Aaron suffered from racism

According to civil rights activist Andrew Young, who claims to have known Aaron since 1965, Aaron first encountered racism when he was a young child. According to Young, when the Ku Klux Klan rode through the neighborhood, Aaron's mother would call him from the baseball field and tell him to come home and hide beneath the bed. But when the Klan left, he didn't let that stop him; he went back outside to finish playing.

Aaron spent brief periods of time in the Negro American League and the lower levels before making his way to Major League Baseball. He was inspired by his hero Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. Apparently, when Hank Aaron was about to reach his 714th home run, racial tensions arose! During such time, numerous letters were received in the Braves offices – as much as 3,000 letters a day for Aaron. Although some were congratulating him for his impending record, many were hate letters. Due to racism, many could not accept that a black man is about to break baseball’s revered record. Thus, due to his race, Aaron ate death threats for breakfast!