Jackie Robinson is perhaps one of the most influential person in African-American history. He absolutely changed the face and belief that only white people should participate in the Major Leagues by being the first African-American man to play alongside everyone else in professional baseball.. Not only did this change baseball, but the future for people of color. His exemplary courage he had shown to the world inspired many people such as Martin Luther King Jr. to strive for equal rights and opportunity for black people. Jackie paved the way to equal rights for African-Americans throughout his career by breaking the color barrier. Unfortunately, Robinson had been burdened with a rough lifestyle when he was very young. Just six months after Jack “Jackie” Roosevelt Robinson was born to Jerry and Mallie Robinson, Jerry abandoned the family of five kids and was never seen again. Growing up without a dad was hard for him because he had no father figure to look up to. This also meant that Mallie had raise five children by herself which wasn’t an easy task for anybody at this time. In 1920, the Robinsons took the rail to Pasadena, California and never looked back. With the help of a welfare agency, the Robinson family purchased a home in a predominantly white neighborhood. …show more content…
After this failed, many people even offered to buy them out because they thought their presence was that big of an issue. When those ploys failed the family was harassed for several years. If that wasn’t enough, they were barely paying the bills while Mallie was a domestic worker who could only provide her kids with scraps from the dinner tables she served. Jack attended the John Muir High School where him and his brothers were often confronted with prejudices and had to defend themselves. Jackie was involved with his share of scuffles between young white kids and the