Jackie Robinson
Photo Credit: Jackie Robinson Foundation
Jack Roosevelt Robinson said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Robinson’s impact on baseball, and society was monumental.
On April 15, 1947, Robinson became the first Black man in the 20th century to play Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to Robinson’s courageous move, Black baseball players were segregated in the Negro Leagues. Their accomplishments and athletic abilities were not recognized in white society.
Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia in 1919 to a family of sharecroppers. His mother moved her five children to California to escape segregation but racism soon followed. The Robinsons were the only Black family in a predominantly white neighbourhood.