Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson
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| Born | April 25, 1942 |
| Died | October 7, 1967 (aged 25) |
| Organization | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee |
| Movement | Civil Rights Movement |
| Relatives | Keisha Lance Bottoms |
Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson (April 25, 1942 – October 7, 1967) was a brave leader in the Civil Rights Movement. She worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from 1960 until she passed away in 1967. Ruby was an activist who protested for change. She also helped manage SNCC's main office in Atlanta.
Ruby was the only woman to become SNCC's executive secretary. This was a very important leadership role. Her friends and co-workers admired her hard work and dedication. One SNCC member, Matthew Jones, said, "You could feel her power in SNCC every day." Throughout her life, Ruby spent 100 days in jail fighting for civil rights.
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Ruby's Early Life and Family
Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 25, 1942. She grew up in the Summerhill neighborhood, which was Atlanta's oldest Black community. Ruby was the second of seven children. Her mother, Alice, was a beautician, and her father, J. T. Smith, moved furniture and was a Baptist minister.
The Smith family lived a comfortable life. Their parents earned money from Black customers, not from white people. This showed Ruby early on how strong and independent Black people could be. They had good support from adults. They also had their own churches, schools, and fun activities.
Even with their close community, racism and segregation affected their lives. Ruby remembered her feelings about segregation. She said, "I was aware of being Black. Every young Black person in the South thinks about the racial situation." Her sister Catherine recalled Ruby saying, "My life's mission is to set Black people free. I will never rest until it happens. I will die for that cause."
Ruby also remembered how she reacted to white people as a child. She said, "I didn't notice them, and they didn't notice me. My only involvement was throwing rocks at them." One day, she and her sister went for ice cream. The clerk grabbed her cone with his bare hands. Ruby refused it, knowing he used tissues for white customers.
Ruby's mother wanted her to study hard. She encouraged Ruby to join school activities instead of doing housework. Ruby graduated from Price High School at 16. She then went to Spelman College, a top Black college in the United States.
Joining the Atlanta Student Movement
When Ruby started at Spelman College in 1959, she quickly got involved. She was inspired by the Greensboro, North Carolina, lunch counter sit-in. This protest stopped Black people from eating at the same counters as white people. Ruby joined many sit-ins and was arrested several times. She regularly protested to help integrate Atlanta.
In the summer of 1960, Ruby kept organizing even when many students were away. She started an economic boycott. She also led "kneel-ins" at white churches. Her slogan for the boycott was "have integration will shop, have segregation will not." Some days, she protested alone outside the A&P grocery store.
Ruby's Role in SNCC
Ruby first attended a SNCC meeting in February 1961. She had avoided SNCC because it focused more on planning than protesting. But at this meeting, they discussed "jail-versus-bail." This was about students in Rock Hill who were arrested but refused to pay bail. SNCC decided to send a group, and Ruby joined them. They were arrested and sentenced to 30 days in prison. This was her first time protesting outside her hometown.
Ruby became deeply involved in the national Civil Rights Movement. She joined SNCC activities like the Freedom Rides, community organizing, and voter registration drives. She was arrested many times for these actions. In spring 1961, Ruby left her college studies. She became a full-time southern campus coordinator for SNCC.
She joined a Freedom Ride from Nashville, Tennessee, to Montgomery, Alabama, on May 17, 1961. She faced violence in Montgomery. She was then arrested in Jackson, Mississippi. She chose to stay in Parchman State Prison for 45 days, following the "jail no bail" strategy.
After her time in prison, Ruby attended a student leadership meeting. She spoke about problems within the Black community. She noted that many successful Black doctors and lawyers were light-skinned. She found out this was because college admissions committees favored them. Ruby believed the movement also needed to address issues within the Black community itself.
In fall 1961, Ruby went back to Spelman College. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a recommendation for her. She continued her work with the Atlanta Student Movement. After lunch counters were desegregated, they focused on hospitals. At one protest, they walked into the white entrance. The receptionist told them to leave, saying they weren't sick. Ruby walked up to the desk, looked the person in the eye, and then vomited on the counter. She then asked, "Is that sick enough for you?"
By 1963, Ruby was SNCC's administrative secretary. She worked full-time in the main office. She helped organize, manage money, and handle daily tasks. She led the summer voter registration project in Mississippi. She also managed the "Sojourner Truth" car fleet, which gave rides to civil rights workers.
The next year, she argued that Black people should lead SNCC. The group had started to rely on white people for money and political help. She suggested recruiting more Southerners and limiting Northerners, who sometimes caused tension. Some thought she was "anti-white," but others disagreed. Later, one of her closest friends was white. She supported Black power without being against white people.
Even though there was some sexism in SNCC, Ruby challenged it. She held a leadership role and had power over men. Stokely Carmichael said about her, "She was sure there was nothing she couldn't do. She was a tower of strength." For many years, people thought she wrote a paper called "The Position of Women in SNCC." But the real authors have since come forward.
Many early SNCC members had stories about Ruby. Julian Bond remembered a trip to Africa in 1964. A group of SNCC staff was going to observe nonviolence. An airline worker said the plane was full. Ruby got so angry that she sat down in the jetway and refused to move. They were given seats on that flight. She showed this same strong spirit in her office work. SNCC was interested in Guinea because it was a symbol of freedom. Guinea was the only African country under French rule that chose immediate independence. In Guinea, they met with government leaders. After returning from Africa, Ruby focused on Black nationalism.
In 1964, Ruby married Clifford Robinson. She had a son, Kenneth Toure Robinson, in 1965. He was named after the president of Guinea. Ruby returned to work just two weeks after giving birth. She also graduated from Spelman with a degree in physical education. Balancing her marriage, child, and movement work was very hard. To deal with stress, she kept empty Coca-Cola bottles in her office. She would throw them at the wall, clean up the pieces, and then get back to work.
In May 1966, Ruby became SNCC's executive secretary. She was the first woman to hold this position. She was in charge of organizing and supporting many community projects. These projects were part of SNCC's Black Power campaign. At the same time, Stokely Carmichael became chairman. This changed SNCC, as he was seen as more militant.
Ruby's Passing
In January 1967, Ruby's health began to get much worse. This was also when SNCC started to break apart. She was admitted to a hospital. She suffered for ten months from a rare blood disease. In April, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Ruby passed away on October 7, 1967, at only 26 years old. One of her co-workers said, "She died of exhaustion. She was destroyed by the movement." She was buried in South-View Cemetery in Atlanta.
Ruby's Legacy
Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson's life story is told in a book by Cynthia Fleming. It is called Soon We Will Not Cry (1998).
