Jackie Robinson

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“The way I figured it” said Jackie Robinson, “I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it” (Robinson). Many people will not publically stand up for what they believe in due to fear of retribution. Jackie Robinson stood up for what he believed in even though people didn’t agree with him. Jackie Robinson is still famous today due to his outstanding baseball skills, his love for the game, and breaking the color barrier.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo Georgia to a family of sharecroppers (“Jackie Robinson” 2). Robinson was the youngest of five and was raised by a single mother after his father ran off with a neighbor’s wife just months after his birth. The plantation owner ordered the Robinsons off the land (“Jackie Robinson” 2). The Robinson family moved to California to seek a better life. By being the only black family on the block the Robinson kids were singled out as troublemakers (“Baseball” 1). The kids grew up with racism being a daily problem. Robinson once said “Pasadena treated us as intruders. My brother and I were in many a fight that started with a racial slur on the very street we lived on” (Robinson 1).
Although he grew up amongst poverty and racial slurs, Robinson learned he could gain acceptance of others with his athleticism. Throughout his childhood, Robinson joined an interracial group, consisting or poor black, Japanese, and Hispanic boys (“Jackie Robinson” 1); they would walk the streets challenging white boys to sports matches. He used this group to sharpen his skills in order to stand out at school. Robinson attended John Muir Technical High School where he excelled in baseball, football, basketball, and track (“Jackie Rob...

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