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Rachel Annetta Robinson (née Isum; born July 19, 1922) is an American former professor and registered nurse. She is the widow of professional baseball player Jackie Robinson. After her husband's death, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation.[1]
Rachel Robinson | |
|---|---|
 Robinson in 1997 | |
| Born | Rachel Annetta Isum July 19, 1922 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Education | Manual Arts High School |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation(s) | Nurse, professor |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award (2007) Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award (2017) |
Rachel Isum was born in Los Angeles, California, and attended Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, California, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[2] At UCLA, she met Jackie Robinson in 1941 prior to his leaving UCLA when his baseball eligibility ran out. She graduated from UCLA on June 1, 1945, with a bachelor's degree in nursing. Rachel and Robinson married on February 10, 1946,[1] the year before he broke into the big leagues. They had three children, named Jackie Robinson Jr. (1946–1971), who died in an automobile crash in 1971 at age 24, Sharon Robinson (born 1950) and David Robinson (born 1952), who currently has ten children.[3]
After Jackie Robinson's retirement from baseball following the 1956 season, Rachel Robinson further pursued her nursing career, obtaining a master's degree in psychiatric nursing from New York University in 1959.[1] She worked as a researcher and clinician at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Department of Social and Community Psychiatry, a position she held for five years.[4] She then became an assistant professor at Yale School of Nursing and later the Director of Nursing at the Connecticut Mental Health Center.[4][5]
In 1972, she incorporated the Jackie Robinson Development Corporation, a real estate development company specializing in low- to moderate-income housing, and served as president for ten years. In 1973, she founded the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a not-for-profit organization providing educational and leadership opportunities for minority students. The Foundation has provided support for over 1,000 minority students and has maintained a 97% graduation rate among its scholars.[4]
In 1996, she coauthored Jackie Robinson: An Intimate Portrait with Lee Daniels, published by Abrams Publishing Company.[4][6]
Awards and honors
In 2007, Robinson received the Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award by Commissioner Bud Selig.[7]
In 2009, Robinson was awarded the UCLA Medal from Chancellor Gene Block for her lifetime achievements. The UCLA Medal is the university's highest honor and was created to "honor those individuals who have made extraordinary and distinguished contributions to their professions, to higher education, to our society, and to the people of UCLA."[5] In addition to earning twelve honorary doctorates, Robinson was awarded the Candace Award for Distinguished Service from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Equitable Life Black Achiever's Award and the Associated Black Charities Black History Makers Award.[4]
Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2014.[8] In 2017, she received the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Baseball Hall of Fame.[9]
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The Jackie Robinson Foundation is a national, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which gives scholarships to minority youths for higher education, as well as preserving the legacy of Baseball Hall of Fame member, Jackie Robinson. It was founded in 1973 by Rachel Robinson and is located in New York, New York, United States.[citation needed]
Its motto is "JRF has provided college and graduate school scholarships as well as leadership development opportunities for highly motivated students of color with limited financial resources."
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Robinson was portrayed by Ruby Dee in the 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story and by Nicole Beharie in the 2013 film 42.[10]
On July 19, 2022, Rachel Robinson turned 100.[11] She currently resides on a 60-acre (24-hectare) farm in Salem, Connecticut.[12]
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