Through My Eyes: "Preface to My Story"–"Some Show Courage"

by Ruby Bridges
In this memoir, Ruby Bridges recalls her experiences as the first African-American student at a newly desegregated elementary school in New Orleans.

This list covers "Preface to My Story"–"Some Show Courage."

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. civil
    of or relating to or befitting citizens as individuals
    When I was six years old, the civil rights movement came knocking at the door.
  2. racial
    of or related to groups of people sharing distinctive traits
    At the time, I knew little about the racial fears and hatred in Louisiana, where I was growing up.
  3. privileged
    blessed with special advantages
    In spite of the aftereffects of the whirlwind, I feel privileged now to have been a part of the civil rights struggle.
  4. integration
    incorporating a racial or religious group into a community
    School integration was only one part of the struggle, but an absolutely essential part.
  5. coincidental
    occurring or operating at the same time
    In 1954—coincidentally, the year I was born—the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the end of "separate but equal” education for African-American children.
  6. segregationist
    someone who believes the races should be kept apart
    By 1957, less than two percent of southern schools had been integrated. That year, nine black high school students enrolled in a white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. The white segregationists in Arkansas were furious.
  7. tangible
    capable of being treated as fact
    Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities?
  8. deprive
    keep from having, keeping, or obtaining
    Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other “tangible” factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities?
  9. inferiority
    the state of being lesser
    To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.
  10. sharecropper
    a tenant farmer who owes a portion of each harvest for rent
    My father’s parents were sharecroppers who worked the land under the broiling Mississippi sun.
  11. grits
    coarsely ground corn that is boiled
    We had big southern breakfasts, with grits, bacon and eggs, and homemade biscuits.
  12. biased
    favoring one person or side over another
    Then there were the long and continuing series of research reports showing that Blacks scored lower on IQ tests than Whites, without acknowledging that the tests were standardized on, and culturally biased in favor of, White middle-class children.
  13. unyielding
    stubbornly unwilling to give in
    The federal court, led by Federal District Court Judge J. Skelly Wright, unyielding in his commitment to upholding the law of the land and in his dedication to equal opportunity for all Americans, would block the segregationists again and again.
  14. modest
    not large but sufficient in size or amount
    Black squad cars cruised slowly through the narrow streets between modest white frame dwellings set among palms, oleanders, and crepe myrtle.
  15. jeer
    laugh at with contempt and derision
    They walked hurriedly up the steps and into the yellow brick building while onlookers jeered and shouted taunts.
  16. taunt
    a cruel or scornful remark
    They walked hurriedly up the steps and into the yellow brick building while onlookers jeered and shouted taunts.
  17. apprehensive
    in fear or dread of possible evil or harm
    The girl, dressed in a stiffly starched white dress with a white ribbon in her hair, gripped her mother’s hand tightly and glanced apprehensively toward the crowd.
  18. vow
    promise
    A procession of mothers moved in and out of the schools, removing books and other belongings of their children. Many vowed that their children would not return to class so long as the Negroes were there.
  19. resolution
    a formal expression by a meeting, agreed to by a vote
    They were encouraged by the State legislature, which passed a resolution calling for a boycott of mixed schools.
  20. worldly
    very sophisticated and experienced
    The women were known as the Cheerleaders, and their foul language even shocked a man as worldly as Steinbeck.
  21. wrath
    intense anger
    John Steinbeck, author of The Grapes of Wrath and The Red Pony, won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
  22. extract
    remove, usually with some force or effort
    Four big marshals got out of each car and from somewhere in the automobiles they extracted the littlest Negro girl you ever saw, dressed in shining starchy white, with new white shoes on feet so little they were almost round.
  23. mite
    a slight but appreciable amount
    The men turned her around like a doll, and then the strange procession moved up the broad walk toward the school, and the child was even more a mite because the men were so big.
  24. reluctant
    not eager
    I think in her whole life she had not gone ten steps without skipping, but now in the middle of her first skip, the weight bore her down and her little round feet took measured, reluctant steps between the tall guards.
  25. obsess
    be preoccupied with something
    That November, the minister walked Pam to and from school every day. Very quickly, the chorus of racists became obsessed with the Foremans. They taunted them without mercy.
  26. grating
    unpleasantly harsh in sound
    A shrill, grating voice rang out. The yelling was not in chorus. Each took a turn and at the end of each the crowd broke into howls and roars and whistles of applause.
  27. indelicate
    insensitive to the feelings of others; tactless
    No newspaper had printed the words these women shouted. It was indicated that they were indelicate, some even said obscene.
  28. obscene
    offensive to the mind
    No newspaper had printed the words these women shouted. It was indicated that they were indelicate, some even said obscene.
  29. bestial
    resembling an animal, especially by being vicious or cruel
    On television the sound track was made to blur or had crowd noises cut in to cover. But now I heard the words, bestial and filthy and degenerate.
  30. degenerate
    unrestrained by convention or morality
    On television the sound track was made to blur or had crowd noises cut in to cover. But now I heard the words, bestial and filthy and degenerate.
Created on Mon Oct 25 16:43:18 EDT 2021 (updated Fri Oct 29 09:01:57 EDT 2021)

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