They were living in stamford connecticut in 1963. It was north stanford thats where they have more land. It was our family. It may have been two or three. Thats how they segregated themselves. What you remember about being one of the few african americans. I felt very insecure shy, i did not want to be different in any other way. It was part of my experience there. For fifth grade i was the only black child in the school. I dont think they wanted us to have that level of isolationn they were not setting us out there as an experiment. He wanted to live there and have privacy. It was 45 minutes in new york city. They actually ran into housing discrimination. It was actually with the health of injury and simon. She lived in a community during the summertime that we were able to even find this particular property. We have a trophy room in our house. And wherever we went public it was a different experience. He would walk into the dining room and everyone would turn and look. Y the downspouts. From your book child of the dream. Maybe your older brother. It wasnt even so much from our family it was from everyone else. They would compare them to my father. Thats what the heckling was about. You are constantly told you are not doing as well. In school and in life. We didnt know how to measure success and sent them out trophies in awards. Its about how you live your life. And how you change other peoples lives. But we werent there yet. We were achieving at that level yet. She was my dads partner they have a wonderful marriage. And he died relatively early. In his life. That gave us a new career model. A number of successful careers as a nurse and an educator and then in housing. Sharon robinson 1963. Its kind of a benchmark in this country. But also for your family. What are some of the activities that happened. Birmingham alabama. It was considered the most segregated city in america at that point. They have a birmingham campaign. During that yearr,eg we have the governor george wallace. And for me it set a tone of i just declared war. We are talking about war anyway. Just another form of war. It also set them up to try to understand what our battle was. That was a battle cry for us. Dr. King had organized in birmingham alabama. After coming out of albany georgia they were marching and they learned from albany georgia not to be as broad and what they were marching for. They had been organizing with results. For me the whole inspiration of this book was the childrens march. Watching on Television Every Night and having that. I needed to watch in march with the children. And not be isolated. My dad found a way to bring us into the Civil Rights Movement it was the boxes that would go down and travel with my dad. Enthey needed people to bring visibility to thend movement and they were one of the great guys there. Thats where dr. King was saying. And my dad the children who have been jailed. They also stayed at that motel. Martin luther king a friend of the family. Y. What we did as a family as we started doing jazz concerts. My brothers and i sold hotdogs and soda. And then we have a second one after the march and washington. And we have gone to washington as a family. That was a first time by participating in the Larger Movement. It was an amazing experience because this is what we are asking for. I will figure this out. He figured it out by bringing us with him through the march of washington. They actually came in their house. It was amazing. T we are talking with the author of this book. Ti2 is the area code. If you live in the east and central time zone. Do you get tired of hearing that. I do get tired of it where i live. I just want to come home and be sharon. I dont want to be the daughter up. I just want to be me. I am working on my community. Now we know this. I am a neighbor. Do you work with Major League Major League baseball today . I do. It started in 1997. It essentially helps kids understand that barriers are part of life give them values that i associate with the success off often on the field. This is a barrier that they had had to overcome. Which values they use. I go out with the National Winners we go all over the united states. I go out and visit with the winners in their classroom bring them to minorleague spots if they can. It has been an incredible program. Nd ive been working with kids on the importance of finding their voice. By writing it down and showing what theyve overcome and helps to helps to build confidence and inner strength. Thats in my work. Its just been incredible. And they stay in touch. Fiftysix years ago i believe that the march on washington happened. What do you remember about that in the august 1963 days. People came from all over. I remember us going as a family because then this is the first time going on a march. We have only seen the marches in birmingham on television. We didnt quite know what to expect and i remember we were separated for my dad at one point. And in that process i got overheated and dehydrated and fainted and carted off to the medical tent. They have us coming back together. We were able to hear dr. Kings speech. It was an experience i wanted to be part of the Larger Movement said so this was my First Experience of participating in being an activist on that level. In activating for myself and school. But now, i have the energy and excitement they were all driving towards equality in justice. Justice. It was accurate. They understood the determination versus the original story which was made in 1950. My dad place himself in that movie w it was black and why of course. Even as a child and i was a child when this was made and watching it in day camp i did not recognize my dad because of the way he was directed. You can direct someone that he has the personality that he can handle that adversity as opposed to someone that is so determined to get the larger missions and is pushing forward and holding back the Natural Instincts for some of the reactions. I loved 42 because chad was such a strong actor he understood Jackie Robinson. He was a powerful strong man who strongman who is on a mission. Is our guest. Hi laura, go ahead. Thank you so much. Im thrilled to be able to talk to you and here is my question youre talking about the 63 march i was 16 in 1959 and went on the youth mart for integrated schools then and im dying to know if you