Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson, who was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and dieing on October 24, 1972, broke the color barrier in professional baseball. Robinson was not only a great baseball player; he was a great American and a patriot to his society. He was a civil rights advocate who worked with such people as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. to help break down the racial barriers in America. Robinson had a troubled childhood which, in turn, influenced him to be a man of character and respect and to do what was right. Jackie Robinson and his family moved to Pasadena, California in 1920 after Jackie