"An extremely powerful moment" "The history we need to tell" - Fans unite in support for Reggie Jackson's emotional tales of struggles with racism

During the pre-game coverage of MLB's Rickwood Field game on June 20, Reggie Jackson added a dimension of experience to the broadcast that few were expecting.

While appearing on a panel with fellow former MLB players, the 78 year-old Hall of Famer was asked by Alex Rodriguez about his personal experience playing in Birmingham in the 1960s. After a considerable pause, Jackson gave a response that was more raw, and more real, than virtually anybody was expecting.

The former Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees star recounted harrowing stories of racial abuse sustained while he was playing for the Birmingham A's. These ranged from accounts of death threats to being thrown out of country clubs on account of his race.

The video made the rounds online, and one copy was shared by actor Jeffrey Wright. Although the acclaimed actor erroneously claimed that Reggie Jackson is "banned from mention" in Florida schools, his post correctly highlighted the fact that Black players had an unfair disadvantage for much of baseball's history. Beneath his post, comments of support soon began to flow in.

Born in Pennsylvania to a family of partial Puerto Rican origin. From a young age, Jackson excelled at football and baseball, earning him scholarship offers from several colleges around the south. However, fearing racism, Jackson opted to attend the Arizona State University, and was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics in 1966.

"Still the straw that stirs the drink. A true hero for the ages"

"Continue to teach the ugly truth about our history, else we are doomed to repeat"

"Bravo to him for that"

The winner of the 1973 MVP Award as a member of the Oakland Athletics, Jackson went on to join the New York Yankees in 1977, where he would win two more World Series'. In 1987, Jackson retired and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, 1993.

"There needs to be a movie about this"

"A reminder that 1967 wasn't really that long ago"

"Powerful"

Reggie Jackson's words of wisdom remain relevant

While Reggie Jackson's accounts highlight just how much the early Black players did to open up the game to players from a diverse range of backgrounds, today, only about six percent of the league is Black.

Although we have collectively come a long way to address the structural racism in the game, powerful re-tellings like the one we witnessed from Reggie Jackson are as important as ever before.