Jackie Robinson Essay

Jackie Robinson, from early on in his life, was known for his great achievements in sports, but his achievements in sports only aided the greater goal of racial equality. Robinson attended Pasadena Junior College, where he often got in trouble for not cooperating with Jim Crow laws- laws that enforced segregation between African Americans and Whites. He also attended UCLA College where he met his future wife, but he was not able to finish because of financial difficulties. When he entered the Military he faced discrimination from other soldiers; this discrimination he faced showed him that sports were his true calling, not the military. He seemed destined to lead a career in bringing African Americans and whites together. Jackie Robinson played baseball at a time when it was segregated, a time where there were white leagues and African American leagues and the two did not mix. Being a civil rights activist, Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball, opening up sports to African Americans.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in the year 1919. His middle name is Roosevelt after President Teddy Roosevelt who spoke out against racism until his pleas were stifled by white supremacy groups. Jackie was born into a family of sharecroppers. His parents named Mallie and Jerry were in a patchy marriage. They had four kids before the marriage finally ended. From then on, Mallie raised all of the children on her own. They happened to be one of the only African American families in their area and were discriminated against tremendously. A year later Jackie Robinson and his family moved to Pasadena, California with a group of emigrants. There they lived in a small, three room apartment with the whole group of emigr...

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...to his officer training school and completed as a second lieutenant. After he left the military he hit his baseball career with the Brooklyn Dodgers where his fight for breaking the color barrier began. Branch Rickey the general manager and Jackie Robinson had the same idea of allowing those with skill, no matter what color, into the MLB. After retiring from sports Robinson did not let his career in fighting for equality stop. He wrote letters to the incoming candidates for president and to leaders in offices to help the civil rights movement gain momentum. Robinson made sure that his opinion was well known. He also created the Jackie Robinson Foundation to help colored students who have disadvantages. Still, Robinson will always be remembered as the first African American man to play major league baseball and preserver despite the racism and disadvantages he faced.