Today is Opening Day – a day that brings back a lot
of memories of my father Jackie Robinson.
They are memories that my mother and I carried
with us when, last week, President Obama and First
Lady Michelle Obama invited us to join them on
a trip to Havana, Cuba. It was an experience of a
lifetime. We were thrilled and honored to be in their
company and to witness our President extend the
hand of friendship to the Cuban people.
Our 48-hour itinerary took us through Old Havana,
to a State dinner at the Palace of the Revolution,
and to the El Gran Teatro de Havana for President
Obama's speech to the Cuban people. Everywhere we
traveled, I was touched by the response of our Cuban
hosts, who lined the travel routes and enthusiastically
greeted the President and his delegation. We waved
back, squarely meeting their sense of hope with our
own. The scene struck me as a sign of the beginning
of a changing Cuba.
One of the highlights of our trip was the exhibition
baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the
Cuban National team at Havana’s festive Estadio
Latinamericano.
It brought back very personal memories of my
father, Jackie Robinson, talking about his trip to
Cuba in 1947, when the Brooklyn Dodgers trained
in Havana.
At the time, Dad was a member of the Dodgers'
farm team, the Montreal Royals. Branch Rickey
arranged for him to fly to Cuba for an exhibition
game, just a couple of months before he broke down
baseball's color barrier in the United States. To me,
this connection to my father almost brought me to
tears. I was watching a baseball game in the same
stadium nearly seventy years later – and during
another historic era.
Our parents raised my brothers and me with the
understanding that the struggle for equality and
social change was ongoing. As kids, we integrated our
schools, marched alongside our parents in the 1963
March on Washington, and helped raise money for
the Civil Rights Movement through a series of jazz
concerts on our lawn in Stamford, Connecticut.
I wasn't in Havana in 1947, but it was my great
fortune to be there in 2016 – witnessing the early steps
toward normalizing relations between the United
States and Cuba. As I watched President Obama and
my mother embrace, I was overcome with gratitude
and pride for the President, the people of Cuba, Major
League Baseball, and the unifying game of baseball.
My dad once said, «A life is not important except in
the impact it has on other lives». I am certain that the
goodwill extended by this trip ultimately will impact
the lives of millions. My father would be so happy
that Mom and I were part of the story
of memories of my father Jackie Robinson.
They are memories that my mother and I carried
with us when, last week, President Obama and First
Lady Michelle Obama invited us to join them on
a trip to Havana, Cuba. It was an experience of a
lifetime. We were thrilled and honored to be in their
company and to witness our President extend the
hand of friendship to the Cuban people.
Our 48-hour itinerary took us through Old Havana,
to a State dinner at the Palace of the Revolution,
and to the El Gran Teatro de Havana for President
Obama's speech to the Cuban people. Everywhere we
traveled, I was touched by the response of our Cuban
hosts, who lined the travel routes and enthusiastically
greeted the President and his delegation. We waved
back, squarely meeting their sense of hope with our
own. The scene struck me as a sign of the beginning
of a changing Cuba.
One of the highlights of our trip was the exhibition
baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the
Cuban National team at Havana’s festive Estadio
Latinamericano.
It brought back very personal memories of my
father, Jackie Robinson, talking about his trip to
Cuba in 1947, when the Brooklyn Dodgers trained
in Havana.
At the time, Dad was a member of the Dodgers'
farm team, the Montreal Royals. Branch Rickey
arranged for him to fly to Cuba for an exhibition
game, just a couple of months before he broke down
baseball's color barrier in the United States. To me,
this connection to my father almost brought me to
tears. I was watching a baseball game in the same
stadium nearly seventy years later – and during
another historic era.
Our parents raised my brothers and me with the
understanding that the struggle for equality and
social change was ongoing. As kids, we integrated our
schools, marched alongside our parents in the 1963
March on Washington, and helped raise money for
the Civil Rights Movement through a series of jazz
concerts on our lawn in Stamford, Connecticut.
I wasn't in Havana in 1947, but it was my great
fortune to be there in 2016 – witnessing the early steps
toward normalizing relations between the United
States and Cuba. As I watched President Obama and
my mother embrace, I was overcome with gratitude
and pride for the President, the people of Cuba, Major
League Baseball, and the unifying game of baseball.
My dad once said, «A life is not important except in
the impact it has on other lives». I am certain that the
goodwill extended by this trip ultimately will impact
the lives of millions. My father would be so happy
that Mom and I were part of the story