42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story

by Ed Henry

“The alternatives were these: to be owned or to own myself. I chose the latter. The only freedom . . . is the freedom to be [one’s] self. Through it all I had to follow my instincts. When I made mistakes, they were my mistakes. When I succeeded they were my successes. For me there was only one choice—I had to be me. Right or wrong, good or ill, I had to be me.”

This was a man who was not only prepared to face down the opposition but also determined not to lose himself in the struggle.

“It is a terrible mess, this whole situation,” he said. “And if it can be cleaned up ever, at all, it will only be the church and church people who will be able to do it. But it’s not going to be done by just Sunday-go-to-meeting Christians, or just by Monday-morning halfback Christians, or by just let-John-do-it Christians, or ‘I-don’t-want-to-get-involved’ Christians.” Robinson declared, “It will have to be done by dedicated Christians of understanding, creating goodwill for their fellow man.”14