Re “The agony — and necessity — of Reggie Jackson’s memories about racism,” Page K7, June 30: I grew up going to Yankee Stadium with my father to watch Reggie Jackson in action. I have so many fond memories of that time, and number 44, “Mr. October,” became a childhood hero. When I watched Major League Baseball’s tribute to the Negro Leagues, I couldn’t help but be moved by Jackson’s powerful reflections on his time in Alabama. His words underscore how the pain of that era is forever imprinted on the lives of those who survived it.
My father didn’t talk much about the trauma of growing up in segregated and racially violent Alabama in the 1940s and 1950s; the pain was too deep for him to share. Perhaps that’s why Jackson’s experience impacted me so deeply. History teaches us never to forget, and Jackson’s searing recollections show that even as we move on, the pain remains.
Julian Kenneth Braxton
Boston