Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson has warned that rising antisemitism echoes the racism he faced as a Black player in the 1960s.
On Saturday, Jackson shared a link to the Anti-Defamation League and pointed to figures showing an increase in antisemitic incidents in Pennsylvania, where he was born, in Wyncote near Philadelphia.
Jackson recalled the segregation and racist signs he encountered in the South, including notices barring Black people from businesses and separate facilities for white and Black people. He said the hatred was familiar, and that no community should accept it when directed at any group.
He also urged Philadelphia-area officials and other leaders to speak out against antisemitism. Jackson said that excusing or repeating hateful language can make hostility seem acceptable and deepen fear and division. He added that he wished he could join people protesting hate, and called on leaders to condemn it clearly.
Jackson has spoken before about the racism he endured while playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, a minor-league affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics. He described being turned away from restaurants and hotels because he was Black, and recalled being excluded from a welcome-home dinner at a country club.
For a time, teammates Rollie Fingers, Johnny McNamara, Dave Duncan, and Joe and Sharron Rudy let Jackson sleep on their couch several nights a week. He said the situation became so threatening that someone warned they would burn down the apartment complex unless he left.
Jackson, now 80, went on to hit 563 home runs and earn a place in the Hall of Fame. He became known as “Mr. October” after hitting three home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, helping the Yankees defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers.
