Jackie Robinson campaigned for Richard Nixon during the 1960 presidential election

Senator Richard Nixon of California, the Republican candidate for vice president, congratulates Jackie Robinson on the Brooklyn Dodgers' 6-5 victory against the Yankees here in the locker room at Yankee Stadium following Game 5 of the 1952 World Series. (The Dodgers eventually suffered a seven-game defeat.) Robinson supported Richard Nixon for president in 1960, calling John F. Kennedy's Democratic opponent's dedication to civil rights "insincere." An African-American Republican was by no means exceptional in those days. The reelection of President Dwight Eisenhower and his vice president received support from about 39% of black voters.

Robinson dedicated his time to the civil rights struggle and took an active role in politics after quitting baseball in 1957. He astonished many of his peers during the 1960 presidential campaign when he traveled the nation making stump speeches for then-Vice President Richard Nixon, whom he claimed had more appealing views on civil rights than John F. Kennedy. Robinson had personally visited Kennedy in July 1960, but the Massachusetts senator departed the meeting with the impression that he was disengaged from the situation of African Americans. Robinson finally changed his mind in the early 1960s and later spoke of his appreciation for both President Kennedy and his brother Robert F. Kennedy after the two engaged in a brief verbal battle in the media.