Sharon Robinson Talks About Unity, Change and Making a Difference at Rose Bowl Institute

The day before the launch of the Rose Bowl Institute’s dialogue on race and sports centering around the life and values of Jackie Robinson, Robinson’s daughter said she hopes the conversation will inspire people.

“I think they’ll enjoy the ideals and enjoy the conversation,” Sharon Robinson told Pasadena Now on Wednesday. “Hopefully it will inspire people to think about how to work together and to make changes and to make a difference.”

Robinson currently serves as vice-chair of the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

The event was taped earlier this week and will be broadcast at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13. She is joined by civil rights historian Taylor Branch and two institute advisory board members in USA Men’s Soccer legend Cobi Jones and pro and college Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott.

The three-part dialogue addresses the impact of sports on society with respect to attitudes toward race and racism, how sports can improve their policies and practices of racial inclusion and equity, and ways that sports can do a better job with inclusion, diversity, and equity.

The Rose Bowl Institute’s Brian Brantley moderates the program.

“It wasn’t just about athletes,” Robinson said. “It was about fairness in the game and how sports have always been a place where people work together or don’t work together. You have to work together in order to win and that’s where the work and the fairness come in. So there was a lot of that kind of discussion.”

Jackie Robinson lived in Pasadena for a short time when he was a boy. He made history in 1947 when he became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball after Branch Rickey signed him to a contract to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. His No. 42 is the only number retired in the league. Robinson wore No. 28 when he played football at UCLA.

Robinson endured racism and faced threats. Despite the vitriol, he excelled at both sports.

At the end of his rookie season, Robinson was named the inaugural Baseball Writers’ Association’s America’s Rookie of the Year Award. In 1949, he was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player, leading the league in hitting with a .342 average and steals with 37, while also notching a career-high 124 runs batted in.

His brother Mack won a silver medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, finishing second to Jesse Owens. According to urban legend, Owens received new cleats before the race which helped secure his victory.

“To really be effective, you have to put differences aside in order to win, in order to play fairly,” Sharon said. “In order to make a contribution or whatever the situation is we have to work as a team.”