jackie robinson had paved the way for all of us.n i say all of them -- myself, willie and some of the other black whose came before him and was a little bit younger than he was. had paved the way. and i felt like it was my responsibility not only as a baseball player but to carry myself in such a way that other blacks would be able to look at me and say, oh, i not only want to be the same kind of ball player that hank aaron was but i want to carry myself off the field the way that he did. >> do you ever look back and think, you know what? i could have done without it, without the record. >> no, i never did. no. i felt like it was my responsibility. god had given me the ability and -- to play baseball. i had the world on my shoulders. i knew that i could do most anything i wanted to do if -- out on the baseball field. and i always felt like i was it may sound kind of silly but i always felt like i was surrounded by angels on the baseball field. i just felt like there was absolutely nothing could happen to me. >> hank aaron is just on

jackie robinson did not have a lot to say. he had tears in his eyes and said, we have to support these young men. he was the only one to say that, so the next morning i went down to 38 park row which was the headquarters of congress and the grayson and equality and net stokley carmichael and -- in his three piece suit and we both volunteered. never thought they would accept me. i did not articulate any great political sophistication olick couple of weeks that by and i got a letter that i was going to be freedom rider, as bob single and said, i certainly wasn't a pacifist. we were supposed to commit to passivism but i could not back down at that point. i certainly can't say wasn't nervous and proceeded to become a freedom rider i think sometime in mid july and certainly was a very profound experience. first of all i can't thank everyone in this audience enough for the love you the sean's. this happened so long ago in my life that i actually thought this was a dream and until eric in his book party, many of us said my god, this

people like jackie robinson and, hank aaron.o sit down and talk to about the change in this country from his day to today. the election of a black president in this country compare that, if you can, if you will, to jackie robinson breaking into major league baseball, also what you did in major league baseball as far as your chasing history. in comparing those things, what i mean, how do they compare when it comes to those types of events being catalysts for change in this country? we might not know until later exactly what the election of barack obama did for the country, but as far as catalysts for change, how would you compare the two? >> well, it's a whole lot different than what president obama is up against now. you know, you know, the change, in fact him being president of the united states, i don't know, i don't know how i could compare that to anything other than to say that if dr. king was living today, he would say, well done, son. you know, we've made a tremendous change. we've moved in the right direction. >> you sai

king, jackie robinson.ut you in that same vein of jackie robinson, martin luther king jr., ambassador young and others. you still hold those guys to a higher esteem. i do. i told them much higher than i do. they were great in more ways than one. not only because of what they stood for but what they stood for to bring to the civil rights table for other blacks to chew on and ride on. >> what is the state of baseball these days? how is it doing today? is it its popularity waning at all? >> it could be a lot better. we don't have as many african-americans playing baseball as we used to have. any time we have an economic struggle in this country, we, we, the blacks, are going to feel the pinch quicker than anybody and baseball is a very expensive game. >> kids can turn on tv and see that immediate, instant fame or whatnot from basketball or football. >> i don't believe baseball has sold itself as much in the black area as it should have. somehow football was done a terrific job and basketball another terrific j

as for old-school cool, it was jackie robinson.e door for all african-american players. >> this is just a game. this is just entertainment. outside of this, that's life. and the number of death threats on him and his family and anyone close to him, i know it had to be tough. like i said, that's why i'm appreciative. >> reporter: today the challenge is not opening doors but persuading young african-americans that this game is cool. once again, the two players speak as one. do you know how cool it is to have thousands of people chanting "derek jeter, derek jeter"? >> if somebody has a chance to come see us play in a stadium, to see how the fans react to you, to see how it's kind of cool to have an ovation, see how it's kind of cool to have people chanting your name. >> i talked to jason heyward. he was the most humble guy. in fact, i went out to right field. and i said, do you feel like the king of right field? he told me no, i don't feel like the king of right field. there are always great players coming up. i have to work hard to k

that same vain of jackie robinson and dr.that same esteem? >> i hold them much higher than i do. not only because of what they stood for, but what they stood for to bring to the civil rights table for other blacks to chew on and ride on, you know. >> what is the state of baseball these days? how is it doing today? is it's polarity waning at all? >> it could be better, it could be a lot better. we don't have as many african-americans playing baseball now as we used to v any time we have an economic struggle in this country, we, and i mean we, the blacks are going to feel the pinch a lot quicker than anybody. and baseball is a very expensive game. >> kids can turn on tv and they can see that immediate -- that instant fame or whatnot from basketball, with football. >> i just don't believe baseball has sold itself as much in the black area as it should have, you know, really. i think that somehow, i think football has done a terrific job and i think basketball has done another terrific job of selling its sports in the areas. you

