This website was created by Kitty Hunter, Olivia Ivanof, Michelle Meier, and Cara Vetsch.
Process Paper
When we first found out we would be doing a project for National History Day, we instantly knew that we wanted to do something related to civil rights. Recently in class we had finished watching 42, a movie based on the life of the professional baseball player, Jackie Robinson. We were all moved by the movie and quickly decided that our project should focus on Jackie Robinson and his achievements. We all had general knowledge on Jackie Robinson, but we did not know how much his participation in major league baseball changed the civil rights movement and increased opportunities for black athletes.
We began by researching Jackie Robinson’s life. We watched documentaries, read biographies, searched online, and used online encyclopedias. We also got a book on Jackie Robinson’s baseball career from the Duxbury Free Library, in order to learn more from a reliable source, and we researched a timeline of civil rights from an encyclopedia in order to place Robinson’s importance regarding civil rights. We also discovered some statistics on Robinson baseball career, so that we could more accurately portray his achievements. Lastly, we investigated some of his influences today, such as the Jackie Robinson Day in baseball and the Jackie Robinson Foundation, both of which are still influential today. For photographs we used a variety of sources from the National Archives to the Major League Baseball’s website.
When it came time to choose the medium for our project, we knew that we wanted to have an interactive means, and going with all of our previous successes with websites, we chose that presentation. We then started creating our website. All of us had varying degrees of experience, so there was definitely a learning curve, however, as time went on, we were able to incorporate more and more elements to make our website more interesting, such as a poll, moving pictures, videos, and slideshows.
Once we had completed our website, we had to go back and make sure that our thesis resonated throughout the website. Robinson’s breaking of the color line was a turning point in history. He was able to turn staunch supporters of segregation to the games and to root for him through his resilience and sheer skill. His continuing legacy through the JRF opens doors for current minority students, allowing them to better themselves and the world around them. From Robinson’s example, all future civil rights endeavors were affected. Robinson did something brave that no one else at the time did and because of this, he forever changed history and the future of our country.
We began by researching Jackie Robinson’s life. We watched documentaries, read biographies, searched online, and used online encyclopedias. We also got a book on Jackie Robinson’s baseball career from the Duxbury Free Library, in order to learn more from a reliable source, and we researched a timeline of civil rights from an encyclopedia in order to place Robinson’s importance regarding civil rights. We also discovered some statistics on Robinson baseball career, so that we could more accurately portray his achievements. Lastly, we investigated some of his influences today, such as the Jackie Robinson Day in baseball and the Jackie Robinson Foundation, both of which are still influential today. For photographs we used a variety of sources from the National Archives to the Major League Baseball’s website.
When it came time to choose the medium for our project, we knew that we wanted to have an interactive means, and going with all of our previous successes with websites, we chose that presentation. We then started creating our website. All of us had varying degrees of experience, so there was definitely a learning curve, however, as time went on, we were able to incorporate more and more elements to make our website more interesting, such as a poll, moving pictures, videos, and slideshows.
Once we had completed our website, we had to go back and make sure that our thesis resonated throughout the website. Robinson’s breaking of the color line was a turning point in history. He was able to turn staunch supporters of segregation to the games and to root for him through his resilience and sheer skill. His continuing legacy through the JRF opens doors for current minority students, allowing them to better themselves and the world around them. From Robinson’s example, all future civil rights endeavors were affected. Robinson did something brave that no one else at the time did and because of this, he forever changed history and the future of our country.