This Is Just My Opinion...

...Valued Only By Me And Nobody Else

RonP01

RonP01
Location
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Birthday
August 18
Bio
Work in progress.

MY RECENT POSTS

RonP01's Links

New list
OCTOBER 19, 2009 8:05PM

Then and Now

Rate: 13 Flag
                
THEN:

 
A Black girl escorted to school -
    
1960

tn2 

On November 14, 1960, nearly 49 years ago, 6 year old Ruby Bridges faced hostile crowds, and had to be escorted by U.S. Marshalls , because she was the first black child to attend previously all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ruby was 6 years old. (Norman Rockwell created the painting above depicting that event.)

That morning, she had only been told by her mother that she was going to be attending a new school that day and 'had better behave.'  Little did little Ruby know that she would be bombarded with jeers and even death threats; and that she would end up being the sole child in her first grade class because all the other children were kept home by their parents. All because Ruby was Black.
             
              
NOW:

 
tn


A Black girl escorted to school - 2009

On January 5, 2009, nearly 49 years after Ruby attended her school, 7 year old Sasha Obama, faced cheering schoolmates as she is escorted by her Mother and U. S. Secret Service Agents to Sidwell Friends Elementary School in Washington , DC . Her Mother, the current First Lady of the United States of America, had Secret Service escort because Sasha's daddy is now the 44th President of the United States.
                  
Can this be one of the reasons why people under forty have a different view of the world.....????

Author tags:

politics, news

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Recipient's email address:
Personal message (optional):

Your email address:

Comments

Type your comment below:
I believe so... I really do! ~R~
I would sure have to think that is so. I look back and am proud at how far we've come, yet I look forward and see how far we still have to go. We WILL get there one day!
I don't know if it's good or bad that the kids have no real sense of the struggle. I'm glad no kids today have to deal with what Ruby did. BTW, the Norman Rockwell painting is not showing up.
@SL, Painting retransferred...Thanks
"""Can this be one of the reasons why people under forty have a different view of the world.....????""""


It has to be, or we have wasted our time! I just wish that they could have not had Bush for eight years.
Nicely stated and illustrated.
the real measure of america is that sasha o. and mom can't go to school without half a dozen gunmen for escort.
@Al, When looked at from that very narrow perspective there has been no change at all....
We've come a long way, haven't we?
@pk, And we have a long way yet to go....
Here's the address of Ruby Bridges' website:

http://www.rubybridges.com/home.htm
I am fortunate to have lived through these times of moral enlightenment...It took over 100 years, post-emancipation, for Ruby's triumph and less than half-that time for Sasha's easing (secret service aside) into her first day of school. May God's timetable continue to accelerate the inevitable elimination of remnant racism in this nation. Your contrast/comparison is powerful! (I'm a devotee of Rockwell and consider this work to be his finest).
-rated-
-rated-
This is a perfect example of the generational divide. Well done, and may progress continue.
Excellent comparison and a reminder we have come further than we think. Long may it continue.
Yes. And it all depends on how those over 40 were raised. I used to have this Norman Rockwell print. I don't know what happened to it as it was not framed and I was in High School.

I think you're exactly right. We are a couple of generations away from making real progress in this country. Sadly, we won't be around to enjoy it.

Rated
Another intesting irony: In 1949 (maybe 1948) Harry Truman integrated the armed forces. Sixty years later, we have a black commander-in-chief.
R
Yes, I think this is why they have a different view. We've definitely still have a ways to go though. Can't imagine going through what Ruby and many others have done. It's just not right!
@jb, A very apt observation....