Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947 marking a milestone in baseball history. As a way of celebrating this momentous event and keeping the memory of Jackie Robinson alive, the Detroit Tigers invited Michigan schools to participate in the 17th Annual Jackie Robinson Art, Essay and Poetry Contest.
The contest was open to middle and high school students from the metropolitan Detroit region. Students entered the contest by submitting an original essay, poem, or work of art in honor of Jackie Robinson. The contest criteria were as followed:
ART: Create an artistic expression that captures the spirit of one or more of Jackie Robinson's nine values of success. Artwork can be a painting, drawing, or rendering no larger than 22" x 28".
ESSAY: Write an essay that chronicles "How can one or more of Jackie Robinson's nine values of success help build peace and prevent conflict?" Essays should be typewritten and doublespaced and limited to one page.
POETRY: Write a poem that explores one or more of Jackie Robinson's nine values of success - Courage, Determination, Teamwork, Persistence, Integrity, Citizenship, Justice, Commitment, and Excellence. Poems should be typewritten and double-spaced and limited to one page.
| CATEGORY | WINNER | SCHOOL | ENTRY |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Middle School Art | Alexys Levins | Anchor Bay Middle School | View entry |
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| High School Art | Chloe Jennings | Lakeshore High School | View entry |
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| Middle School Essay | Anja Nelem | Pierce Middle School | View entry |
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| High School Essay | Rajiea Sultana | Cass Tech High School | View entry |
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| Middle School Poetry | Julia Meguid | Monfort Elementary | View entry |
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| High School Poetry | Qayyim Carr | University High School Academy | View entry |
Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life is a national literacy and character education program in partnership with Scholastic. The program uses baseball-themed activities to provide students of diverse backgrounds in grades four through nine with strategies to deal with barriers and challenges in their lives, while at the same time conveying the significance of Jackie Robinson's breaking Baseball's color barrier in 1947. A major component of the program is a national essay contest in which students write about overcoming these obstacles using the values demonstrated by Jackie Robinson: commitment, citizenship, courage, determination, excellence, justice, persistence, teamwork, and integrity. This year two national winners are Michigan residents hailing from Canton and West Bloomfield, Michigan. The winners and their teachers were recognized in an on-field pregame ceremony at Comerica Park with Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson.
Thirty-five G.R.E.A.T. students were invited to Comerica Park to celebrate 20th anniversary of the Detroit Tigers partnership with the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program. The students were chosen among 1,000 Detroit and surrounding areas middle school students that displayed the mission and goals of G.R.E.A.T. The students worked with law enforcement agencies and educators to learn the importance of becoming responsible members of their communities by setting goals, resisting peer pressure, learning how to resolve conflicts and understanding how gangs negatively impact the quality of their life. Tigers pitcher Phil Coke addressed the youth of G.R.E.A.T. prior to the game. He spoke about the importance of standing up to bullies, focusing on your personal goals and never let anyone diminish your dreams. The event concluded with a top ATF official from the G.R.E.A.T. program throwing the ceremonial first pitch to recognize 70,000 Michigan youth educated since its inception in 1992.
Through a grant awarded by the Detroit Tigers Foundation, Detroit Tigers, in partnership with the Detroit Free Press and their Newspapers in Education program, have created an educational supplement to combat illiteracy in Michigan.
2011 marks the eighth year of the partnership between the Tigers and Newspapers in Education. The program makes in-school appearances with Tigers players, Tigers mascot PAWS and Detroit Free Press Newspapers in Education personnel to read to students and discuss the importance of literacy.
Schools may also register to receive unique Tigers literacy materials and posters to encourage students to include reading as part of their everyday activities.
Check below for some of the materials created through this partnership.
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