Black History

Jackie Robinson’s 100th Birthday to be Celebrated with Film Screening at South Pasadena Public Library on January 31

PASADENA JOURNAL — Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and his family moved to Pasadena in 1920.

Published

7 years ago

February 2, 2019

Oakland Post

By Journal Staff

In honor of the 100th Birthday of Jackie Robinson (1919-1972), a free screening of “The Jackie Robinson Story,” a classic 1950 ﬁlm starring Jackie as himself will be presented at the South Pasadena Public Library . The free event for all ages will be celebrated in the Library Community Room on Thursday, January 31 at 7 pm on the eve of Black History Month. It is sponsored by the South Pasadena Public Library, the Friends of the South Pasadena Public Library, and the Lucille and Edward R. Roybal Foundation.

Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and his family moved to Pasadena in 1920. As an outstanding four-sport star, Jackie attended Muir Technical High School and Pasadena Junior College. After his graduation, Robinson transferred to UCLA, becoming the school’s ﬁrst student athlete to earn varsity letters in all four major sports.

In 1942, Robinson joined the Army in Fort Hood, Texas. Despite the racism he encountered, Robinson eventually triumphed over an unjust court martial hearing and was given an honorable discharge. He then spent a year as the Athletic Director at Sam Houston College before receiving offers to play professional baseball in the Negro Leagues. After earning All Star accolades, Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey broached the idea to him to play on the Dodgers minor leaguer team in Montreal where he earned the league’s Most Valuable Player honors.

Upon his call-up to the big club with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball . With his tremendous courage, outstanding play, and dedicated work for social change, he changed the consciousness of an entire nation. During his ten seasons, he was the ﬁ rst African-American to win a batting title. He was also the ﬁrst black to be named a league MVP and he led the Dodgers to 6 pennants and a World Series title. Jackie Robinson was also the ﬁrst Black player elected to the Hall of Fame and his number 42 is the only one permanently retired in all of Major League Baseball.

Jackie Robinson worked tirelessly as a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. called him a legend and a symbol in his own time. Rivaling only Babe Ruth as the most historically signiﬁcant baseball player ever, Jackie Robinson is considered by many to be the most important figure in American sports history.

“The Jackie Robinson Story” was initially released to theatres in 1953 during the era of racial segregation but was nonetheless accorded critical praise and strong box ofﬁce receipts. It featured an outstanding performance by Ruby Dee as Jackie’s wife, Rachel Robinson. Although not a professional actor, Jackie Robinson’s potentially difﬁcult portrayal of himself also earned high praises for its confident assuredness and restraint. And as might be expected, the re-enacted baseball scenes are outstanding –and in many ways they are superior to those in “42”, the 2013 Jackie Robinson motion picture starring Chadwick Bozeman.

Introductions to the ﬁlm will be made by Mark Langill, Official Historian of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Alex Boekelheide, Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing, Pasadena City College.

The South Pasadena Public Library Community Room is located at 1115 El Centro Street. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. no tickets or reservations are necessary, and refreshments will be served. Special surprises are planned as well. Thanks to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pasadena City College, 210 eastsound, Videotheque, The Rose, and Movie Licensing USA. For more information, please call the South Pasadena Public Library at 626 403-7350.

Free parking is available after noon at the Mission Meridian Parking Garage located at 805 Meridian Avenue adjacent to the Metro Gold Line Station, only one block from the Library.

Upon request made no later than four (4) business days before the event, the City will provide a reasonable accommodation for a qualiﬁed person with a disability to have equal access to the event. Please contact ADA Coordinator and Human Resources Manager, Mariam Lee Ko, at (626) 403-7312 or fill out the City’s request form available at www.southpasadenaca.gov and email the form to Human Resources at HR@southpasadenaca.gov.

This article originally appeared in the Pasadena Journal.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Durant Establishes Education Program in Prince George’s County

Don't Miss

Black Gopher swimmer and diver both proud of cultural impacts

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Cassie ‘Mama C’ Lopez Honored as Oakland’s Mother of the Year

Cassandra “Mama C” Lopez, a dedicated parent, teacher, and activist, was honored as Oakland’s Mother of the Year for her unwavering commitment to community and justice.

