First class citizenship : the civil rights letters of Jackie Robinson / edited by Michael G. Long.

Never-before-published letters offer a rich portrait of the baseball star as a fearless advocate for racial justice. Jackie Robinson's courage on the baseball diamond is one of the great stories of the struggle for civil rights in America, but his death at age fifty-three in 1972 robbed America of his voice far too soon. Here, Robinson comes alive on the page, as scholar Long unearths a remarkable trove of Robinson's correspondence with--and personal replies from--such towering figures as Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Hubert Humphrey, Nelson Rockefeller, and Barry Goldwater. Writing eloquently, Robinson charted his own course, offering his support to Democrats and Republicans, questioning the tactics of the civil rights movement, and challenging the nation's leaders. Robinson truly personified the "first class citizenship" that he considered the birthright of all Americans.--From publisher description.