Jackie Robinson

Dominic Diaz

Civics Blog

Jackie Robinson

Hey, I’m Jackie Roosevelt Robinson and I was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 in a family of sharecroppers. My mother, Mallie Robinson, single-handedly raised me and four of my siblings. Me and my family were the only black family on the block, and the prejudice I encountered only strengthened our bond. From this beginning would grow to be the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that destroyed the sport for more than 50 years.

Growing up in a large, single-parent family, I was great at all sports and learned to make his own way in life. At UCLA, I became the first athlete to win varsity letters in four sports: baseball, basketball, football and track. In 1941, I was named to the All-American football team. Due to money, I was forced to leave college, and eventually I decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. After two years in the army, I had gone up to second lieutenant. My army career was cut short when I was court-martialed in relation to objections with incidents of racial discrimination. At the end, I left the Army. In my rookie season, I hit 297. with 32 steals and 12 homers. That’s my life and I hope you enjoyed.

In this picture, I was playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. They don’t exist anymore but I’ll never forget them.