Call Him Jack, Yohuru Williams
Call Him Jack, Yohuru Williams
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Call Him Jack
The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter

Author: Yohuru Williams, Michael G. Long

Narrator: Torian Brackett

Unabridged: 4 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/20/2022


Synopsis

"Narrator Torian Brackett brings vocal gravitas to this biography of Jack Robinson, which dwells as much on the athlete's youth and post-baseball civil rights activism as it does on his groundbreaking career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's a powerful, stirringly delivered account..." - AudioFile Magazine

An enthralling, eye-opening portrayal of this barrier-breaking American hero as a lifelong, relentlessly proud fighter for Black justice and civil rights.

According to Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie Robinson was “a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the Freedom Rides.” According to Hank Aaron, Robinson was a leader of the Black Power movement before there was a Black Power movement. According to his wife, Rachel Robinson, he was always Jack, not Jackie—the diminutive form of his name bestowed on him in college by white sports writers. And throughout his whole life, Jack Robinson was a fighter for justice, an advocate for equality, and an inspiration beyond just baseball.

From prominent Robinson scholars Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long comes Call Him Jack, an exciting biography that recovers the real person behind the legend, reanimating this famed figure’s legacy for new generations, widening our focus from the sportsman to the man as a whole, and deepening our appreciation for his achievements on the playing field in the process.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

About Yohuru Williams

Yohuru Williams is a professor of history and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. A regular contributor to a variety of media programming on CNN and History, he is the author of numerous books, including Teaching US History Beyond the Textbook, Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter, and More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The former chief historian of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, he appeared in Ken Burns’s Jackie Robinson and was one of the hosts of Sound Smart, the History Channel’s popular YouTube program. His educational videos on civil rights, social movements, and other historic events have garnered over 1 million views. He lives in Minnesota.

About Michael G. Long

Michael G. Long has a Ph.D. from Emory University and is the author or editor of numerous books on nonviolent protest, civil rights, and LGBTQ+ rights. His books for children include Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter; and the picture book Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin Organized the March on Washington. Twitter: @MichaelGLong2


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jeb on October 02, 2022

Jack Roosevelt Robinson’s life and pursuits are captured beautifully in this Young Adult book. The story is well written with primary source documents and questions that challenge the reader to think. I appreciate the full picture of Mr. Robinson’s humanness including the context that shaped his exp......more

Goodreads review by Richie on August 30, 2022

Richie’s Picks: CALL HIM JACK: THE STORY OF JACKIE ROBINSON, BLACK FREEDOM FIGHTER by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long, Farrar Straus & Giroux, September 2022, 240p., 978-0-3743-8995-6 “He was a sit-inner before the sit-ins, a freedom rider before the freedom rides.” – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.,......more

Goodreads review by Amy on February 14, 2024

A well told story of a great ball player. Surprised to find this on the LTRC list for 9th-12th grades. But it’s a great option for my kids.......more

Goodreads review by Monchichi on October 19, 2024

SUPERB 🤗......more

Goodreads review by Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] on October 13, 2022

Jack Robinson, or Jackie Robinson how most people know him, was not just a gifted athlete but also a Black Freedom Fighter. Call Him Jack discusses what life was like for Jack growing up and the racism he experienced at every turn. That racism spilled into his life as an Army officer serving during......more


Quotes

“A pugnacious civil rights advocate who also happened to be a great athlete. . . . Williams and Long chronicle [Robinson's] athletic achievements . . . but look beyond them to portray him as a 'relentless and uncompromising Black freedom fighter' who 'used his racial pride to fuel his lifelong passion for justice' . . . Thorough, expansive, readable [and] essential.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This eye-opening biography . . . skillfully highlights one prominent Black figure’s impact on America’s history both on and off the ball field.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“The depth of research in Call Him Jack is remarkable, and the authors effectively re-establish him as a man who tirelessly fought for justice, especially in his life after baseball.” —The New York Times Book Review


Awards

  • School Library Journal Best Books of the Year