remember anything about that because your dad was there and so was i. And i had been trying to find out more information aboutrm it. I was getting in touch with your mom but now i. Have you. I remember that my dad did a youth mart in 1969 i would also like to hear your memories. You can reach me through the Jackie Robinson foundation ace in new york city please call and leave a message if youre trying to reach me. And will talk. Sharon from dublin ohio go ahead. I was just wondering did it take you to write your book and where do you live now . As an author you very much right in your have for a long time before you actually start writing down. For several years before i actually started writing this book. A publicist who convinced me to tell the story within a memoir format. So the actual writing process i would say i did about two years of research it was a number of years to think about how it affected me in 1963. I actually lived in florida and flowed back and forth between delray and new york city. I am a water dash make a writer who works best with structure. She is at a hotel right now. She travels with me. Shes a 5pound markey and you edit on the beach. I like noise. This particular restaurant is right across the street from the beach they allow me to sit there for hours. Theres a table i like that i can actually see the water. And look up and see the water. I like voices around me when i edit. I dont know why that is. Here is larry and macon georgia. I was here macon is my home and as you probably know i enjoy watching them. It was a wonderful experience because i had been down there 70 times e and i went through all of the integration and 70 good ballplayers at that stadium. So many times ive have some wonderful experiences and i enjoy seeing all of the buildings. Not only in the ballpark but in the downtown area also. Jackie robinson has always been one of my heroes. I just want toth say thank you for that good movie and everything. It was very accurate i thought it was two. I enjoyed watching them and everything. I remember the integration of the stadium at one time he pitched here there were so many africanamericans that tme to watch him pitch that they didnt have any choice but to integrate the stadium i have previously been made to sit over on the third thirdbase side. Larry, do you remember hearing from people who were opposed to the integration of baseball in the integration of the stadium and et cetera . Yes. Very much so. What were some of the comments. It started with the schools. And they protested that. And then they would make comments like you know, they cant be happy. Now they want to integrate our baseball park, now they want to integrate them into the army and all the stuff like that. It was really sad. I would like to say were over that now. But we did go through that time in making it wasnt a good time. It was just part of the history. Two final questions what kind of work do you do and how old are you . Im 72 and i am a librarian we have a little bit of a chat with larry. The other party didnt say that white people didnt want to sit next to black people and in the stadium. Unfortunately we are experiencing similar attitudes today. One of the things my dad told me in the 60s in the Civil Rights Movement we were fighting to change the laws you cant legislate hate. It will be around in a constant struggle. Y dont think he wanted to say that the schools were recently rated. Theres lessons we can learn we still are living in a very divided world. Sharon robinson you talked about the private family. Did your parents had to drop that line quite a bit knowing that they were cultural icons. Yet they have personal feelings as well i wouldnt say that they stayed online. My dad wrote columns and letters. He never stopped advocating for equality and justice. He didnt even around politics. Once he retired from baseball activism was in his blood in the movement was heating up. He jumped right in their and found every way he could to continue to use his voice. What about his endorsement of Richard Nixon. I told him i was ten years old. It was my first discussion with him about politics. My fifth grade teacher asked us to go find out who our father was voting for. Y i went home and head that discussion with my dad i learned about integrity and commitment and he have made a commitment to Richard Nixon but thankfully he did not support him the Second Time Around and he learned that he was again a listen to him very early in the campaign. Kennedy did not look him them in the eye and explained to me about trust and how you establish trust with somebody. In the voting records were not there. He have a chance to work on equality and justice issues and he have done it. We continue to have those discussionse right up until when we went out with my family in san francisco. The republican convention. The entire family wentt and dad was there at rockefeller they walked in they have to regroup. We drove back across country and we literally stopped off at rockefeller ranch. So he and dad could sit on the tporch and say the Republican Party is going in a different direction and they met to regroup. My dad from that point on he didnt live that much longer. But he voted for kennedy regardless of party i was was who he could support. Ad my dad had type one diabetes and heart disease. He and a have a massive heart attack. You had two brothers what happened to jackie junior. Jackie died in a car accident when he was 24. See my key features in your book. What do you remember about him. I loved my older brother very much. I remember he struggled as a young boy. Did he struggle being jackie junior. The confidence you get some things. Its actually very good he can it be himself. He was constantly being compared. Went to vietnam and came through addiction and came out of it and died in a car accident. My book in 1963 we are just beginning to see how adolescents in how dramatic it was on the family as well. I wrote it and everybody was home now wait a minute. You have to do Research Even though its your own story. Youve to go back and research thats when i found out my dad was in the hospital. It showed me right then the trauma that was happening in our family. Jackie literally ran away the day my dad comes home from the hospital. My younger brother davis very close. David lives in east africa. Hes the