美国国家公共电台 NPR Teen Angst And Civil Rights Meet In A New Memoir — Featuring Jackie Robinson（在线收听）

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

1963 was a turning point for the U.S. And as much as it was complicated for the country, it was all the more intense for one particular 13-year-old girl. Her name is Sharon Robinson. She is the only daughter of the legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson. Here's a bit of what 1963 sounded like to her.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GEORGE WALLACE: And I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "YOU REALLY GOT A HOLD ON ME")

SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES: (Singing) You really got a hold on me. You really got a hold on me. I said you really got a hold on me.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR: No, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STUBBORN KIND OF FELLOW")

MARVIN GAYE: (Singing) Whoa, everybody sing, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

CHANG: 1963 was a swirl of teenagedom, divisive politics and sometimes complicated family dynamics. Sharon Robinson writes about all that in her new memoir, "Child Of The Dream." She joins us now in our studio.

Welcome.

SHARON ROBINSON: Oh, thank you, Ailsa. That was an incredible introduction. It brought me right back to 1963, the music and the words (laughter).

CHANG: Well, I want people to be able to picture your life in 1963. I mean, you were one of only two black girls in your entire school, right?

ROBINSON: By 1963.

CHANG: Right. And in reading the book, it was clear that the kind of racism you had to contend with was much more subtle than the racism that your dad had to contend with as a baseball player.

ROBINSON: Yes.

CHANG: Why was it hard for you to tell your father about what kids were saying to you? I mean, 'cause you didn't tell him about it till way later.

ROBINSON: Because it seemed so minor in comparison to what the kids in the South were going through.

CHANG: Yeah.

ROBINSON: And we saw that on the television. So therefore, like, why bring up, you know, name calling. We didn't talk about bullying back then or think of it as even bullying. So I didn't realize what impact it was even having on me at the time. And so I'm really looking back as I got older and realized, oh, yeah, that's why I was so shy in school.

CHANG: Yeah. There's this really sweet moment when you were listening to records with your best friend Candy (ph), who's also African American, and you're trying to connect with your idea of what it means to be black through music. You're listening to these Motown records. And when I was reading that part, it made me feel like, wow, this girl feels disconnected from what it means to be black. Jackie Robinson's daughter feels disconnected.

ROBINSON: I did. I was very happy as a little - as a young child, you know, in my white world. You know, I had my horse. I had my best friend Christy (ph) who lived down the street. But I realized when we were turning 12 that something was very wrong here. And I had to pull away from this white world in order to be a part of the black world. And I really wanted that.

CHANG: Well - because of your dad's fame, you had a front-row seat to the civil rights movement in a way the vast majority of 13-year-olds in the Northeast in 1963 did not. Your family hosted jazz concerts at your house to raise money. Martin Luther King Jr. came for a visit. In a way, it felt like the civil rights movement was delivered to your doorstep, but you were still shielded from the most terrifying aspects of it. Did that make it harder for you to figure out how you fit in to the struggle?

ROBINSON: These kids were my age, and I found it frightening. I found it exciting. I wanted to be a part of that and not, you know, sort of isolated in Connecticut where we were doing our own thing. But, you know, no one talked about it or paid much attention to what we were doing.

CHANG: Yeah.

ROBINSON: And I sort of envied these kids, that they had each other and they were part of something bigger than themselves because we knew that that's what we were - we should be working towards.

CHANG: Were you frustrated with your father when he wouldn't let you go down to Birmingham and march?

ROBINSON: You know, I wasn't frustrated so much as, like, well, when is it - when do we get connected, you know? When I'm watching these children, I felt, you know, sick in my stomach, you know, that - I was frightened for them and also very proud of them. But I didn't know how it was going to turn out. You know, all I saw was them going to jail. And then we go back the next night and watch it on television again. And I'm like, what's going on? What's going to happen to these kids, you know? And so I was - I continued to be worried about them until my father came back from Birmingham finally and could give me a more full report. Well, did you meet any of the kids? You know, what's happening? You know, are they going to be punished? Are they out of jail? Are they safe? And that's when he gave us an action.

CHANG: Right.

ROBINSON: He came back and said, we're going to start doing fundraisers at our home. And you kids are going to be as much a part of that fundraising as, you know, your mom and I are going to be. And everyone will have a role, and the money we raise will go back to Birmingham or wherever the money is needed in the civil rights movement. And that first jazz concert, I got it. We - I mean, we worked hard, and it was an incredible experience. But we also produced money.

CHANG: Yeah. There you are getting the hot dogs ready - the hot dog buns, the sodas, the plates. And just give me an idea of what it was like to be in it?

ROBINSON: When we're getting up in the morning to clean our rooms and get it ready for the artists, we're also wonder, well, maybe Dr. King will see my room, you know? So...

(LAUGHTER)

ROBINSON: You know, it's a very...

CHANG: You cleaned it up extra good.

ROBINSON: Extra good, you know - it's - and then we didn't also know what it was going to be like; you know, whether he was going to be a distant figure even though he's in the house, you know, whether we would be introduced him. But then, you know, we - he wouldn't have anything to say to us. And then to Dr. King acknowledges us and looks to us and says - you know, calls us foot soldiers. And I don't think I really knew what foot soldiers were at that point.

CHANG: But it sounded really important.

ROBINSON: But it sounded like, you know, we are marching, you know? We are part of this march.

(LAUGHTER)

CHANG: So you have written several kids books now. Why write this particular book at this point in time? Why choose only this moment in 1963?

ROBINSON: I thought it would be helpful for kids to understand that children had a voice in the civil rights movement and that helped change the tide, helped us get the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

CHANG: Right.

ROBINSON: And turning 13 is - to me, was, you know, such a big deal.

CHANG: Right.

ROBINSON: You know, it was really a big deal, so I wanted to...

CHANG: I think it was the year you had your first kiss but...

ROBINSON: Right - first kiss.

CHANG: ...Also the year the civil rights movement...

ROBINSON: Yes.

CHANG: ...Had launched, at least in your consciousness.

ROBINSON: Exactly, so it was just wonderful to be able to pair these things. I felt this - you know, this is important for kids to know, that I didn't - you know, now I come to your classrooms, and you see me as a confident and accomplished woman. But I didn't - that didn't just happen. You know, I had my own trajectory, and I wanted to share that with kids.

CHANG: Sharon Robinson's new book is called "Child Of The Dream: A Memoir Of 1963."

Thank you so much for coming in today.

ROBINSON: Oh, thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE")

THE FREEDOM SINGERS: (Singing) Everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine. Everywhere I go, I'm going to let it shine.