Ken Burns' new documentary 'Jackie Robinson' begins Monday

If you're a fan of the game of baseball, it's impossible to ignore the impact Jackie Robinson left both on and off the field while with the Dodgers and beyond. Crossing the color line has been told and re-told so many times that the depth of Robinson has almost been lost on history.

Documentarian Ken Burns tells a deeper story of Robinson's life in whole, starting Monday at 9/8c on PBS.

The two-part, four-hour film directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon tells the story of an American icon whose life-long battle for first class citizenship for all African Americans transcends even his remarkable athletic achievements. Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "was a sit-inner before sit-ins, a freedom rider before freedom rides."

Ken Burns recently sat down with Vox Media's Todd VanDerWerff about the film and the political landscape that surrounds it. The film is about so much more than simply a baseball player. "I think he is one of the most important people in American history. He's an extraordinary pioneer. He's hugely brave, very inspirational," Burns said about Robinson.

Find out more about the two-part series at the PBS website.