. >>> it has been 64 years since jackie robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier.ay mlb marks how far baseball and our country has come. atlanta is hosting the civil rights game this weekend. and the city's centennial olympic park is trying to spur interest in the game among young people. jennifer mayorly joins us now with more on the celebrations taking place, the events. you have batting cages there, kids who are getting coaching on their swing. what else? >> reporter: so much going on. they're playing right behind me. baseball and the civil rights movement really go hand in hand. so manufacture o the baseball grates, jackie robinson, hank aaron, paved the way for the players that came up behind them. one is right behind us. that's terry harper there in the white. otis nixon in the red behind him. these former braves all-stars are helping these kids. imagine playing with all-stars being a young person. baseball also played an important role in the life and success of "grey's anatomy" star jesse williams. we had a chance to check in with him today. >> it's a great

the jackie robinson's of the world, ernie banks, but also ank ha aaron. chance to sit down with this home run king. you would think it might have been one of the highlights of his career, but it wasn't. >> that was probably the hardest part because i was, i was not able to really enjoy my teammates. i wasn't really able to enjoy my kids who were in school because they had to be escorted back and forth from high school, from school, home. i had to be escorted from ballparks to the hotel. and i was not able to stay with my teammates. so, all of these things, you know, i think about now and i say, that was a part of my life that really didn't exist is where i was concerned. >> after the fact do you look back and hearing that answer there, do you ever look back and think, you know what, i could have done without it, without the record? >> no, i never did. no, i felt like it was my responsibility. god had given me the ability to play baseball. >> is it only a matter of time before we see a-rod's name and then albert pujols name on top of that home run list? >>

dubois, and how jackie robinson had broken the baseball barrier. and we remembered the opera singer who was not allowed to sing in the hall and had to sing in lincoln center. all the discrimination and the local in justices. like, everything was separate and unequal. the school was inadequate. we could not go to the hospitals. they built a house adjacent to the main hospital. the white people were not supposed to be in the same room with an n-person. you know the n-word? i said to myself at the end of the day that i love my country and i'm glad that that day, i took a stand. i saw through the supreme court that the flaws that america had tried to correct them by removing those horrible signs -- "white" and "colored." i said when i testified at the trial, i went through how we were treated, and the lady dramatize it, so i do not have to go through that, but it is the whole system of separate but unequal. it is understates rights -- is under states' rights. after lincoln had freed us from slavery, they instituted this law, separate but equal, and the

>> -- jackie robinson. >> i don't think i could have taken what jackie had to take the first few years. not only that, jackie, i think, was as important to black people and to baseball, but he was just as important to us as i think martin luther king. tavis: was he a better man or a better baseball player? >> i think he was a better both. you remember jackie was an officer and he had problems in the army. he was an all-american football player. and he had to take a lot of gulf in order to play. -- of guff in order to play. no one wanted him in baseball. the honers didn't want him. his teammates on the dodgers didn't want him and obviously the guys playing against him didn't want him, the cardinals and phillies. he had to put up with that on the field quite a while until he has proven himself to be not only a great player and a great person. i couldn't have gone through what he went through. tavis: you had your share and the book details it. again, aisle pulling out names and places connected to stories in the book. marge schott who had that alleged moment of racism when she owned the c

jackie robinson and about heroes like willie mays, banks and, yes, hank aaron. a chance to sit down with that legend and asked him about his march toward the home run record and regrets he now has and when he passed babe ruth to become the home run king. >> that was probably the hardest point because i was -- i was not able to really enjoy my teammates. i wasn't really able to enjoy my kids who were in school because they had to be escorted back and forth from high school from school to come home. i had to be escorted from ballparks to the hotel. and i was not able to stay with my teammates. so all of these things, you know, i think about and say that was a part of my life that really didn't exist as far as i was concerned. >> after the fact do you look back and hearing that answer a little bit there, do you ever look back and think, you know what, i could have done without the record? >> no. i never did. no. i felt like it was my responsibility. god had given me the ability to play baseball. >> is it only a matter of time before we see a-rod's name and then alb

