruled against segregation in public schools, and before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama, Jackie Robinson walked onto the diamond on April 15, 1947, as first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers, making history as the first African American to integrate Major League Baseball in the twentieth century. Today a national icon, Robinson was a complicated man who navigated an even more complicated world that both celebrated and despised him.

Many are familiar with Robinson as a baseball hero. Few, however, know of the inner turmoil that came with his historic status. Featuring piercing essays from a range of distinguished sportswriters, cultural critics, and scholars, this book explores Robinson’s perspectives and legacies on civil rights, sports, faith, youth, and nonviolence, while providing rare glimpses into the struggles and strength of one of the nation’s most athletically gifted and politically significant citizens. Featuring a foreword by celebrated directors and producers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon, this volume recasts Jackie Robinson’s legacy and establishes how he set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick.

Michael G. Long writes about civil rights, nonviolent protest, and gender and sexuality. He’s the editor of 42 Today: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy, as well as the author and editor of several books on Bayard Rustin, including Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the 1963 March on Washington, Troublemaker for Justice: Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington, and I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters.Burns Ken :

Ken Burns is an awardwinning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball.Burns Sarah :

Sarah Burns is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Burns also wrote the text for the documentary.McMahon David :

David McMahon is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. McMahon also wrote the text for the documentary.Merida Kevin :

Kevin Merida is a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of The Undefeated. He was formerly the managing editor of the Washington Post. Merida is coauthor of Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas and editor of Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and Peril.Michael G. Long (Editor)
Michael G. Long is the author and editor of four books on Jackie Robinson—First Class Citizenship: The Civil Rights Letters of Jackie Robinson; Beyond Home Plate: Jackie Robinson on Life after Baseball; and Jackie Robinson: A Spiritual Biography. He is Associate Professor in the Center of Global Understanding and Peacemaking at Elizabethtown College.

Ken Burns (Foreword by)
Ken Burns is an awardwinning filmmaker and director of Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball.

Sarah Burns (Foreword by)
Sarah Burns is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. Burns also wrote the text for the documentary.

David McMahon (Foreword by)
David McMahon is the co-producer of the film Jackie Robinson, in association with Major League Baseball. McMahon also wrote the text for the documentary.

2021 marks the 75th anniversary of Branch Rickey signing Jackie Robinson to the Montreal Royals, which integrated organized baseball for the first time since the 19th century. Anniversaries of important historical events offer opportunities to reflect on their significance, and this collection of essays makes use of the occasion to explore Robinson's activism in civil rights, politics, and sports.

Whether you consider yourself a baseball scholar or not, 42 Today has something to teach you. With 13 essays as well as a foreword by Ken and Sarah Burns and David McMahon and an introduction by the editor, there is no shortage of information about the man’s life, some well known and some obscure. In addition to correcting the errors in what we know about Robinson, there is also detail of how Robinson and his legacy affected groups beyond the typically male-dominated realm of baseball fans.

Juxtaposing events in the sports world from the ‘40s to now, 42 Today recalls Robinson’s legacy and establishes how he paved a way for future civil rights activism, from Black Lives Matter to Colin Kaepernick.

[Michael] Long, along with 13 contributors, explore lesser-known aspects of the life of Jackie Robinson, who became the first Black American to play Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...Even those who know nothing about Robinson will take something inspiring away from this excellent anthology.

This collection of essays explores baseball legend Jackie Robinson’s complicated legacy, his impact on society and the inner turmoil that came with his historic achievements.

[Michael] Long and his contributors attempt to separate the man from the myth and show how his influence continues to extend ...These pieces embody all of what made Robinson special, assessing him through many different lenses...give[s] a towering cultural figure his due beyond the baselines."