20 good things that happened in 2017

11. Jackie Robinson is getting his own museum

Baseball great Jackie Robinson has long been an admirable figure. He broke barriers for African-Americans in baseball and was a monumental figure in other regards for the civil rights movement. Robinson was the first African-American man to play in Major League Baseball. He started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Not only that, but Robinson was a seriously good baseball player. He was named Rookie of the Year in 1947 and was an All-Star player each season from 1949 to 1954. Robinson also played in six World Series and was instrumental in the 1955 World Series win for the Dodgers against the New York Yankees.

Now, a museum focused on his work is being built in lower Manhattan, near the Holland Tunnel. Workers broke ground in April of this year, setting off a long-held dream for members of Robinson’s family and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

In fact, there have been efforts to build the Jackie Robinson Museum for years. It has made it into the real world thanks to money raised by the Foundation and its supporters. Those collective donations reportedly come out to a total of $25 million, though organizers state that they will need more to operate the museum once it’s opened.

The Jackie Robinson Museum will, of course, showcase many pieces of Robinson memorabilia. However, that isn’t the sole focus of the institution. It is also intended to work as a site where people can find inspiration and motivation from Robinson’s story, and where they can engage with some of the most pressing social issues of contemporary society.