he should can't with jackie robinson. he went down to city hall, went up to columbia university, having less fun in your city where the policemen who were assigned to protect him. because there were all these assassination plots surrounding castro, and these were reported to the press every day. none of these turned out to be real but the police didn't know that. and castro was completely impossible to protect. he would throw himself to the crowds, hugging and kissing with no concern for safety. one afternoon on a whim he decide to go to the bronx zoo. the press followed, federal agents followed, new york city police followed. and castro did what everybody does at the zoo. he ate a hotdog. eap does. he wrote a miniature electric train. and then before anyone could stop him, he climbed over a protective rating in front of the tiger cages and stuck his fingers right through the cage and petted a bengal tiger on a. this is the sort of thing castro did to make people think he was crazy. besides trying to save castro from assa

>> the most powerful moment was jackie robinson coming to the big leagues. it produced willie mays.nks. tremendous. somehow in the '60s and into the '70s, we lost that. i don't know why. nobody seems to know why. we are going to get it back. we are working is 150,000 kids playing baseball. so i like where we are. as for the front offices, we have three or four minority general managers, but we have assistance and scouting directors, so i think in the coming four, five, six years you'll see a lot of progress. >> you see room for improvement? >> no question about it and there will be improvement. >> baseball commissioner bud selig. >>> it is graduation season, so what do you buy the grad who has everything? some suggestions next. >>> all right. it is graduation season. while many college and high school seniors seem to have it all these days, our gaming and gadgets expert has a few more gift ideas starting with a boom box that is much smaller than you probably think or remember. >> look at this. it is about the size of a stick of butter, but it can blare about 85 december balls worth

>> if you'll remember, i always said the most powerful and greatest moment in history was jackie robinson coming to the big leagues. it produced great players like henry aaron and willie mays and bob gibson, ernie banks. tremendous. somehow in the '60s and into the '70s, we lost that. i don't know why. nobody seems to know why. but we're going to get it back and we're really working hard. the inner city's rbi program was 150 million kids playing baseball. in the front office, we have three or four general managers, but we have scouting directors, so i think in the next four or five, six years, we'll have lots of improvement. >> in a couple of hours, the commissioner will answer a question some of you had about instant replay in games. >>> also at 4:00 eastern time, i will tell you how to hit home runs in your career. it all starts with networking. i'm fredricka whitfield. see you an hour from now. to a ceo, it's powerful. to a teacher, it's the future. if you ask a child, she might call it magic. and if you asked us, we'd say it's just getting started. years ago, my mother taught me. and

hank aaron, jackie robinson. hank aaron will be celebrated later tonight.ho are up on stage right now, really commend them for helping them to get to where they got today. those players are going to have a summit with the youth and tell them how they got where they did and how these youth can succeed like they did. we just talked to jesse williams with "grey's anatomy." he told us how he learned to be an all-around better person because of baseball. that's the message they hope to share with these folks who are out here celebrating baseball and what baseball has to offer. of course, so many of these folks out here honor baseball and say that that really gave them the chance that they have today to be successful. so while it is a lot of fun out here, they're also giving people a message of how they can come far and how they can succeed in life. >> jennifer, thanks so much. >>> and i'll have an opportunity to talk with baseball commissioner bud selig tonight. we'll bring you that interview. if you have any questions that you may want to ask bud selig, tweet m

