42 Ways to Persevere
Examples from "The Noble Experiment" (Skylar C.)
Guts Enough
"'Robinson,' he [Mr. Rickey] said, 'I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back." (294).
This means that Rickey wants a ballplayer who is brave enough to ignore people instead of fighting back, like Robinson. It would take a lot of perseverance to ignore the pain and abuse that would be thrown at him.
Tightrope
"Blacks have had to learn to protect themselves by being cynical but not cynical enough to slam the door on potential opportunities. We go through life walking a tightrope to prevent too much disillusionment." (291).
This means that Robinson and other black people have to balance how much they can trust white people so they won't get hurt and so they won't miss an opportunity. It takes a lot of perseverance to balance the perfect amount of trust.
Jackie Robinson playing baseball
White Players
Branch Rickey calls Jackie an offensive name to simulate how the white players will react to him playing baseball with them. (295).
It took a lot of perseverance for Robinson to agree to play for the Dodgers after Rickey started simulating what it would be like to play with white teams.
Hate
Jackie said he could play ball even with the hate he would get. (294).
It takes a lot of perseverance to commit to something knowing that it would cause you a lot of pain, and Robinson took that risk.