Jackie Robinson By Brian Valentine Introduction With determination and bravery, Jackie Robinson changed what people thought about African Americans. If he didn’t try to end segregation the world wouldn't be like it is now. Could you imagine feeling how African Americans felt getting racial threats and other anti­civil rights threats? Birth/Childhood Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo Georgia in a small cabin. He was the youngest out of all his family members, having five siblings. Jackie’s mom and dad worked as sharecroppers, which is a farmer that shares his/her crops with other farmers. Soon after Jackie’s birth, his dad said he was going out to find a different job to make more money, but he never returned. Segregation was really bad at that time. It was so bad that African Americans could only swim in the YMCA pool once a week, and could only sit in the balcony at the movie theatre. Jackie had a really rough start to his life. Teens/College Jackie Robinson started off well in high school. He went to Muir Technical High School. He played four sports. Excelling in basketball, track/field, football and baseball, proved that he was a good athlete, but still, since he was an African American, he didn’t get any scholarships. Then Jackie enrolled at Pasadena Junior College because his brother went to school there. Sadly, while Jackie was in school, his other brother Frank died in a motorcycle accident. After that Jackie just did the best he could in sports and in school. That led Jackie to several scholarships. He wanted to stay close to home, so he accepted an offer from the California College. Though Jackie never graduated because he was an African American, he still wanted to get a job so he could take care of his mom, who was aging. Breaking The Color Barrier One normal day turned into one of the happiest days ever for Jackie Robinson. When a man named Branch Rickey walked up to him and said to Jackie, “I am giving you a one time offer to be on my team the Brooklyn Dodgers, but if you say yes I am warning you that you might get death letters and racial threats.” Jackie robinson said yes. He made a good decision, but a tough decision as well, because he was threatened. When Jackie started baseball, he played first base. He was quite good at it, but he was best at stealing bases, 197 to be exact. He led the Dodgers to the pennant, but then they lost to the Yankees in the World Series, which was unfortunate, but still great that they got so far. But then the season after that Jackie and the Brooklyn Dodgers won the whole World Series beating the Yankees. After several seasons with the Dodgers, Jackie retired. He retired happier than anyone could ever retire.This makes me think Jackie Robinson will never be forgotten because he stopped segregation and now people know what African Americans can do to make the world a better place so there is now a better chance to end segregation. After Baseball Jackie quickly adapted to life after baseball. His last major accomplishment was being the first black player to get in the Hall of Fame. After that he started getting involved in civil rights meetings and he became a director at Chock Full O'Nuts (a company that owned lots of restaurants). A couple months after Jackie's son came back from the Vietnam War, where he was wounded, he went to jail for drug use and then he died in a car accident. He was only 24 years old. Jackie’s life had some tragedy in it. A little bit of time after that Jackie died from a heart attack in 1972. More than 2,500 people attended his funeral, and from now on the number 42, Jackie’s baseball number, is retired forever. There's a day that everyone in the Major Leagues has to wear that number still to this day. Can you imagine your son dying and then you die right after he dies? This makes me think a lot of people must have been really sad because it’s sad that one person died then someone else that they love died right after. Jackie Robinson lived a good life, even though his life wasn’t always fair. Conclusion Jackie Robinson can inspire us to make the world a better place because he made it a better place. He changed what people thought about African Americans. He stopped segregation in baseball! He stopped it by standing up for his rights just like Martin Luther King jr. did in his “I Have a Dream” speech, and, no matter what, Jackie kept on fighting until he knew things were equal around him. By Brian VAlentine Resources I. Jackie Robinson/webpath express II. The Book of Jackie Robinson III. Jackie Robinson and the Journey to Freedom IV. Jackie Robinson Wikipedia