l, but he was also active in the Civil Rights Movement ("Jackie Robinson"). After accepting an athletic scholarship to UCLA, Robinson joined professional baseball in the spring of 1945 with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League. Branch Rickey, owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed him to a minor league contract on August 28, 1945. During his baseball career, he had to go through racial taunts and attacks. He had to be tough to withstand the racial pressures from coaches, players, and fans. It was especially tough at away games. Despite this, Robinson was selected as "Rookie of the Year," elected the league's most valuable player, and led the Dodgers to the World Series. He also went to the World Series six times in his 10-year major career and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 ("Jackie Robinson"). Along with his many athletic achievements, Robinson was also an active member of Civil Rights Organizations. Robinson was a main speaker for the NAACP. In 1956, he received the NAACP's Spingan Medal for Service to black Americans. He was also involved with the integration of the Little Rock schools ("Jackie Robinson"). Thurgood Marshall, a leading black activist, is the one who ended segregation. He broke the color barrier in housing, voting, transportation, and education. When he realized he wanted to do something about segregation, he decided to go to Howard University of Law School. Many of Marshall's cases involved Civil Rights issues, and he was an extremely important legal figure for almost 60 of the 84 years he lived. Marshall was also appointed assistant to Counsel Charles Hamilton Houston, Marshall's mentor and the first black lawyer. In 1938, Marshall began working for the NAACP. While working for them, Marshall won 32 of 35 cases. His most memorable case is Brown v. Board of Education, which ended school segregation ("Thurgood Marshall"). Marshall's most significant achievement came on August 30, 19...
