Essay On Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson overcame many struggles in life such as being included in the civil rights movement, facing discrimination, and he achieved being the first black man in major league baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia on Hadley Ferry Road. It is a blue-collar town of about 10,000 people. Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even though he achieved this major goal he still had trouble getting there. He and his siblings were raised by his single mother. Jackie attended Muir High School and Pasadena Junior College. He was a great athlete and played many sports. He played football, basketball, track, and of course baseball. He left school in 1941, worked as an athletic director and played semiprofessional football for the Honolulu Bears before being drafted to the Army in 1942. While he was in the army he became close friends with Joe Louis. The heavyweight used his popularity to protest about the delayed entry of black soldiers. Two years later he got the honor to be second lieutenant in 1943. After an accident where he refused to sit in the back of an unsegregated bus, military police arrested Robinson. A duty officer requested this and then later he requested that Jackie should be court martialed. Since this happened Jackie was not allowed to be deployed overseas to the World War II. He never saw combat during the war. Jackie left the Army with an honorable discharge.

Jackie Robinson's older brother Mack finished second to Jesse Owens in the 100-meter race in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. His brother was his inspiration. He inspired him to do what he loved. His brother had a big part in helping his achieve his goal. Mack inspired him to fight for what ...

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...ame the vice-president for the Chock Full O' Nuts Corporation. He also served on the board of the NAACP. He created the Jackie Robinson Construction Company to build affordable housing for black families that did not have enough money. In the 1970s Jackie Robinson's heath got bad. On Oct. 15, 1972, he attended a World Series game in Cincinnati that celebrated the 25th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier in professional baseball. During pre-game ceremonies he said how he wanted to have a black manager to be hired for a team in major league baseball. Ten days later after the World Series game, Jackie Robinson died of a heart attack at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. Jackie will be remembered for his courage, determination, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and his excellence. He is an inspiration for many people that have a dream.