FavoriteFamilyLectures

We Celebrate Jackie Robinson--a Civil Rights Pioneer, a Bruin & a Republican

On April 15, more than taxes are due. We celebrate something far more significant--the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in professional baseball. In fact, he didn't just break Baseball's barrier; he broke it for all professional sports. He even ushered in the civil rights movement. His Dodger teammate,, Ralph Branca said it well, "You have to give him credit. He really did break the color barrier. He made it easier for Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and everybody else who followed. (USA Today, April 13, 2007)

What touched me most about recent coverage was a pen pal relationship with the black legend Jackie Robinson and 14-year-old white Jewish boy from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was a pen pal with a legend. The correspondence with Robinson opened up a whole new world to this young man. Today he talks about his 18 personalized letters and a dozen signed pictures. He doesn't want anyone to forget this man who helped changed the country.

Now a salesman, Ron Rabinovitz relives the great memories of his relationship with Robinson. Jackie would write once every six weeks during the season. There were congratulatory telegrams for his bar mitzvah and high school graduation, and visits when the Dodgers were in town.

Interestingly, though Ron's family were Democrats, Ron remembered that Jackie was a strong Republican. Disappointed by the Southern Democrats' stand against civil rights, he wrote to Ron, "We have a real fight on civil rights ahead of us, and it appears we still have some forces to lick. I am still very disappointed in the Democrats and hope we can get some kind of a stand." After complaining about the Kennedy and Johnson, he wrote, "Democrats talk for effect, but when important issues come up they can't do a thing. I expect to go all out for the Republicans. I would prefer the kind of leadership that at least is honest and expresses its own viewpoint. It may not be the way I believe, but it is at least their opinion and I trust a man who at least stands by his own beliefs. I can't say much for the Democrats who promised so much but produced nothing."

How would he talk now about the entitlement traps the Democrats have created for black America that just hold so many back. I believe this strong "can do" American would still be critical of many Democrats and current black leaders.

When Jackie died on October 24, 1972, Ron wrote his widow, Rachel: "Through the years I learned from Jackie the true meaning of being a man. I learned never to back down on a cause you truly believe in no matter what the odds against you might be. These are important things for a boy to know while growing up, and I will cherish these memories and recall the beauty of a friendship between a man and a boy."

To this day, when Ron talks to young people about Jackie, he shares the doctrine that had guided Jackie's life, that he wrote in 1957: "I learned a long time ago that a person must be true to himself to succeed. He must be willing to stand by his principles even at the possible loss of prestige. He must first learn to live with himself before he can hope to live with others. Always, Jackie."

Now that is a mentor worth learning from and a legend worth honoring. It helps that he was a UCLA Bruin.and a Republican...not that I'm biased or anything! 

Facing the Giants Is a Film about Faith Worth Seeing

There is a new film, Facing the Giants (http://www.milkmoneypromotions.com/ftg/), that is coming out this weekend. The film deals with Shiloh Christian Academy, where football coach Grant Taylor has not had a single winning season in the six years he's been in charge of the program. When one of his promising running backs transfers, some plot to have him replaced. When he faces a car that won't run, a house that stinks and the prospect of his wife not being able to have children, he learns that his team faces a post-season match-up against the state's most feared squad, the undefeated Giants. Facing the Giants is more than a simple David-and-Goliath metaphor on the gridiron; it tells a story of faith in the face of long odds and the need to align our priorities with God's.

For example, after Coach Taylor has an epiphany about how he should change the way he runs his program, he tells his attentive team, "Our goal is not to win games; it's to honor God." His new outlook helps cure a bad case of cynicism. He helps a young man who has a bad relationship with his father learn to honor his parents even when he think they're wrong. The team goes from being a collection of bickering individuals to a true team, inspiring parents, faculty and fellow students.

The film shows coach Taylor wrestling with what he believes to be God's
will for him, his family and his team. Scenes show him reading his Bible and in earnest conversation with God and praying for students in an empty school hallway. The coach keeps saying, "I've resolved to give God everything I've got and leave the results to Him."

By embracing the spiritual concept of faith and then exploring the tension that exists
between human experiences and spiritual realities, this little film that could—does.