Jackie Robinson: A Journey of Resilience and Triumph

Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, into a family of sharecroppers in Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of five children born to Mallie (McGriff) and Jerry Robinson, after siblings Edgar, Frank, Matthew (nicknamed "Mack"), and Willa Mae.[8][9][10] His middle name was in honor of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who died 25 days before Robinson was born.[11][12] After Robinson's father left the family in 1920, they moved to Pasadena, California.[13][14][15]

The extended Robinson family established itself on a residential plot containing two small houses at 121 Pepper Street in Pasadena. Robinson's mother worked various odd jobs to support the family.[16] Growing up in relative poverty in an otherwise affluent community, Robinson and
John Muir High School
In 1935, Robinson graduated from Washington Junior High School and enrolled at John Muir High School (Muir Tech).[20] Recognizing his athletic talents, Robinson's older brothers Mack (himself an accomplished athlete and silver medalist at the 1936 Summer Olympics)[19] and Frank inspired Jackie to pursue his interest in
On January 25, 1938, he was arrested after vocally disputing the detention of a black friend by police.[32] Robinson received a two-year suspended sentence, but the incident—along with other rumored run-ins between Robinson and police—gave Robinson a reputation for combativeness in the face of racial antagonism.[33] While at PJC, he was motivated by a preacher (the Rev. Karl Downs) to attend church on a regular basis, and Downs became a confidant for Robinson, a Christian.[34] Toward the end of his PJC tenure, Frank Robinson (to whom Robinson felt closest among his three brothers) was killed in a motorcycle accident. The event motivated Jackie to pursue his athletic career at the nearby University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he could remain closer to Frank's