Ribbon-cutting held for Jackie Robinson Museum in Tribeca: “It’s the story of America”

NEW YORK — When you think of American icons who broke barriers, Jackie Robinson immediately leaps to mind.

A museum bearing his name and growing his legacy was given a lively and heartfelt opening in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

Robinson’s remarkable life was all about impact.

“We are greater because of number 42,” Mayor Eric Adams said.

As CBS2’s Dave Carlin reports, the first guests to the museum at 75 Varick Street were city leaders, Robinson family members and stars of sport, screen and philanthropy.

Thunderous applause erupted for Robinson’s widow, Rachel, who is 100 years young. She’s sharing with the world the museum to not only absorb the story of her heroic husband but also honor and support the Civil Rights movement so upcoming generations understand and foster the values of his humanitarianism.

“The idea was that the museum would bring people together, forge bonds and continue the work of changing the social landscape of our country for the better,” Jackie Robinson Foundation President and CEO Della Britton said at the event.

David Robinson, the son of Jackie and Rachel, spoke on behalf of the family. 

“It grew beyond race. It grew beyond sports, and I think today Jackie Robinson would say … ‘I think of myself standing on the shoulders of my mother, who was a sharecropper in Georgia, my grandmother, who was born a slave,'” he said.

Through artifacts, including his jerseys and trophies, plus iconic images and videos, the museum celebrates the huge moment in American history when athletics gave way to social progress.

It was 1947, and Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color barrier that segregated the sport for more than half a century.  Later, he became vice president of a Fortune 500 company, a trusted political advisor and a key figure in the Civil Rights movement.

His widow did the honors of cutting the ribbon.

After the ribbon-cutting, the museum opened for a VIP tour. It opens to the public starting Sept. 5. General admission tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for students, seniors and children.

Leading up to that, a limited number of sneak peek appointments can be made online for the week of July 28.

Filmmaker Spike Lee was among the special guests at Tuesday’s ceremony, saying this is something that must be seen by everyone.

“If you go to the museum, it’s the story of America,” he said.

Not a rigid shrine, the better word is shine on this icon and all those who follow in his footsteps with purpose and hope.