Popehat: A crucial part of this story, by the way, is the recognition that decent people standing up against evil people was essential. It still is. Jackson got through it both based on his strength of character and based on key people not putting up with bad behavior.

A crucial part of this story, by the way, is the recognition that decent people standing up against evil people was essential. It still is. Jackson got through it both based on his strength of character and based on key people not putting up with bad behavior.

Thanks for Reggie Jackson for saying this, and contempt and defiance, in advance, to the worthless shitbirds who will say he shouldn’t have and that he oughta leave if he doesn’t like it. Regrettably those worthless shitbirds are now fairly mainstream. sports.yahoo.com/mlb-at-rickw...

MLB at Rickwood Field: Reggie Jackson recalls racist treatment in Alabama in stunning interviewsports.yahoo.com For three minutes, Mr. October laid out in stunning detail what it was like to be a Black player in Alabama in 1967.

I think it's worth emphasizing the context that Jackson was in Birmingham the year our current gov was graduating college at Auburn. Pretty sure Faulkner's quip that "The past is never dead. It's not even past." was written for this kind of thing.

My favorite detail of his origin story.

Yup. What he had to say about John McNamara refusing to eat somewhere Reggie couldn't was very powerful.

Jackson is far from the first player to describes such indignities in the 60's Deep South. I recall Joe Morgan doing so many years ago, and there have been others. But Jax did it on the world stage, under the biggest spotlight, when he was expected to tell a warm/fuzzy story. 1/2

Instead he told harsh truth that needed to be told out loud, not the Field of Dreams level maudlin crap. I obviously don't know him, but I never much cared for his persona, which I found pompous and hollow and arrogant. But last night he was both honest & courageous. Much respect for him. 2/2

We can't learn from the past without knowing about it. And if we don't learn, we can't teach our children & they teach theirs. Evil people despise education/truth because it calls them out.

Who are we to believe about the destructive nature of the Jim Crow South? Reggie Jackson, who had to live through it? Or Byron Donald who learned all about the history of the South from Prager U videos on YouTube?

Excellent point.

As a teen my friends and I would try to outdo each other with obscure sports jerseys. It was mostly about players or teams that you had to be a real sports fanatic to appreciate. I bought a Rollie Fingers A’s jersey at the time, but had no idea he was such a standup guy. I hope I can find the shirt.

My mother, from the New York/New Jersey area, was told she had to go to Alabama to finalize her divorce--around the same time Jackson is in the minors. She said in the lawyer's office was a copy of the Life magazine Jackson mentions. It had been autographed by the killers. The lawyer was very proud.

omg. my heart would sink and my fury would rise!

but also not trying to be 'saviors' about it. I'd never heard that about Rollie Fingers but remember them playing together on the A's.

Honestly think the whole “savior” archetype is a useful thing to have in society when it doesn’t result in just pushing the marginalized person back out of the picture or ascribing inadequacy to them. It’s indispensable to motivate the non-marginalized to help out.

Of course, plenty of times it *does* result in pushing marginalized people back out of frame, and as long as we’re focusing the criticism on that aspect then that’s good helpful criticism.

But Ken, I was told that America is not a racist country.

Exactly right: "...not putting up with bad behavior." There are huge and difficult ongoing struggles at play in all this, and often real dangers involved in stepping up -- but so much can also be accomplished day to day in incremental ways if we each in own spheres simply enforce Wheaton's Law.

As someone who was an A's fan in the 70s I was always a bit ambivalent about Charles O. Finley. Reggie's words put him in a better light.

Back up, no bs. A great short interview with Rollie Fingers.

Rollie Fingers and Reggie Jackson' - Google Searchwww.google.com

Well said. You and Reggie.

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