Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born near Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919. He was born on a plantation. His grandparents had worked there while they were enslaved.
His parents, Mallie and Jerry, were sharecroppers. They farmed land someone else owned. They kept just a small share of the crops.
After he was born, Jackie’s parents split up. Mallie took Jackie and his older brothers and sister to Pasadena, California. Several of Mallie’s relatives came with them. Jackie grew up in a loving family. But they lived in a mostly white area that didn’t welcome African Americans as neighbors.
