ATLANTA – Hank Aaron, surrounded by hatred and bigotry in the Deep South, refused to leave when they wanted him gone.

He broke the record many in America didn’t want him to break.

Now, he speaks at a time when it’s just as easy to be silent.

Aaron, 79, a man who symbolizes excellence and grace, forever will be remembered as the man who broke perhaps sports’ greatest record, hitting his 715th homer in 1974, and eclipsing Babe Ruth’s all-time mark.

Yet, the greatest feat in his lifetime, Aaron said, is the barrier broken in Washington.

“I never thought we’d ever have a black president,” Aaron said to USA TODAY Sports. “President Obama has done such a tremendous job. ... He just has been unable to get what he needs to be moved at the level it should be moved. My wife and I pray that people will understand that.”

Aaron received death threats, constant hate letters and vicious racism when he broke Ruth’s sacred record on April 8, 1974.

“People were not ready to accept me as a baseball player,” Aaron said. “The easiest part of that whole thing, chasing the Babe’s record, was playing the game itself. The hardest thing was after the game was over, dealing with the press. They could never understand. Here comes a young black player from Alabama, he’s challenging one of the most prestigious records in the world, and they couldn’t handle it.”

Aaron doesn’t want to be known as simply one of the greatest ballplayers who ever lived, with 755 homers and a record 2,297 RBI and 25 All-Star Game appearances, but remembered as a great American.

“I am very proud to be an American,” Aaron said, “This country has so much potential, I’d just like to see things better, or whatever, and I think it will be.

“I hope (young adults) understand they are very lucky to be born in this country. The most important thing they need to understand is that when they go to school, go to college and graduate, it’s to make a contribution to this country.”

Aaron is aware of the statistics that still plague this country. There currently are only two African-Americans in the U.S. Senate, both of whom have been appointed. The unemployment rate for African Americans (as of April) is 13.2%. Aaron believes there can’t be a level playing field in the corporate world, Aaron said, until there are more black CEOs and presidents in the boardrooms.

“I still think we have a ways to go,” Aaron said, “to make people understand. We still have problems. In all walks of life.”

Even Major League Baseball, which has just three African-American managers and one general manager among its 30 teams.

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