Dr. Jackie C. Robinson’s path toward a career in psychology began as early as high school. Robinson was one of three African-Americans to integrate a public school in her small town of Malone, Florida.
“It was very difficult—there were death threats; there was ostracism and racist comments on a daily basis,” says Robinson, who entered Malone High School as an eighth-grader in 1965 from the all-Black Union Grove High School in Greenwood, Florida.
“The Black teachers and administrators at Union Grove were my role models,” says Robinson. “However, my parents were integrationists and that influenced the decision to attend Malone when the opportunity presented itself.”
While prejudices in the South were re-occurring for Robinson, the coping mechanisms she used to combat racism have worked to her advantage.
“Those experiences, in some ways, shaped my profession, my desire to be a change agent and my desire to help the community,” she says.
The summer after graduating high school, Robinson participated in a training program that allowed students to work with mentally disabled individuals. While she was exposed to several disciplines, including medicine, social work and education, psychology impressed her most.
“I liked the idea of being able to help and heal through talk therapy—it fit well with my personality,” she says.
