Jackie Robinson Testifies Before HUAC

July 18, 1949

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On July 18, 1949, Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player to play in the modern U.S. major leagues, appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to discuss the appeal of communism to black America. The controversial committee had turned its gaze on the black community following allegations by the celebrated African-American singer and actor Paul Robeson that most African Americans would be sympathetic to a communist form of government. In his appearance before HUAC, Robinson, a former U.S. Army lieutenant, acknowledged that minorities suffered greatly in America, but denied that the African-American mainstream would ever consider propagating communism in the United States. That year--his third on the Brooklyn Dodgers--Robinson won the batting championship with a .342 average, and was voted the National League's most valuable player.