"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." This quote, the beginning of the Declaration of Independence, contains some of the most cherished phrases written in history. A great piece of writing, these words ripple through time. Freedom, human dignity, and equality are ideals that almost all Americans carry with them. Though this is true today, many years aga the benefits  of freedom were unfulfilled for African-Americans. They were ranked in the lowest social classes and the lowest on the economic and political ladders, too.

     On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln drew up the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation declared that the blacks were to now fit into the American Society, and also freed the remaining slaves from the Confederates. Not until 1865, when the 13^th Amendment was passed, did the blacks win most of their remaining freedoms. Also, in 1868, the 14^th Amendment, known as the Civil Rights Amendment was passed and in 1870, the 15^th Amendment, known as the Right to Vote, was passed.  These amendments were intended to give blacks more freedom.  However, although these amendments were set, they did not achieve what they had proclaimed. Seven years later, in 1877, was the arrival of the Jim Crow Laws. These laws officially separated blacks from whites. These laws continued until 1947.

     Segregation had hit America and the African-Americans even more.  Now life in America, at least in black America, was segregated. The two worlds, blacks and whites, were afraid of each other. For example, blacks could not attend state universities, sit in certain sections of busses, trains, and dining rooms.  Public swimming pools, parks, theaters, churches, department stores, and even cemeteries were all strictly segregated. Life was very unkind to the African-Americans who tried to bring these two worlds together.  Many Civil Rights Advocate leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, and others hold a place in history for their fight for RIGHTS, but there was another man that often goes unnoticed,  a man who was bigger than life and who was truly the first to desegrate the American society, through the world of sports. His name was Jackie Robinson.