Now, I know we all know the name Jackie Robinson, but do we know his story? Jackie was the one of five children. Jackie’s father left his mother (Mallie Robinson) when he was very young. I can’t imagine how hard that was for her, especially since they were an African American family and were most likely treated horribly like most African American families were back then, but God had other plans. 

Jackie’s mother picked up and left their sharecropper’s farm in Cerio, Georgia and went to Pasadena, California to live with Jackie’s uncle. There, his mother worked long and hard hours cooking and cleaning the houses of white families. And yet, she still insisted that her children keep their grade’s up, attend church services, and work after school. 

From an early age, Jackie loved sports. He played baseball (obviously), was in high school  football, tennis, and ran track. He went to Pasadena Junior College (JPC), to continue to play sports. Jackie became so good that a newspaper named him the player of the year and also the greatest base runner ever to play in a junior college. Thus, the scholarships started coming in. He decided to play at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). That is where he met his wife, Rachel Isum. 

Jackie proposed to Rachel, but then got drafted to the military for two years. They were apart most of the time, but got to see each other when he was on leave; Rachel believes that this helped their relationship flourish and grow. Later, they married and had three children together. Their names are Jack Roosevelt, Jr. (oldest), Sharon (middle), and David (youngest).

There is much, much more to Jackie’s story than just this, but there is too much to write about. Jackie was a good ball player, good son, father, and was compassionate about whatever he did. He loved what he did and he showed joy while doing it. He persevered and that is a quality that more people need to have to face the hardships of life.