Jackie Robinson Museum Finally Opens in Manhattan After 14 years of Planning, Delays

 Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office

Tuesday, 75 years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier and became the first Black player of its modern era when he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Jackie Robinson Foundation completed its long mission to open a museum in his honor.

Robinson's widow Rachel, who turned 100 in July, was on-hand for the star-studded half-hour celebration, which featured sports and entertainment luminaries including filmmaker Spike Lee and tennis legend Billie Jean King, among others.

Defying the 80-degree-heat in her wheelchair, she then cut the ribbon to officially mark the end of the 14-year-old process that led to the museum's creation and begin a whole new era of appreciation for one of the sport's greatest icons.

"There's nowhere on the globe where dream is attached to our name — or our country's name," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said of the museum's importance to the city while addressing the assembled crowd. "There's not a German dream. There's not a French dream. There's not a Polish dream. Darn it, there's an American dream. And this man and wife took that dream and forced America and baseball to say you're not going to be a dream on a piece of paper, you're going to be a dream in life. We are greater because of No. 42 and because he had an amazing wife that understood that dream and vision."

Exactly one week after she turned 100, Rachel Robinson — with help from son David — cut the ribbon during the ceremonial opening of her late husband’s museum in Manhattan. The Jackie Robinson Museum is finally open. pic.twitter.com/52NVdf3Hkr

— Coley Harvey (@ColeyHarvey) July 26, 2022

Originally projected to open in 2010 before delays caused by the Great Recession, and later Covid 19, the museum's location is at 75 Varick Street in Lower Manhattan. It features nearly 20,000 square feet of exhibits and installations honoring the legacy of Robison in baseball and beyond — including his role as a pioneer in the U.S. civil rights movement.

“The issues in baseball, the issues that Jackie Robinson challenged in 1947, they’re still with us,” said Robinson's 70-year-old son David, who joined his mother and sister Sharon (72) for the event. “The signs of white only have been taken down, but the complexity of equal opportunity still exists.”

According to materials provided by the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the Jackie Robinson Museum will enhance the JRF's —which was established by Rachel in 1973 — mission to promote higher education, by educating the general public about a man whose words and actions resonate as loudly today as they did during his lifetime:

The Museum will depict Robinson’s extraordinary athleticism and explore his prolific engagement in American life that included civil rights activism, civic engagement, economic empowerment efforts and public commentary. Educational programming for all ages is on the Museum’s agenda as are forums, lectures and other events that address issues central to Robinson’s legacy, such as equal access to education, civic affairs, economic empowerment, the business of sports and race relations.

“The Jackie Robinson Museum is the realization of a dream for my family. My mother has long hoped for a permanent space where people learn about the issues my father cared deeply about and the change he fought hard to affect,” said David Robinson. “We hope the Museum will be a place to not only learn more about his time in baseball and love of sports, but about all that he did to contribute to social progress. We extend our deepest appreciation to everyone who helped make this dream a reality.”

The museum will open to visitors on Labor Day this Sept.26. Guests can expect unprecedented access to over 450 hours of video footage and over 40,000 photos of Robinson on and off the field.

A seven-time All-Star and a World Series champion, Robinson hit .313 with 141 homers and 200 stolen bases in 11 seasons and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962. MLB retired his number (42) for all major league players in 1997.

Lil Wayne Mourns, 'Uncle Bob,' Former Police Officer Who Saved His LIfe Following Childhood Suicide Attempt

A retired New Orleans police officer that Little Wayne credits with saving his life as a child is dead.

The body of Robert Hoobler, affectionately referred to as "Uncle Bob" by the rapper, was found on Friday at his home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

No official cause of death was given, but his grandson Daniel Nelson told NOLA.com that the 65-year-old had suffered from lingering health issues following a car wreck in recent years and lost both his legs to diabetes.

Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., took to social media to eulogize Hoobler, whom he has acknowledged in multiple interviews over the years as being his savior during one of the darkest periods in his life — an epoch that ended with a self-described suicide attempt at age 12 via a gunshot wound to the chest with a 9 mm pistol. 

"Everything happens for a reason. I was dying when I met u at this very spot," the 39-year-old musician captioned a picture on Instagram of Hoobler at the apartment where the incident went down in 1994. "U refused to let me die. Everything that doesn’t happen, doesn’t happen for a reason. That reason being you and faith. RIP uncle Bob. Aunt Kathie been waiting for u. I’ll love & miss u both and live for us all."

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Hoobler retired from the force in 2009 and worked for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office before being fired after an incident in which he used his stun gun at least three times during an arrest in 2012. He was charged with malfeasance as well. Hoobler took a plea deal and later received a pardon due to his status as a first offender after serving probation.

Most recently he worked for a towing company.

Wayne, who has sold more than 120 million records since dropping his debut album in 1999 and won five Grammys, reconnected with Hoobler in 2019 after wrongly thinking he was dead for several years. Hoobler revealed to TMZ that when they met Wayne offered to provide financial support if he ever needed it, telling him "all he has to do is say the word."

On a 2021 episode of the Uncomfortable Conversations podcast with Emmanuel Acho, Wayne discussed the impact the suicide attempt had on his life and Hoobler had on him.

While other law enforcement officials searched his home for illegal drugs and weapons after finding his body instead of administering medical attention, Hoobler swung into action.

I was spitting all in his face, blood and everything and all I was trying to tell was I'm not a baby," Wayne, said noting that Hoobler ran directly up the stairs to attend to him. "He kept saying [to the other officers], 'Do you not see the f—ing baby on the ground with a hole in his chest?'"

He added, "He was screaming at them... and he must've been the boss because they all came in the room and was like, 'Oh sorry boss, we called the ambulance' and he was like, 'I don't give a f—k.'

Watch the full episode below.

Gladys Knight a 2022 Kennedy Center Honoree

Courtesy of the Kennedy Center

Soul legend Gladys Knight will join an elite field of performers and artists being honored for their contributions to American culture this December at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala.

Recipients of the 45th Kennedy Center Honors were announced Thursday. The gospel, soul and R&B star is joined by actor and filmmaker George Clooney; contemporary Christian pop singer Amy Grant; Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban-American composer Tania León and the rock band U2 in receiving recognition.

“I’m humbled beyond words to be included amongst this prestigious group of individuals, both past and present. You could never have told me as a young girl starting my career that I would be honored on a stage such as this, with artists and humanitarians such as these—it just wouldn’t have seemed possible," said Knight of her selection in a statement released by the organization.

The seven-time Grammy winner added, "It would have been the dream of all dreams. I have been blessed with so much in my life and this certainly stands with those achievements at the top of that list. To be honored as a Kennedy Center Honoree is among the highlights of my career. I stand here with my fans, my family, my friends, my team, and my faith in accepting such an amazing distinction. It is dedicated to all those who paved the path for me to be able to accomplish the wonderful blessings I’ve been able to receive. The Kennedy Center’s commitment to the arts is unparalleled and I am so very grateful for this moment.”

Nicknamed the "Empress of Soul," Knight has enjoyed decades of success in the music industry, both as the frontwoman of the Pips and as a solo artist. Gladys Knight & the Pips were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

The Kennedy Center Honors Gala, which is a major fundraiser for the Kennedy Center, will take place on December 4 and be broadcast later on CBS and streamed on Paramount+.