Hank Aaron.Photo: Louis Requena/MLB via Getty
Throughout his legendary career,Hank Aaronendured racist threats and remarks — and even kept many of the hateful letters he received as a reminder of how much progress has yet to be achieved.
While chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record in the 1970s, the late Hall of Famer, whodiedat the age of 86 on Friday, received thousands of letters daily, some of which contained death threats, according to theWashington Post.
“If I was white, all America would be proud of me,” Aaron said about a year before he passed Ruth’s record of 714 home runs in 1974, according to theAssociated Press. “But I am Black.”
Instead of allowing himself to feel defeated, Aaron said he used the hate mail as motivation.
“Dammit all, I had to break the record,” hewrotein his autobiography, according to CNN. “I had to do it forJackie (Robinson), and my people and myself.”
Several years before his death, Aaron also revealed that he’s kept most of the hate mail he received throughout his career.
Speaking toUSA Todayin 2014 Aaron said that he’s held on to the messages"to remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record."
“If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There’s not a whole lot that has changed,” he continued. “The bigger difference is back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”
Hank Aaron.Kevin C. Cox/Getty
Former PresidentBarack Obamareferenced the racism Aaron endured in his own moving tribute to the baseball legend.
“Hank Aaron was one of the best baseball players we’ve ever seen and one of the strongest people I’ve ever met,” he wrote. “Humble and hardworking, Hank was often overlooked until he started chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record, at which point he began receiving death threats and racist letters—letters he would reread decades later to remind himself “not to be surprised or hurt.' "
“Those letters changed Hank, but they didn’t stop him,” Obama continued. “After breaking the home run record, he became one of the first Black Americans to hold a senior management position in Major League Baseball. And for the rest of his life, he never missed an opportunity to lead—including earlier this month, when Hank and [wife] Billye joined civil rights leaders and got COVID vaccines.”
The Hall of Famer “passed away peacefully in his sleep,” the Atlanta Bravesconfirmedin a statement on Friday.
“With the passing of Hank Aaron, baseball has lost one of its greatest heroes, America has lost an inspiring role model and philanthropist, and I have lost a wonderful friend,” former President Bill Clinton wrote in his own statement. “Hank Aaron’s entire life was a home run.”
source: people.com
