Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson
| Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson | |
|---|---|
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| Born | April 25, 1942 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 1967 (aged 25) |
| Organization | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee |
| Movement | African-American Civil Rights Movement |
Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson (April 25, 1942 – October 9, 1967) worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from its earliest days in 1960 until her death in October 1967. She served the organization as an activist in the field and as an administrator in the Atlanta central office. She eventually succeeded James Forman as SNCC's executive secretary and was the only woman ever to serve in this capacity. She was well respected by her SNCC colleagues and others within the movement for her work ethic and dedication to those around her. SNCC Freedom Singer Matthew Jones recalled, "You could feel her power in SNCC on a daily basis".Jack Minnis, director of SNCC's opposition research unit, insisted that people could not fool her. Minnis was convinced that she had a "100 percent effective shit detector". Over the course of her life, she served 100 days in prison for the movement.
This hard-nosed administrator and legendary activist was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 25, 1942 and spent her childhood in Atlanta's Summerhill neighborhood, the oldest black community in the city. She was the second oldest of seven children born to Alice, a beautician, and J. T. Smith, a furniture mover and Baptist minister. The Smith children lived a comfortable existence in their separate Black world. Their parents made their earnings off of black patronage rather than from the support of whites, which showed Ruby from a young age the power and independence that blacks could have. They had strong adult support, and they had their own churches, schools, and social activities.
No matter how insulated they were, however, the reality of American racism and segregation intruded from time to time. Smith-Robinson recalled her feelings about segregation in those early years saying, "I was conscious of my Blackness. Every young Negro growing up in the South has thoughts about the racial situation." Her sister Catherine remembers that even as an adolescent, Ruby said to her, “I know what my life and mission is…It’s to set the black people free. I will never rest until it happens. I will die for that cause.”
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