He was known for his association with Martin Luther King Jr., with whom he marched in Selma and on whose request he participated in a 1964 demonstration in St. Augustine, Florida, at which he was arrested and jailed together with 15 other Reform rabbis.

After his retirement, he served for seven years as a part-time rabbi at Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa, California.

He worked in electronics maintenance on a landing ship tanker in the Pacific theater, and returned home with the desire to be a rabbi and a pacifist.

[4] During his rabbinical studies, he became involved with civil rights activism and organized a student effort to desegregate a local Greek restaurant.

[6] Robinson began a rabbinical career with his wife Ruth, who was also a civil rights activist and often sang beside him as a cantorial soloist.

[5] In the latter congregation, he led drives to raise funds to rebuild black churches that had been burned during civil rights protests, and purchase the van which the Freedom Riders used in Mississippi.

[6] They were among 70 demonstrators who converged on the Monson House on June 18 and were asked to leave by James Brock, the motel manager.

[10] The rabbinical delegation defended their action in a joint letter, Why We Went,[6] which they composed in their jail cell.

[13] An annual Rabbi Michael Robinson Memorial Lecture is presented by Congregation Shomrei Torah.