Visual Text: "The Problem We All Live With"

I am not quite sure when I visited the Norman Rockwell Museum, but I do know that I went there for a school fieldtrip. One painting that I remember is called The Problem We All Live With. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African American girl, on her way to a white public school; this illustration was painted in 1964 during the process of racial desegregation. I remember viewing this painting and being appalled that someone would throw a tomato at her. I did not understand how or why people could be so cruel to an innocent girl--she isn’t harming anyone, she is just going about her own business. I was also stunned that four deputy U.S. marshals are escorting the girl to school because of the violence against her; it really made me fear that people might act harshly toward me because I am Chinese, but my dad explained to me that racism is in the past and I have nothing to worry about.

However, that is not entirely true. Sure, racism is mostly resolved in the world, but yet we still hear about discrimination in the news. I’ve been made fun of because of my race several times. I tried to ignore it and pretend like I didn’t hear the comments because it is extremely hurtful to be made fun of in general, but I think more so when people made fun of me because I am Chinese. Sometimes I would cry to my mom and ask her many questions such as why am I Chinese or why couldn’t I be white instead. In those moments, I felt so ashamed for being who I am. After sixteen years of knowledge and experience, I’ve learned not to be embarrassed, but rather proud to be different and unique because who wants to be like everyone else? My parents used to tell me that being Chinese, among other things, is what makes me so special…kind of cheesy right?

When I first saw this photo, I was filled with outrage. I just could not believe that this was how life would be for a young black child. When I was younger everything was so different compared to the past in America. I was not fully aware of segregation and discrimination. If you look closely at the background of the art piece, there are nasty, racist words. After viewing the work several times now, I realize how brave this little girl is—fearless from the world around her. The girl continues to walk forward and keep her head held high; she is so strong. As I was writing about the drawing, I noticed that all four men are stepping with their left foot forward while the girl steps with her right foot, opposite from the white men. This makes a statement about conformity and unity as the girl defies being like the white people. In addition, the girl is wearing white, which typically represents purity and innocence: white shoes, white socks, white bows, and a white dress. I think the white color is supposed to juxtapose her dark skin.

Overall, I think this Norman Rockwell painting says a lot about racism. I completely agree with the statement, “A picture is a thousand words.” There is so much that goes on in one single visual image that sometimes it is hard to grasp everything. Similar to written works, there are multiple ways of interpreting a picture because people think and view things differently. This is one of my favorite Norman Rockwell paintings and it was the first visual work that I thought to write about for this blog because it has majorly impacted me.