Most of us are familiar with Ruby Bridges. But during this Black History Month, if you’re not, let me hip you to some game. In 1954, Ruby Bridges was six-years-old when she made history by integrating a White public school in New Orleans. The moment was such a seminal one in U.S. history that artist Norman Rockwell depicted it in his painting The Problem We All Live With.
It shows what Bridges endured as just a six-year-old girl, with people throwing things at her, calling her names etc. She had to be escorted by U.S. marshals after all. It was an artist rendering but it happened in real life. And it is an event that should not be taken lightly.
But that’s exactly what happened when editorial cartoonist Glenn McCoy did when he reimagined the image with Secretary of Education Betsey DeVos in the place of Ruby Bridges. Instead of the n-word behind her. It was conservative.
It was meant to draw a parallel to the ways in which Ms. DeVos has come up against quite a bit of opposition now that she’s been appointed this new position. There was one school that asked that she leave when she arrived to speak there.
As you can imagine, folks were outraged when they saw it. Mostly because Ruby Bridges was the target of hate and anger because of her skin color. While Betsey DeVos is the target of anger and because she’s a billionaire with not a single year of educational experience yet she’s been appointed to make decisions for all children in all public schools.
You can check out some of the reactions to the cartoon on the following pages.
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