Here is George Will’s excellent article on Jackie Robinson.  A sample:

There is Lt.
Robinson’s 1944 refusal, 11 years before Rosa Parks, to move to the
back of a bus at Fort Hood, Texas. And shortstop Pee Wee Reese, a
Kentuckian who until 1947 had never shaken hands with a black person,
crossing the infield to put a hand on Robinson’s shoulder when
Cincinnati fans were being abusive.