Chewing the Fat with Jeff Fisher - Ep 204 | Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963 | Guest: Sharon Robinson

Episode Date: September 21, 2019

You know Sharon Robinson as the daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.  She is also the author of several widely praised nonfiction books for children about her father, and is an educational consultant for MLB. Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963  is her just-published story of how one girl finds her voice in the fight for justice and equality. Sharon Robinson, aged 13 that year, shares her experiences with young readers, who will also recognize the struggle in today’s current events.  "A lovingly honest memoir of a racial-and social activist-past that really hasn't passed." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Sharon Robinson has pulled off an impressive trifecta: She has given us priceless, behind-the-scenes access to perhaps the most tumultuous year in modern American history; she has written atouching, compelling coming-of-age story; and she tops the whole enterprise off with a tribute to her upbringing by an exceptional pair of African Americans, her parents, Rachel and Jackie Robinson.” —Christopher Paul Curtis, Newbery Medal-winning author. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the race barrier in Major League Baseball, first black man ever. The ceiling was broke forever. The fight was strong, and it was strong today, and it was stronger even more so in the year of 1963. And that's when his daughter, Sharon, was a teenager, 13 years old. And she joins us here on Chewing the Fat today, and she's going to talk about her latest book, Child of the Dream, a memoir of her 1963 year, the year that she turned 13 and what was happening for her and the country. Sharon, first, thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate it. Well, thank you, Jeff, for having me on. So your memoir from 1963, you know, talks a lot about the, you know, talks a lot about the

the struggles that the country was in, that you were in. You know, it talks a lot about your family, you know, your mom, your dad, your brothers growing up. But teen years are, you know, so much happened in your teen years. I mean, especially when you were 13, even before we can go back to the beginning of when you turn 13. But within that year, I mean, we had the Martin Luther King speech, which, you know, changed so many people. but surrounding the speech of MLK, which, you know, is forever, you know, branded on our hearts and souls, you talk about how that changed you. Tell us a little bit about that day. Yeah, well, the reason why I wanted to write this book was really to talk about the, you know,

have a chance to bring the Children's Crusade of 1963 to another generation of kids. because it inspired me. It was a changing point for the civil rights movement, and it was children who lifted their voices and took the risk and faced a violence against them, you know, with fire hoses and dogs and being carted off to jail, but they stood firm and lifted their voices, and because of that, that was a big factor in getting the,

attention of President Kennedy and ultimately the Civil Rights Act of 1964. So I want to encourage kids that kids have done it in the past and you know if we lift our voices we develop self-confidence and self-confidence will help us move forward as individuals and also as communities. So how's that going? How do you feel that's working out right now? What, the lifting of the voice? Yeah, how is that going? Are you? I think it's working out. Do you feel like you're actually reaching out and awakening some children from today, or is it harder than you thought it would be? No, no, no.

I absolutely don't. I've been doing this for 24 years, actually longer than that. In both of my careers, I was initially a nurse, midwife, and worked with teenage girls that were pregnant and helping them understand that this was a step in their life and how they had to prepare for motherhood, but they also had to finish high school, you know, and prepare for. for life. So I moved into that with working with Major League Baseball and Scholastic with the Breaking Barriers program, and that was all about working with kids in grades four through nine on overcoming obstacles in life and finding their voice. So I've been doing this voice work for

a very long time. So I've been writing about it in various kinds of ways, but this is the first time I've told my own story of finding my voice and sharing it with kids and telling it within this turbulent time in American history. But the book just came out. So I'm about to go out there and speak to kids from this perspective. So I'm looking forward to it. Good. Good.

Really good. You know, we all spend a lifetime trying to, you know, find our voice. And it's remarkable that you, you know, you remember that 13th year and what that year was for you. Did you, you know, looking back on it, do you, do you, you, you know, you remember, you. Do you miss it, or are you just glad that it happened and it made you into the strong woman that you are today? Well, it was a stage of my life, you know, and in looking back all these years later, I had to go back and do my own research, you know, about myself and about that time. How was that?

I had a mother who kept everything, you know, so I had report cards and my certificate from eighth grade when I started to speak out and, you know, and letters that I had. I had written to my parents. She, we found all of that in files, her files. Wow. And then I was also able to, I'm still best friends with Candy, who is a key player in this book. We were best friends at the time. And she and I talked, and her sister and I talked, and friends from that era. So, you know, a lot of people help me find that voice and be that 13-year-old again.

So that's what's fun about, or challenging fun. interesting about memoir writing, you get to dig deep over a short period of time. I don't know that I want to do that. Well, you know, you choose your period. But I've chosen some tough periods to write about. And, you know, you grow in the process. In the new book by Sharon Robinson, a child of the dream, a memoir of 1963, you have pages of family photos that you, you know. We were lucky to you shared with us.

But, you know, we all, in going through those suitcases and those boxes and those files that your mom had saved, you've got to have some pictures stashed that are just yours and yours alone, right? I mean, that's amazing. Well, you know, I wish I had more. You know, that was a different generation. We were not snapping pictures like that. Yeah, no kidding. So I'm really, so I find some. But for example, I couldn't find one picture of our horse diamond.

