Robinson was born on Route 4 in LaFayette, Chambers County, Alabama, USA, on 9 February 1914, to parents Rufus and Pearlie Tucker. She received her education in Chambers County and obtained degrees from Alabama State University and Alabama A&M with the aspiration of becoming an educator.

Robinson actively participated in the civil rights movement, marching in Tuskegee and Montgomery. It was during one of these marches that she encountered Steven Robinson, who later became her husband. Her husband was a minister, and the couple moved to Talladega when he became pastor of Greater Ebenezer Baptist Church in the Knoxville Community. She worked as a teacher in both the Talladega City and County School systems for 35 years. She continued teaching well into the 1970s before retiring to devote herself full-time to caring for her husband, who was in declining health. They did not have any children.

Even after her husband passed away, she remained independent, living on her own and driving herself well into her 90s. She stayed in her own house until she reached the age of 98. In 2009, she received an invitation to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama. However, she chose not to go due to the snowy weather in Washington.