Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights

Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights

TimeandSettingoftheLetter

[Jackie]RobinsonrespondedtoPresidentialcivilrightscommentsamidcontinuingcontroversy
overschooldesegregationeffortsinLittleRock,AR,andtheSouth.InSeptember1957,
GovernorOrvalFaubushadorderedtheArkansasNationalGuardtoprevententryofnine
AfricanAmericanstudentsintothatcity'sCentralHighSchool.PresidentEisenhower
reluctantlysentU.S.troopstoenforcetheschool'sintegration.(NationalArchivesandRecords
Administration,DwightD.EisenhowerLibrary,Abilene,Kansas)

CopyoftheJackieRobinsonLetter

May13,1958

ThePresident
TheWhiteHouse
Washington,D.C.

MydearMr.President:

IwassittingintheaudienceattheSummitMeetingofNegroLeadersyesterdaywhenyousaid
wemusthavepatience.Onhearingyousaythis,Ifeltlikestandingupandsaying,Ohno!Not
again.

2014 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights

Irespectfullyremindyousir,thatwehavebeenthemostpatientofallpeople.Whenyousaid
wemusthaveselfrespect,Iwonderedhowwecouldhaveselfrespectandremainpatient
consideringthetreatmentaccordedusthroughtheyears.

17millionNegroescannotdoasyousuggestandwaitfortheheartsofmentochange.We
wanttoenjoynowtherightsthatwefeelweareentitledtoasAmericans.Thiswecannotdo
unlesswepursueaggressivelygoalswhichallotherAmericansachievedover150yearsago.

Asthechiefofexecutiveofournation,Irespectfullysuggestthatyouunwittinglycrushthe
spiritoffreedominNegroesbyconstantlyurgingforbearanceandgivehopetothosepro
segregationleaderslikeGovernorFaubuswhowouldtakefromuseventhosefreedomswe
nowenjoy.YourownexperiencewithGovernorFaubusisproofenoughthatforbearanceand
noteventualintegrationisthegoaltheprosegregationleadersseek.

Inmyview,anunequivocalstatementbackedupbyactionsuchasyoudemonstratedyou
couldtakelastfallindealingwithGovernorFaubusifitbecamenecessary,wouldletitbe
knownthatAmericaisdeterminedtoprovideinthenearfutureforNegroesthe
freedomsweareentitledtoundertheconstitution.

Respectfullyyours,
JackieRobinson

Source: FeaturedDocument:JackieRobinson'sLettertoPresidentEisenhower.U.S.NationalArchivesandRecords
Administration,accessedJanuary29,2014.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/jackie_robinson_letter/index.html

2014 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Questions: Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights

Name:

Date:

1. To whom is Jackie Robinson writing?

A
B
C
D

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus

the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders
the people of the United States
U.S. President Eisenhower

2. What does Jackie Robinson try to persuade the reader of his letter of?
A The president needs to support African-American civil rights through his words
and actions.
B The president needs to send U.S. troops to schools across the South to enforce
the desegregation of schools.
C Pro-segregation leaders like Governor Faubus will continue to resist the integration
of schools.
D President Eisenhowers speech at the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders offended
many people.
3. The effort to desegregate schools in the South was met with resistance. What
evidence from the passage supports this conclusion?
A President Eisenhower reluctantly sent U.S. troops to enforce school integration
in Arkansas.
B At the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders, President Eisenhower told the
assembled African Americans that they must have patience.
C Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African
Americans from entering a school.
D Jackie Robinson wrote a letter to President Eisenhower about his civil rights
comments.
4. How did Jackie Robinson likely feel when writing this letter?
A
B
C
D

relieved and happy

upset and impatient
jealous and angry
tired and satisfied

2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.

Questions: Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights

5. What is the main message of Jackie Robinsons letter?

A
B
C
D

African Americans should have the right to attend integrated schools.

President Eisenhower took the wrong action when dealing with Governor Faubus.
African Americans cannot be patient and wait for their civil rights.
African Americans have been the most patient of people.

