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II. The Post-World War I World
Imagine a world-class athlete in the form of an All-American halfback, intercollegiate golf champion, and championship-caliber swimmer, being told he could not join his military base's baseball team, merely because he was black. Imagine a black uniformed Army officer, owed all the privileges and respect accorded such a position, being told to sit at the back of a bus, even though the bus was a military bus. Both of these injustices were inflicted upon one Lieutenant Jackie Robinson. Segregationist Army policies and a reluctant military establishment operated in concert to make the black soldier's pursuit of his right to fight for his country extremely difficult.
