The 1940s were still a tumutulous time for racial relations in the United States, but because of the politcal gains that Mary McLeod Bethune made in previous decades, Daytona Beach was safe-haven in the south for black people live and thrive.  Mary's work came into play when Jackie Robinson was selected as the first black player to be signed to a Major League Baseball contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Although Jackie made his major league debut in 1947, it was actually in Daytona Beach the year prior that the first integrated game was played in front of a sold out crowd at City Island Park, the same field that now bears Robinson's name.

 

Credit:

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball, by Natalie Cole

Joltin Joe Dimaggio, by Les Brown WKMG-News 6, Orlando, Florida

Historian  Bill Shumann

Brigette Stephanson, City of Sanford Musuem

Dr. Harold Lucas, Bethune-Cookman University  

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