6. How does the paragraph Time and Setting of the Letter relate to Jackie Robinsons

letter?
A
B
C
D

It
It
It
It

provides historical background for the letter.

describes how President Eisenhower responded to the letter.
explains how other African Americans felt about the letter.
describes how the letter affected the civil rights movement.

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

According to Jackie Robinson, African Americans have been very patient while waiting
for their civil rights; _________, they can no longer wait for things to change.
A
B
C
D

meanwhile
for example
in the end
however

8. In Jackie Robinsons letter, what do African Americans want to receive?

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.

Questions: Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights

9. According to Jackie Robinson, how did President Eisenhower unknowingly crush the
spirit of freedom in African Americans?
______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

10. Explain how Jackie Robinson supports his argument that African Americans can no
longer wait for the hearts of men to change in order to receive their civil rights.
______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

2014 ReadWorks , Inc. All rights reserved.

Teacher Guide & Answers: Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights
Teacher Guide & Answers
Passage Reading Level: Lexile 1070
1. To whom is Jackie Robinson writing?
A
B
C
D

Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus

the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders
the people of the United States
U.S. President Eisenhower

2. What does Jackie Robinson try to persuade the reader of his letter of?
A

The president needs to support African-American civil rights through his words and
actions.
B The president needs to send U.S. troops to schools across the South to enforce the
desegregation of schools.
C Pro-segregation leaders like Governor Faubus will continue to resist the integration of schools.
D President Eisenhowers speech at the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders offended many people.

3. The effort to desegregate schools in the South was met with resistance. What evidence from the
passage supports this conclusion?
A
B

President Eisenhower reluctantly sent U.S. troops to enforce school integration in Arkansas.
At the Summit Meeting of Negro Leaders, President Eisenhower told the assembled African
Americans that they must have patience.
C Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent African Americans
from entering a school.
D Jackie Robinson wrote a letter to President Eisenhower about his civil rights comments.

4. How did Jackie Robinson likely feel when writing this letter?
A
B
C
D

relieved and happy

upset and impatient
jealous and angry
tired and satisfied

5. What is the main message of Jackie Robinsons letter?

A
B
C
D

African Americans should have the right to attend integrated schools.

President Eisenhower took the wrong action when dealing with Governor Faubus.
African Americans cannot be patient and wait for their civil rights.
African Americans have been the most patient of people.

1
2014 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.

Teacher Guide & Answers: Letter from Jackie Robinson on Civil Rights
6. How does the paragraph Time and Setting of the Letter relate to Jackie Robinsons letter?
A
B
C
D

It provides historical background for the letter.

It describes how President Eisenhower responded to the letter.
It explains how other African Americans felt about the letter.
It describes how the letter affected the civil rights movement.

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

According to Jackie Robinson, African Americans have been very patient while waiting for their civil rights;
_________, they can no longer wait for things to change.
A
B
C
D

meanwhile
for example
in the end
however

8. In Jackie Robinsons letter, what do African Americans want to receive?

Suggested answer: Students should indicate that African Americans want to receive the freedoms they
are entitled to under the Constitution.

9. According to Jackie Robinson, how did President Eisenhower unknowingly crush the spirit of freedom in
African Americans?
Suggested answer: President Eisenhower unknowingly crushed the spirit of freedom in African
Americans by telling them that they must continue to be patient and wait for their civil rights and by
giving hope to pro-segregation leaders like Governor Faubus.

10. Explain how Jackie Robinson supports his argument that African Americans can no longer wait for the
hearts of men to change in order to receive their civil rights.
Suggested answer: Answers may vary and should be supported by the passage. Students may list any
of the following points, or others (stronger answers will mention multiple):
African Americans will only be able to enjoy their freedoms if they aggressively pursue them, not
passively wait for them.
Telling African Americans that they must continue to be patient crushes their spirit of freedom.
Telling African Americans to be patient aids and gives hope to leaders (like Governor Faubus) who
are pro-segregation and who do not want African Americans to gain their freedoms.

2
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