Ruby Bridges visited the White House to see how a painting commemorating her personal and historic milestone looks hanging on the wall outside of the Oval Office. American Artist Norman Rockwell was criticized by some when this painting first appeared on the cover of Look magazine on January 14,1964; now the iconic portrait will be on display throughout the summer of 2011 in one of the most exalted locations in the country.
That's what is meant what don't kill you , makes you stronger so she learned in first grade what it meant to have ppl not like you because of the color of one's skin... what a terrible thing to learn at 6 years old.
As I got a bit older, my job was to keep an eye on my younger brothers and sister, which wasn't too difficult. Except for church and the long walk to the all-black school where I went to kindergarten, our world didn't extend beyond our block. But that was all about to change.
Under federal court order, New Orleans public schools were finally forced to desegregate. In the spring of 1960 I took a test, along with other black kindergarteners in the city, to see who would go to an integrated school come September. That summer my parents learned I'd passed the test and had been selected to start first grade at William Frantz Public School.
My mother was all for it. My father wasn't. "We're just asking for trouble," he said. He thought things weren't going to change, and blacks and whites would never be treated as equals. Mama thought I would have an opportunity to get a better education if I went to the new school - and a chance for a good job later in life. My parents argued about it and prayed about it. Eventually my mother convinced my father that despite the risks, they had to take this step forward, not just for their own children, but for all black children.
..."Eventually my mother convinced my father that despite the risks, they had to take this step forward, not just for their own children, but for all black children."...
God bless all fathers that listen to wise mothers...
Wonderful! When I first saw this art, I didn't know until later it was done by a White man.... It always stirs my imagination to see it!! Thanks Steve!