Published

6 minutes ago

May 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Cassandra Lopez, known as “Mama C,” is surrounded by family, friends, and neighbors at Oakland’s annual Mother of Year celebration at the Morcom Rose Garden, Saturday, May 9. Photo by Mateenah Floyd-Okanlawon.

By Ken Epstein

The City of Oakland recognized Cassandra, “Mama C,” Lopez – parent, teacher, community activist, and justice warrior – as Oakland’s Mother of the Year in a celebration at Oakland’s Morcom Rose Garden on Mother’s Day weekend.

Long recognized as a leader in her community, she was nominated by District 3 City Councilmember Carroll Fife to receive the city’s 73rd annual Mother of the Year award.

Speaking at the crowded ceremony on Saturday, May 9, where Mama C received roses and a proclamation from Mayor Barbara Lee, Fife said she felt honored to nominate Lopez, an “amazing woman – a hell-raising humanitarian, for the energy, the passion, but most of all the love for community” that makes her one of those “exceptional women whose lives, exemplify love, sacrifice, leadership, and unwavering commitment to the family and community they serve.”

Cassie Lopez was born in 1945 to Pauline and Calvin Weaver, a family that had left Florida and Jim Crow for the east side of Detroit. From an early age, she was instilled with a sense of Black awareness, love, and the importance of community in the face of hardships, including poverty, freezing winters, low pay, and slum landlords.

Fifty-five years ago, she married Juan Lopez. The couple has three children and has lived for decades in a neighborhood on the edge of downtown Oakland near Mosswood Park.

Said her husband, Juan, “Mama C has been a selfless mother of our own children, and she also became a teacher. Our home became a second home for many young people. For some, it was refuge from difficult home situations, and for others, a safe place to hang out.

“Throughout the years, Mama C was sometimes a foot soldier and other times a leader, immersed in some of the biggest national and citywide struggles of the day,” Juan said. “But less known to many is the role she played day in and day out where the rubber hits the road.

“For 35 years, she has shepherded the Mosswood Park and Recreation Center – through its good and bad times. If the Center exists (and thrives) today, it has to do with Mama C, working alongside neighbors, center directors, community advisory council, and when necessary, community coalitions, city officials, the religious community, and the labor movement.”

Said Mateenah Floyd-Okanlawon, “I am an old friend of my sister here. We met in 1970 in the sugarcane fields of Cuba, where we were helping the Cuban government harvest their sugar. We have been friends ever since. She has always been someone who does not give in to despair.”

David Johnson, an educator in Oakland, was one of the neighborhood children who grew up in the community created by Mama C and her family

“Cassandra Lopez is a beacon of light, full of compassion. She has dedicated her life to quality education to the poor and working class,” serving for 40 years as a Spanish teacher in Oakland schools, he said.

“She has dedicated her life to speak truth to power, justice to the silent, and as a member of the community, she advocates for programs and resources,” he said.

In her remarks, Mama C recognized the influence and power of all mothers. “Together, we all stand on the backs of our mothers. Mothers play a special role in society. We give when we have almost nothing left to give. We hurt when some people don’t see the hurt and the pain that our families endure. But we keep on moving forward.”

Looking at what African Americans, other people of color and working people face in the country today, she said, “We are deserving of the very best because our hands, our bodies produce the wealth of world, and yet we get the least. We see our country wholesale being stolen away from us, and we are told to grin and bear it. We’re not bearing it; we’re fighting against it.”

Continuing, she said, “There’s enough wealth in this world that there should be no hunger in the world. There should be nobody without a decent place to live. Nobody should be sleeping on the street. Teachers should get the freedom to be creative and tell the stories that exist in this nation that make us strong and great.

“We have a lot to do. We cannot despair. We cannot run. People are learning, and together, collectively, we can do it.”