. >>> and it's been 64 years since jackie robinson broke major league baseball's color barrier., mlb marked how far baseball has come. atlanta is hosting the civil rights game this weekend. baseball legend hank aaron is taking part in the celebrations all week long, and his home run record may have been eclipsed by barry bonds, but not everyone thinks bonds is the new home run king because of accusations he used performance enhancing drugs. tj holmes got the chance to sit down with hank aaron to ask him about it. >> what would you say to those fans who say hank aaron is the home run king? he will always be my home run king, and they refuse to acknowledge anybody at this point that is above your name? would you say let it go, or would you say -- >> i would tell them thank you. i would thank them, first of all. thank them if they think that way, but here again, and we were talking about barry bonds. and you know,b barry bonds hit more home runs than i did, and she should be justifiably be the home run king. that's the way i look at it. i look at it saying he did everything he was

jackie robinson is responsible for barack obama being in the white house.you think people forget that sometimes and sometimes put in the category because it was sports? >> it's a long string. but every now and then somebody comes along and connects both end so we can see it clearly again. i don't know if we actually forget it. >> you can see more of this interview tomorrow morning here on cnn. major league baseball civil rights game will be played right here in atlanta on sun afternoon. new developments in just the past few hours along the rain swollen mississippi river the morganza spillway is now open. next we'll talk with a the line university professor and russel honore the decision to flood businesses and homes to save the state's two largest cities. what's this option? that's new. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke. ♪ radio station don't sign off with dixie ♪ ♪ the way they did in sweet home alabama ♪ >>> that was hank williams jr. performing for the vic

jackie robinson is responsible for barack obama being in the white house. forget that sometimes and sometimes put it in the category because it was sports? >> it's a long string. but every now and then somebody comes along and connects both ends so that we can see it clearly again. i don't know if we actually forget it. >> you can see more of this interview tomorrow morning here on cnn. major league baseball civil rights game will be played right here in atlanta on sunday afternoon. >>> new developments in just the past few hours along the rain swollen mississippi river. the morganza spillway is now open. next we'll talk with the tulane university professor and retired general russel honore about the decision to flood thousands of homes and businesses to save the state's two largest cities. [ female announcer ] it's more than just one thing. now aveeno brings all five factors of radiance together with positively radiant spf 30. with active naturals soy, it's now proven to visibly transform all five factors of radiance; tone, texture, blotchiness, dullness a

he went to the top of the empire state building, shook hands with jackie robinson, went down to city hall, up to columbia university. having less fun in new york city, were the policemen that were assigned to protect him. there were all of the assassination plots surrounding castro. these were reported in the press. none of these turned out to be real. the police didn't know that. castro was impossible to protect. he'd throw himself into crowds hugging and kissing people with no concern for his safety. one afternoon on a whim he decided to go to the bronx zoo. the press followed, federal agents followed, new york city police followed, and cost tremendous did what everybody does at the zoo, he ate a hot dog, fed peanuts to the elephants, rode a miniature electric train, and before anybody could stop him, he climbed over the protective railing in the tiger cages and stuck his finger through the cage and pet the tiger on the head. this is the thing that he did that made people think he was crazy. trying to decipher the politics, was fidel castro a communist? you have to recall in the 19

through jackie robinson, hank aaron and all the guys who played before me. and that was it. >> 82-year-old hall of famer says he's still not done. we're getting close to the bottom of the hour. college grad waguations are bei held all over the country, but will grads still be in a good mood when it comes time to find a job. your bottom line after the break. balanced on long trips. residence inn. better than any other luxury brand. ♪ intellichoice proclaims that lexus has the best overall value of any brand. ♪ and j.d. power and associates ranks lexus the highest in customer satisfaction. no wonder more people have chosen lexus over any other luxury brand 11 years in a row. see your lexus dealer. personal pricing now on brakes. tell us what you want to pay. we do our best to make that work. deal! my money. my choice. my meineke.

. >> and then good into baseball and that was it, and jackie robinson and hank aaron, all of the guysd me and inspired me and i just followed them, and that was it. >> all right, 13 minutes to the top of the hour now. >>> some unusual traditions happen all over the world, including this one in england. these people literally risk breaking their necks to chase something down a hill. >>> nadia bilchik here with our "morning passport." the month of may is the time for some unusual festival, celebrations? >> traditions, festivals and the reality is that in britain right now it starts to be spring in may and june so there are all kinds of festivities. >> are they just silly? there's something rooted? >> there's some substance about celebration of spring but one that is particularly unusual takes place in gloucestershire, england, the cheese rolling. the origins are strange and not clear. what happens is you have a group of people trying to catch the cheese, so the aim is you roll down and catch the cheese. remember that the cheese is going around 70 miles an hour. so people rolling down to