Jackie Robinson Character Traits

“There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.” Jack Roosevelt Robinson, also known as Jackie Robinson, was a leader from the day he was born. He was born on January 31, 1919 in a small town named Cairo, Georgia. Jackie faced segregation way before his baseball career was even a thought. What made him different than most African Americans at his time was that he didn’t let all the disrespect and hateful remarks get to him. “I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” That is what I believe a main character trait that makes him a leader. The definition of a leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. His legacy is one

He was the youngest out of all five of the kids. His father never played a role in his life. Jackie’s family grew up relatively in poverty. They were the only black family in their entire neighborhood. This is where he first experienced just how white Americans felt towards those of black decent. "There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free." This is how Jackie Robinson felt about the racism that existed during his lifetime. While he attended high school at John Muir High School, Jackie found his love for, not only baseball, but football, basketball, and track. He still holds the record for longest run from scrimmage in football against California Tech. He was inspired by his older brother, Matthew Robinson, for the love and appreciation for sports. He loved sports and competition. He once said that “It kills me to lose. If I'm a troublemaker, and I don't think that my temper makes me one, then it's because I can't stand losing. That's the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first." I believe that this shows how serious he took his sports. Throughout the different sports that he played through high school, he was

At the time, there was a separate league for African Americans separate from that of the white men’s league. When he was playing in the Negro league, the vice president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, visited Jackie Robinson and asked him to step up and play for his all white team. Jackie viewed this as a great opportunity to prove to prove himself as a player and all African American athletes around the country. On March 17, 1946 Jackie Robinson played his first game minor league game in Florida for the Montreal Royals training camp. He showed everyone just exactly what he has to offer in the major league no matter what his skin color may be. One quote that he gave that shows that he knows that he has a chance to change the minds of millions in terms of racism. “We all sensed that history was in the making, that the long ban against Negro players was about to come crashing down, setting up reverberations that would echo across a continent and perhaps around the world.” Finally on April 15, 1947 Jackie Roosevelt Robinson changed the course of MLB history forever. Although he didn’t have a hit in his first game, he did run in the game winning run. Throughout the season he faced some of the most terrible comments possible. Some teams didn’t allow for him to play at their stadiums. He refused to allow it to get to