Jackie Robinson Research Papers

Jackie Robinson was born January 31, 1919 as Jackie Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson. He came from a family of sharecroppers who lived in Cairo, Georgia. Jackie was the youngest of five children who grew up in a relatively poor section of Pasadena CA. Robinson attended John Muir High School, where he lettered in football, basketball, track and baseball. Robinson was enrolled at Pasadena City College in 1937 and quickly dominated Pasadena sports before transferring to UCLA in 1939 on an athletic scholarship. Jackie Robinson gained national recognition in 1941 when he became the first athlete in the history of UCLA to earn a letter in four different sports in the same year (football, basketball, track and baseball). (Eyewitness History

(McCutcheon -1) While all Americans coped with the overwhelming challenges that the economy and war presented, some Americans faced an additional hardship which included segregation. Legal segregation, also known as the Jim Crow Law, defined every aspect of life for those who lived under its restrictions. Racial segregation was a live well in the United States in the 1940’s. Segregation was a time when the courts enforced the separation of African Americans from other races. In the south, Jim Crow laws existed to disfranchise black Americans. Due to the laws, African- Americans were forced to use segregated schools, public restrooms, neighborhoods, transportation, and even substandard hospitals. If an African American chose to disobey or challenge this inequitable system or laws, they could be subject to fines, jail time, harassment and even outright violence. “Jim Crow Laws included laws such as “It shall be unlawful for a Negro and white person to play together or in company with each other, other in any game of cards, or dice, dominoes or checkers.” Birmingham, Alabama, 1930. Even though Robinson moved from the South to CA, he and his family could not escape discrimination and the enforcement of the Jim Crow Laws. These laws followed black men into the military and almost got Robinson court-martialed from the US Army for disobeying

For the first time in history, young black athletes believed that they could have a chance.” (Jacobson 5) Not only was Robinson a role model for other African American Athletes, he was a huge contributor to the Dodgers success throughout his career. His first year he won Rookie of the Year award and the Dodgers won the pennant for the first time in six years. In 1949 Robinson was voted the National Leagues most valuable player and assisted the Dodgers in winning 6 pendants. A story that continued to be told even in 50 years later in the box