Jackie Robinson's Influence On Desegregation

Superior Essays
Many people know, or have heard the name Jackie Robinson, but many don’t know who he really was. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, and desegregated the game of baseball. It’s important to know who he is because he not only made changes for equality on the field, but also off the field. To learn what kind of person he was, and his inspiration, we have to learn more about his life. In this essay you will learn about his early life, his career, his accomplishment, his hardships, and most importantly, his influence on desegregation.
To begin to learn about Jackie Robinson, you need to learn about what his life was like growing up. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia. Living in the early 20th century America, he definitely faced his hardships through racism. Especially in the 1920s, you had to deal major racist groups like the W.A.S.P.s (White Anglo Saxon Protestant), and the Ku Klux Klan. These groups were aimed towards getting rid of non white immigrants from entering the U.S., and also eliminating anyone they saw as a threat to America. Not only did he have to deal with racism, he also grew up in poverty to a single mother. He never had the greatest opportunities because his
…show more content…
Jackie Robinson was drafted into the U.S. Army. This cut short his highly anticipating baseball career. He served as a second lieutenant, but never saw battle. After serving two years in the military, he was soon arrested and court martialed. While he was going through boot camp, he refused to give up his seat on the bus, and move to the back. His brave behavior shed light on the injustice he was served though various black newspapers, and the NAACP(National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). His charges were then dropped, and he was discharged. This showed how he was not afraid to stand up, and fight for what he thought was right, which would soon become hard for him to

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Robinson was the first African American to ever play professional baseball and changed many people’s lives, but nothing came easy for him as he was tormented, abused, and heckled night in and night out. In 1946 history was made; Jackie Robinson became the first ever player to play in a professional baseball game with an African American in it. This was a big for the sport and country as many did not agree with this. For Robinson, he was excited to get the…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He was such a big influence on all of society, not just baseball. “Robinson knew his fight was bigger than baseball,”(Post). This quote shows that Robinson took the opportunity to play in the MLB to do more than just play baseball. He really took this opportunity to promote that all people should have the same chance that he got to play professional sports. This essay talks about how Jackie Robinson went through a lot before he was accepted.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Before Robinson, there was no respect for African-American athletes. If it wasn 't for Jackie Robinson, where would this world be about with racism and segregation today? Robinson made a difference in the world, through his high school sports, to his college, to the army, and through his…

    • 1756 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From 1942 to 1944, in the United States Army Jackie served as a second lieutenant. “During boot camp in 1944 in Fort Hood, Texas, was arrested and court-martialed after refusing to give up his seat and move to the back of the bus when ordered to by the driver”. After the war, in 1946, manager and president Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson to the team and assigned him to play on the Dodgers top minor league team in Canada. He led the minor league team to the pennant and the championship (bio.com). It was during this time that Jackie Robinson proved he was a brave man and a good Christian.…

    • 344 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African-American player in Major League Baseball when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years. Exactly 50 years later, on April 15, 1997, Robinson’s groundbreaking career was honored and his uniform number, 42, was retired from Major League Baseball by Commissioner Bud Selig in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New York City’s Shea Stadium. Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired by all teams in the league. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born January 31, 1919, in Cairo, Georgia, to a family of sharecroppers.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jackie Robinson is famous for breaking the color barrier for Major League Baseball,but first lets learn about his childhood. Jackie robinson was born January 31’st in 1919 in the city of Cairo, Georgia. He attended Muir High school, and Pasadena Junior College He was an excellent athlete playing four sports, baseball, basketball and track. He became the Most Valuable player there in 1938.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Famous baseball player Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. Before playing baseball he was in the United States Army from 1942 to 1944. Jackie did sports through high school and college. Jackie was the first student to win varsity letters in four sports. (Jackie Robinson Biography biography.com).…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jackie Robinson used his activism and talent in baseball to change a political view on african american by being the first african american baseball player. Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in cairo,georgia. His daddy walked out on him, his mom and 4 other siblings. Soon after his birthday he and his mom and 4 other siblings moved to Pasadena, California. In high school Jack Roosevelt Robinson played baseball, basketball, football, broad jump, and track at UCLA.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Who was Jackie Robinson? Was he rookie of the year in 1947, most valuable player in 1949, batting champion of 1949 or the first African-American to play on major league baseball. Turns out he was all those things. Before he did those things, he was just a kid that loved playing sports. Jackie played 4 sports: basketball, football, baseball, and track.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jackie Robinson an activist that handled harsh situations with class. “Born on January 31, 1919” and raised…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jackie Robinson Threats

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Jackie Robinson was a famous American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League. This topic is important because by the Dodgers signing Jackie Robinson, ended racial segregation in professional baseball that had placed black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson's use of nonviolence, and unquestionable talent showed the basis of segregation which then marked many aspects of American life. He influenced the culture of The Civil Rights Movement significantly. I choose this topic to show how standing up to people can make a difference in the world.…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He walked in one of the most famous marches the March on Washington in Washington D.C. where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a Dream Speech.” He also was an outspoken opponent of the racial discrimination. He resigned from the N.A.A.C.P. in 1967 because he thought the leader of one of the factions was being racist and being discriminating. He also helped create the Freedom National Bank to help black business owners and other minorities receive loans that they would not be able to get from white banks. Robinson also helped push for black managers and coaches.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Jackie Robinson Biography

    • 1504 Words
    • 7 Pages

    I, Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. I lived my first months in my mom and dad’s sharecroppers house. My dad left me at a very young age because he was sick of being a slave, I…

    • 1504 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Discrimination In Baseball Ever since baseball began, it has always been considered a white man’s game. The big names of baseball today are most likely white and many blacks are losing interest in America's Pastime. If the MLB is ever going to rise up with the NBA and the NFL, the unintentional segregation needs stop. Black players today are still going through struggles even after 70 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    During that time in the late 1940s, World War II had just ended and the soldiers, all from different ethnic groups, got to come home. Although black men had fought for their country and awarded for their valor in the war, when they returned to the USA, they came home to racism and Jim Crow Laws still restricting the African-American population. Jackie Robinson himself was an army officer in the war who had been arrested and court-martialed during boot camp for refusing to go to the back of a segregated bus. In the movie, it shows segregation between black and white people through sports, mainly baseball. Through Jackie’s journey in baseball in the film, viewers can see the struggle in Jackie being a black man playing baseball which was, at that time, considered a “white sport.”…

    • 1632 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays