America’s Black Women

Whenever you are creating beauty around you, you are restoring your own soul.
Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

In 1960, I entered first grade at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Winner, South Dakota. At the same time, thirteen hundred miles away, another little girl entered first grade at the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. There the similarity stops. Because of legal and social challenges, the second little girl couldn’t start school until mid-November, and then she had to be escorted to school every day by four federal marshals. Only one teacher in the entire school agreed to teach her, and she was the only student in her classroom all year. She was not allowed to go to recess or to communicate with the other students, and the federal marshals escorted her to and from the restroom. In fact, many parents of other students pulled their children out of the school when this little girl began attending. Why? Because this little girl’s skin was black. Her name was Ruby Bridges.

Even though Ruby Bridges and I are the same age, and we went to first grade at the same time in America, we lived in vastly different worlds.

The Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, KS was decided in 1954, the year Ruby and I were born. The Supreme Court gave the states six years to implement this desegregation order. Not surprisingly, the southern states did everything they could to delay implementing desegregation in their public schools. Finally, pressure was brought to bear from the federal government. In Ruby’s New Orleans parish, the school board decided to administer a literacy test to Black children that would determine whether they would be allowed to enter a previously segregated, all-White school. Ruby and five other kindergardeners at her school passed this test. Ruby’s parents then had to struggle with the decision of whether to allow her to be the first Black child to be integrated into the all-White school which was just a few blocks from her home. Despite their concern for her safety, her parents ultimately agreed that she would get a better education at the well-funded White school. Since emotions were so high in her community, concerns for her physical safety necessitated the protection of four federal marshals. The marshals got her to school every single day that year. It was a lonely year for Ruby as she was essentially isolated. But she courageously persisted and survived this dangerous first implementation of the new Supreme Court ruling. Tensions eased a bit during her second-grade year and eventually faded enough to not be an issue during the remainder of her years in public schools in New Orleans.

Although the inspiration for this painting was Ruby Bridges, as I continued to read and do research, I learned of the stories of so many strong, creative Black women in America. The stories of these trail-blazing Black women filled my head and landed in this painting. Choosing only nine from the list of all these women whose stories and lives touch so many other women of all colors was difficult. The wonky bird was reading along with me and was as incredulous and inspired as I. She knows that we don’t choose what color we will be, but I think she seems happy that I made her purple with a turquoise wing. She thinks Alice Walker might approve.

Here’s to the creative, valiant, fierce Black women who continue to create beauty all around us with the grit and steely strength that has made them the backbone of America. These women, whose stories are seldom featured in our history books, have been critical and instrumental in shaping our democracy and contributing to America’s evolution. They have performed this important role from this country’s inception.

Here’s to all these Black women and to the success of all of us as we strive together to shape our shared future in today’s America.

Ruby Bridges-Hall launched a foundation in 1999 to promote the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of differences. Through education and inspiration, the foundation seeks to end racism and prejudice. As its motto goes, “Racism is a grown-up disease, and we must stop using our children to spread it.”