Birthplace of Jackie Robinson: First African American in Modern-Day Major League Baseball

Year Erected: 2001

Marker Text: Robinson was born 13 miles south of Cairo on January 31, 1919, before he and his family moved to California in 1920. After attending U.C.L.A., serving in the U.S. Army, and playing in the Negro American Baseball and International Leagues, Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, breaking Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Adding to his many athletic accomplishments, he served as special assistant to New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, established the first African American Modern Bank/Freedom National Bank, and provided housing for the underprivileged through his construction firm. Robinson died in 1972. His birthplace burned in 1996, but the chimney still stands.

Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, The Jackie Robinson Cairo Memorial Institute, Inc., and Major League Baseball

Tips for Finding This Marker: This marker is located at Roddenberry Memorial Library at 320 North Broad Street in Cairo. Click here to view the duplicate historical marker located at the site of the birthplace.