IXL | Jackie Robinson | 2nd grade social studies

Listen and read along with the passage about Jackie Robinson.

Jackie Robinson with a bat in his Dodgers uniform

Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia in 1919. When he was born, many places in the United States were segregated. Segregated means that Black people were kept apart from white people. They could not go to the same schools, eat at the same places, or use the same bathrooms.

Growing up, Robinson was a great athlete. An athlete is someone who plays sports. Robinson was the first athlete at his college to win awards in four sports. He won awards in track, basketball, football, and baseball. After Robinson finished college, the United States entered World War II. Robinson became a soldier. At that time, even the army was segregated. One day, Robinson got in trouble for sitting next to a white person on an army bus. The driver told him to move. But Robinson knew that was not fair. He stayed where he was.

After World War II, Robinson became a baseball player. At that time, baseball teams were segregated. The most famous baseball teams were part of the Major League. But only white players could join Major League Baseball teams. Black players had to play on their own teams. These teams were not as famous. Black players also did not make as much money as white players.

One Major League Baseball team was called the Dodgers. The Dodgers had a boss who thought segregation was wrong. He knew that Jackie Robinson played for an all-Black team called the Kansas City Monarchs. The boss asked Robinson to come play for the Dodgers and help end segregation in baseball. Jackie Robinson agreed. He became the first Black person to play for a modern Major League Baseball team.

When Jackie Robinson was young, much of the United States was segregated. Which of these is an example of segregation?

Black and white people could join the army.

Black and white people could not eat at the same restaurants.

Black and white children played sports at school.

Black and white families lived in cities across the United States.

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