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Title details for Call Him Jack by Yohuru Williams - Available

Call Him Jack

The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter

by Yohuru Williams
Michael G. Long
Audiobook
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"Narrator Torian Brackett brings vocal gravitas to this biography of Jack Robinson, which dwells as much on the athlete's youth and post-baseball civil rights activism as it does on his groundbreaking career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's a powerful, stirringly delivered account..." - AudioFile Magazine

An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.
According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was "a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides." According to Hank Aaron, Robinson was a leader of the Black Power movement before there was a Black Power movement. According to his wife, Rachel Robinson, he was always Jack, not Jackie—the diminutive form of his name bestowed on him in college by white sports writers. And throughout his whole life, Jack Robinson was a fighter for justice, an advocate for equality, and an inspiration beyond just baseball.
From prominent Robinson scholars Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long comes Call Him Jack, an exciting biography that recovers the real person behind the legend, reanimating this famed figure's legacy for new generations, widening our focus from the sportsman to the man as a whole, and deepening our appreciation for his achievements on the playing field in the process.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 20, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781250866158
      • File size: 123240 KB
      • Duration: 04:16:44

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 1090
    • Text Difficulty: 7-9

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from October 17, 2022
      In this eye-opening biography, Williams (The Black Panthers, for adults) and Long (Three Lines in a Circle) detail the varied personal history of Jack Roosevelt Robinson (1919–1972), best known for being the first Black MLB player. In a beginning note, the authors contextualize quotations containing racist slurs: “We think it’s important for readers to know—and feel—the words that white people used when trying to hurt Jack and other Black Americans.” The book discusses how, throughout his life, Robinson felt as if he needed to be an “acceptable guest” to succeed in the athletic world. But beyond his sports persona, Robinson considered himself a “relentless and uncompromising Black freedom fighter,” outspoken in his beliefs. Without minimizing Robinson’s historic athletic prowess, the creators provide a potent look into his civil rights achievements by highlighting key moments from his life, including marching for integrated schools and raising money for burned churches in Birmingham. This well-researched volume—which includes b&w photographs throughout, accompanied by brief sidebars explaining key historical events—skillfully highlights one prominent Black figure’s impact on America’s history both on and off the ball field. Additional information concludes. Ages 10–14.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Narrator Torian Brackett brings vocal gravitas to this biography of Jack Robinson, which dwells as much on the athlete's youth and post-baseball civil rights activism as it does on his groundbreaking career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. A thoughtful preface explains the inclusion of dated and hateful language; listeners will hear the N-word again and again, giving them the barest hint of Robinson's own experience. It's a powerful, stirringly delivered account, but it stumbles to incorporate print design elements such as sidebars providing historical context and newspaper clippings. These are read aloud in a way that interrupts the narrative, making for momentum-breaking, sometimes wordy detours. Kids for whom reading is not a barrier will be better served by the print book. V.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1090
  • Text Difficulty:7-9

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