Jackie Robinson: An American Hero

I highly recommend you check out Jackie Robinson: An American Hero. A lens rich in history and context, told from a smart, writerly point of view.

But there's nothing I can say to top the dozens of emails I got about this lens over the last few days. Most compelling, perhaps, was the author's own (humble) note about it:

"I wouldn't normally nominate my own lens... But this is special. There's something to celebrate instead of dread on April 15: the breaking of the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947.

It's not just a milestone for sports fans; it paved the way for the civil rights movement and, as MLK later said, "made his job easier". Jackie Robinson didn't just get the chance to play because he was lucky. He was an amazing athlete with a comfortable job in the Negro Leagues, who signed with the Dodgers knowing he would become the central target for white outrage against "uppity blacks" (not the word then used). He handled himself with grace and restraint on and off the field despite death threats, physical and verbal attacks, and unimaginable strain that probably led to his premature death in 1972.

Especially with the election of Barack Obama--an event that probably would've made this strong man cry--I would like to draw more people to this lens to learn a brave man's story.

It's one of my oldest lenses and one of my few charity lenses, donating its earnings to The Jackie Robinson Foundation, which funds education scholarships, professional internships, and leadership training programs for underprivileged youth--needed more than ever in this economy..."