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Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1916, Robinson grew up in a family that placed a high value on education, faith, and civic responsibility. His father, Spottswood William Robinson Jr., was a minister in the Baptist church, and his mother, Inez C. Robinson, was a schoolteacher. The Robinson home nurtured intellectual discipline and a deep sense of moral purpose—qualities that would guide Spottswood throughout his life.

The Robinson family’s roots in Richmond’s African American community ran deep. They were part of a generation that overcame Jim Crow barriers through determination and education. Robinson graduated from Virginia Union University, a historically Black college founded to train teachers and ministers, and then earned his law degree summa cum laude from Howard University School of Law in 1939. At Howard, his professor James Nabrit Jr. called him “the best student of the law” he ever taught.

After graduating, Robinson remained at Howard to teach, while also practicing law in Richmond. He was known for his meticulous attention to detail, quiet confidence, and strategic brilliance. These qualities made him the perfect legal partner for Oliver Hill, who convinced Robinson to form a firm with him in the early 1940s, just before Hill’s induction into military service.