father of ten. He hes a coffee grower. He does some work with baseball as well. We see him two to three times per year my mother and i used to travel to see him but now he comes to new york and spends time with us. He is not an independent he is part of a cooperative egg all goes back to how we were raised in the kind of work that we selected. Find work that you love. Stay committed to your family. We havent Mission Driven from our childhoodur and it shows in the kind of work in the kind of work that each of us selected. Thank you for this opportunity. My sister used to go to school years ago. Ive often wonder whatever happened to mary lou. My sister is now gone. Im using this broadcast. This is the time to ask the question about mary lou. I have no idea who mary lou is. Te live on the east side of manhattan. My sister and mary lou were at Robert Wagner junior high school. They wouldve been around 74 years of age. I dont know. I think we wouldve have some family association. Cd i dont recognize the name at all. Go ahead pamela. Thank you for the siportunity im from jackson mississippi. I watched the pbs documentary the other night until about three in the morning. When i was growing up we always started with wire all of these people from new york coming down to mississippi. A why did you whited black new yorkers both connect to the children in the south. Again thank you pamela. Its all great points. My dad was a fundraiser for the Civil Rights Movement. And he travels the country. But the whole point of them going down south was to help bring visibility to the Civil Rights Movement. The only way we have achieved change. It was the childrens march. The activities in birmingham. That was after outrage from people all over the country. They had watched dog speed unleashed and threatened with those children. And tumbling into each other. They needed visibility. They tried to get celebrities so that he could actually had change in this country. O all of the marches. There had to be bill built money raised. People like my dad they would host things to raise money. I was apprehensive about my dad going down south. They did what they have to do in order to change laws and bring equality and justice to american citizens. According to your book again, i was invested in the children that were marching i understood why kids have to go to jail. And how that raised the biz visibility of the movement. They were going to sunday school and they died. It was the childrens day. That was devastating. My dad sat with me. They allowed me to talk about anything. And he just sat with me and said if to make a choice in life eventually. When things happen. Do you fold or do you give in. There are several photos in your book. Im just can hold these up quickly to really see them. Some that were. They were about this big. Those are really ours. Did this happen a lot in your childhood. The dodgers or someone would want to say we need a family picture. The one that always got me was before i was born. N it was taken in brooklyn. Looking very beautiful and posed. My brother jackie who is now a convert against the photograph. He takes the shot. And he covers half of it. Right on. Every day occurrence in the washing family. It was not every day like i said. As its a public family. Y. Good afternoon. And thank you so much for this opportunity. Im fascinated to be speaking with you for a couple of reasons. In pittsburgh pennsylvania. With the pittsburgh crosses and they spoke highly of them. They go through so many special memories in my life. I know him very well. My question though is a little different. Looking at your thought on our society and you talked a couple of questions ago about this in our country. And what we do we learn from your memoir. And how it applies to society today. That is a great question. Im also very close to the clemente family. I loved hearing about roberto again. Ry and to get an education. The other thing we talk about with the development of voice at age 13 im hoping that children will be encouraged to continue to lift their voice. Thats building selfconfidence. And no and they will fight against the division. There is a lot of division. There is a lot of diversity in their experience. More so than we head in ours. What the different languages. As a results as adults they will be threatened by people that dont look like them. Encouraging all ofg us to not accept status crow and thats how my parents told us. We have to fight back. Its an ongoing process just because things have changed. They have gone back. We have to continue to believe and had hope or move forward again. One eta is in ocala florida. We did a bucket together. Book together. My last book. I had visited this many times. That makes me happy. Im calling because i was changing channels and i say up there and my mother used to always tell us a story and she would tell us that Jackie Robinson was her first cousin. Do you know an uncle named james bryant. In florida from jacksonville that doesnt matter. There are a lot of robinsons out there. A very large robinson contingency. Since you mentioned family friends. Diamond was a force that was given to my brother but i had been researching and wanting a horse for a longiv time. I tell people today. Around my mother today. Orcause we have to share a horse. He was also my freedom. And he gave me the confidence that a lot of preteens dont head. He was very important to us. Do you still write today . I wish i could. It is not worth it. It took me a week to recover. The writing gets a lot harder as you age. You had 30 seconds to talk to sharon robinson. I just wanted to share the story with you briefly. I grew up in that country. In louisiana. They passed in 2013. They were raised by a grandparent. I always tell the story they just found out about it. We will have to cut you there. Thank you for calling. Do you have any comments. G. We will leave it there. A memoir of 1963. Its been wonderful. I loved all theal call ends. It was an interesting comment in question. Tonight on book tv and prime time. They provide a history of the polish jewish refugees. They talk about their life and career. He recounts his time as secretary of Veterans Affairs in the trump administration. They are awarded to authors for nonfiction and young adult literature
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