The much anticipated movie, highlighting the major league career of Jackie Robinson, has finally hit the big screen.

The movie, 42, is the inspirational story of Jackie Robinson who was an outstanding African-American baseball player in the Negro leagues in the 1940s.

America was highly segregated as a country at this time, and major league baseball had never allowed African-American ballplayers to join any of the big league teams.

It was through the visionary efforts of Brooklyn Dodger General Manager, Branch Rickey (played by Harrison Ford), that the color-barrier into MLB was broken.

Mr. Rickey believed the time had come to eclipse the racial barrier in baseball and allow African-American ball players the opportunity to play in MLB. He found his first candidate in the person of Jackie Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman), a talented, agressive, and spirited ball player who was passionate about the game of baseball.

Mr. Rickey believed Jackie had the inner stamina and perserverance necessary to "weather the storms" of ridicule and adversity. Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and took field with them in the Spring of 1947. Through his courage and fortitude, his teammates eventually rallied around his untaunted spirit and the team went on to win the pennant and play the Yankees in the World Series. 

The movie is a great tribute to a great man. Jackie Robinson proved equal to the challenge of breaking the color-barrier for MLB and opening the door for many Negro players to follow in the coming years.

Jackie's life is a tribute to his commitment for equality and his love for the game of baseball. Through Jackie's heroic feats on the ball field, and his living illustration of respect and value for all people, social changes began to slowly take place at all levels in society.

This movie will inspire all who see it!  It will appeal to baseball fans, and to everyone in general. It is an uplifting story of one person who's life did make a difference! The story of Jackie Robinson is a real-life story that still speaks to the current issues of today. 

Have you seen or will you be going to see 42?