And in my memory, there was one picture, but I can't even find that one picture. So, you know, we've done well at saving, you know, we have baby pictures and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, I really, I sort of regret that I didn't have more of those little snapshots. Right. You know, that were truly taken from our cameras. But like I said, it was a very different time. That's for sure. We were all hanging the big box cameras around our neck, snapping shots.

So this is a busy year for you. You know, it would have been your dad's 100 birthday. You've got the new book, Child of the Dream. You've got your dad's museum opening up. You're going to go on tour promoting the book. Yeah. What are you doing? Have you done enough this year already?

I mean, stay down there. No, there's never enough. So I'm looking forward to the... I'm looking forward to the museum opening in New York City. Have you been a big part of that with the foundation? I am a part of that. We have a tremendous staff that does all the yeoman work of, you know, pulling the pieces together.

I did my best to find my mother's wedding dress and, you know, some pieces that were special, you know. So, yeah, it's been an incredible journey. We still have fundraising to do, you know, museums, you know, there's a lot of money that goes into these museums. So, you know, fundraising will be, you know, ongoing. Always. And they will tell you I'm not doing a good job with that as a board member. I say, look, I'm out there in the public, you know, that's my contribution.

I just am not good at asking for money. I don't like that. It's not who I am. It's hard. It's hard. It is, and there are people that are very good at it, and those who are not. And I happen to fall in that category. So don't ask the president of our foundation how I'm doing.

I brought one gift in, and I'm waiting for that money to actually come in, and one big gift, and I'm feeling like I did a good job. There you go. I'll patch you on the back. You're good. It's all good. So you talk a little bit about, you mentioned working with Major League Baseball, and it even mentions a little bit in the,

in the flyer here about your work with Major League Baseball. What are you doing with Major League Baseball in today's world? Well, I still work with children. So that's my... They hired me as an educational consultant. We created together with Scholastic, an incredible program that's in schools all over the country, and it culminates kids learn about overcoming obstacles,

but ultimately they have to tell their own story. Not have to, it's voluntarily. but we get, you know, we've gotten over the years just thousands and thousands of essays written by children that, where they tell their story of overcoming their own obstacles in their life, and they show us the process. And then we go out and visit them in their schools, bring them prizes, do assemblies, and a lot of, you know, a lot of work with kids on writing, and, like I said, you know, about finding voice and importance of confidence,

and overcoming these obstacles. So now I also do, I'm sort of shifting a little bit away from that and spending more time with our youth baseball programs, which are really incredible. We opened up, you know, the Dodger Town, which has historically been associated with the Dodgers, Brooklyn and then L.A., is now taken over by Major League Baseball, and it's named after my dad.

So it's the Jackie Robinson Training Center. That's another big thing that happened this year. Yeah, that's great. And because of that, we bring a lot of kids in from all over the country, and I'm spending time with those kids. So before, and I will get back to the book here a little bit, but, you know, you watched, you know, you watched and grew up with the struggles of the civil rights movement, and you knew and lived some of what your father went through.

how do you I mean do you feel like at some point now in today's world I feel like people want to go back to those days

and pretend like we're still living in those days but we really have come quite a ways haven't we well here's is the issue

yes we we made significant progress on many fronts not just race but you know in all areas but a number of that is being challenged,

and so there is a lot of backward movement. We have segregated schools in most of our urban areas. We have, you know, kids that are living very different lives in the schools they do attend, and so that's sort of economic justice stuff, so the poor kids don't get what they need to be successful. and unless they can find it on their own. And there have been some incredible schools that have managed in spite of this, you know, all the issues around economics and, you know,

kind of the social justice issues and the issues around living in communities where, you know, it's very stressful, and so they bring all that to the schools or they don't have food, so they come to schools hungry, all of those issues still exist. So, yeah, so since 1963, we passed laws, we made legal changes, but we continued to have to struggle for equality and a belief in diversity in this country. So, you know, we have a lot of work to do. So as I was looking through your book and reading some chapters here, I'm fascinated by the time.

You know, you talk about how the speech of MLK changed you and really, I mean, changed the country. But then you talked a little bit about the bombing in Birmingham and talked a little bit about, you know, you were doing these, putting these shows together to help the families and of these. girls. But I love the paragraph that talked about when you were together with your family and you said we talk about the tragedy and shared family mission knowing that

with faith, family, justice, love, and time we will heal and thrive. But we're also reminded that the struggle for freedom is ongoing. So those are words that still need to be read and highlighted in today's

world as well. Absolutely. Absolutely. I would say keep up the strong fight. Thank you so much for joining us. The book is Child of the Dream, a memoir of 1963 from Sharon Robinson. Sharon, it was a pleasure, and there's one last statement that you'd like to give from your memoir. Have at it. Okay. Well, the same as kids, you know, believe in yourself. Keep pushing Being your own advocate, confidence and voice. I'm not speaking about speaking loud. I'm speaking about speaking with confidence.

And that's what our kids need. All kids need that. And I hope that the adults will listen to them. That'd be nice. Sharon Robinson, thank you very much. I appreciate it. Okay, thank you. Quick reminder to subscribe to chewing the fat

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