Jackie Robinson Research Paper

Words: 1106
Pages: 5

Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. Jackie is the youngest of 5 brothers and sisters. Jackie Robinson’s father, Jerry Robinson left him and his family when he was very young. Mallie, Jackie Robinson’s mother was a single mother. Seeking for a better life for her and her children, Mallie Robinson moved the family to California, where her brother, Burton McGriff, lived. Mallie Robinson started working by washing and ironing people’s clothes and by 1923 she had saved up enough money to purchase a house in Pasadena, on Pepper Street. In the choosing of Jackie’s middle name, his mother Mallie intended to honor Teddy Roosevelt by naming her youngest son “Jackie” after the 26th President. She picked Teddy Roosevelt because he inspired many blacks because of his outspoken disdain for racism, especially during his first term in office, before white supremacist power made him retreat into conservatism. Jackie Robinson was the youngest of five children, Edgar, Frank, Matthew “Mack,” and Willa Mae and grew up in relative poverty in a well-off community in Pasadena. They quickly learned that being an African- American family in a mostly white …show more content…
The way that Jacke made money was by selling newspapers and vending hot dogs at the Rose Bowl stadium. In school he loved playing sports at recess. “In grammar school some of my classmates would share their lunches with me if I played on their team.” Although he showed examples of being a nice young gentleman, Jackie was very mischievous growing up. As a member of a street gang, Jack would often be out shoplifting or vandalizing property. Before long, Jackie was getting into trouble on a regular basis. It took two men, a local minister and a neighborhood mechanic, to talk sense into Jackie and tell him that he has the potential to do great things with his