Jackie's Childhood
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. One year after he was born, his parents separated. His mother, sister, and three brothers moved to Pasadena, California, he was only one years old and he was also the youngest child. Jackie and his family were the only African Americans in their neighborhood. When he was growing up, his mother taught him all about self-respect. She also told him to be confident and hoped he would use his talents. Jackie was an excellent athlete, when he was in high school he was on the basketball, football, baseball, and track teams. When Jackie was attending Pasadena Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles was an outstanding all-around athlete. In 1941, he dropped out of the University of California in his 3rd year to help his mother care for the family. A few months later he play football in Hawaii for the Honolulu Bears, a non-segregated football team. He would play football on the weekends and during the week he would work for a construction company. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, America was at war too. That’s when Jackie decided to join the Military. Between 1942 to 1944, when Jackie was 22 years old, he served as an officer during World War II, he was the second lieutenant in the United States Army, he never saw combat. In 1944 he got arrested for not giving up his seat on a segregated bus during boot camp. |