During the Jim Crow Era, African Americans were treated unfairly.  They had many battles to fight throughout their daily lives.  This included baseball.  In the 1940's, baseball was the favorite sport of most Americans.  However, the major league teams had a color barrier.  This was an unwritten rule that allowed discrimination against African Americans, and consequently there were no African Americans on major league teams.

    In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.  The Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson to play for the team.  During Robinson's first season with the Dodgers, some people behaved in hateful ways.  Some players from other teams tried to hurt Robinson.  However, Robinson's great skills helped make the Dodgers a winning team.  Soon he had white and African American fans cheering for him.  In 1962, Jackie Robinson became the first African American elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.