The Problem We All Live With is a painting done by the artist Norman Rockwell in 1964. It shows Ruby Bridges, and icon of the civil rights movement, going into a white elementary school during the process of desegregation. She is being escorted by four U.S. Marshals while you can see the word "nigger" and "KKK" scratched on the wall behind her. You can also see tomatoes that were thrown at her but landed on the wall. She's walking with her head held high and with a fearless look on her face. It's true that it only takes one courageous soul to teach the rest of the country a valuable lesson, even if that courageous soul is six years old.
To the
viewer it gives the impression of a lot of cruelty towards a little girl that
was only going to school. It shows her innocence and her desire to learn, as
she's carrying her supplies and she's not paying attention to all the hate
towards her. The guards around her give the viewer a glimpse of how bad people
disaagree with this little girl black girl going to a white school, because
these are U.S. Marshals and that means even the federal government is involved.
To me, this painting moved me, because it shows a very strong little girl.
The way Ruby is depicted in this painting shows a peaceful image of a young Ruby, with her white dress that might be a symbol for peace and her pony tails that depict innocence as she's only a child. I
believe the artist's intention with this painting was to raise awareness of the
intolerance towards people of different races and how this can lead to
hate the innocent, like Ruby Bridges. Norman Rockwell wanted to send a message to the whole world saying "If we don't change our thinking, this country will never succeed as it would if we had tolerance, respect, and acceptance"
