''The Problem We All Live With '' is a painting by

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

that is considered an iconic image of the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It depicts Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

girl, on her way to

William Frantz Elementary School William Frantz Elementary School is an American elementary school located at 3811 North Galvez Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70117. Along with McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School, it was involved in the New Orleans school desegregation crisis d ...

, an all-white public school, on November 14, 1960, during the

New Orleans school desegregation crisis The New Orleans school desegregation crisis was a period of intense public resistance in New Orleans following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in ''Brown v. Board of Education'' that racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. ...

. Because of threats of violence against her, she is escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals; the painting is framed so that the marshals' heads are cropped at the shoulders. On the wall behind her are written the racial slur " nigger" and the letters "

KKK The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

"; a smashed and splattered tomato thrown against the wall is also visible. The white protesters are not visible, as the viewer is looking at the scene from their point of view. The painting is oil on canvas and measures high by wide.

History

US Marshals with Young Ruby Bridges on School Steps

The painting was originally published as a centerfold in the January 14, 1964, issue of ''

Look To look is to use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct general-interest magazine * ''Look'' (UK ma ...

''. Rockwell had ended his contract with the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' the previous year due to frustration with the limits the magazine placed on his expression of political themes, and ''Look'' offered him a forum for his social interests, including civil rights and racial integration. Rockwell explored similar themes in Southern Justice (Murder in Mississippi) and ''New Kids in the Neighborhood''; unlike his previous works for the ''Post'', ''The Problem We All Live With'' and these others place black people as sole protagonists, instead of as observers, part of group scenes, or in servile roles. Like ''New Kids in the Neighborhood'', ''The Problem We All Live With'' depicts a black child protagonist; like ''Southern Justice'', it uses strong light-dark contrasts to further its racial theme. While the subject of the painting was inspired by Ruby Bridges, Rockwell used a local girl, Lynda Gunn, as the model for his painting; her cousin, Anita Gunn, was also used. One of the marshals was modelled by

William Obanhein William J. Obanhein (October 19, 1924 – September 11, 1994), also known as Officer Obie, was the chief of police for the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He was a member of the police force there for 34 years, 1951 to 1985. He is fairly ...

. After the work was published, Rockwell received "sacks of disapproving mail", one example accusing him of being a race traitor.

Legacy

At Bridges' suggestion, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

had the painting installed in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, in a hallway outside the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

, from July to October 2011. Art historian William Kloss stated, "The N-word there – it sure stops you. There's a realistic reason for having the graffiti as a slur, utit's also right in the middle of the painting. It's a painting that could not be hung even for a brief time in the public spaces

f the White House F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...

I'm pretty sure of that." Bridges and Obama viewed the painting together on July 15, 2011, and he told her, "I think it's fair to say that if it hadn't been for you guys, I might not be here and we wouldn't be looking at this together." A copy of the painting was used to " dress"

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...

's house during his 1995 murder trial by defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran hoped to evoke the sympathy of visiting jurors, who were mostly black, by including "something depicting African-American history."Bernstein, Richard
"Shedding Light on How Simpson's Lawyers Won"
''The New York Times'', October 16, 1996.

References

External links

*
President Obama talking with Ruby Bridges, ''The Problem We All Live With'' painting
(YouTube.com-The White House channel)
Detailed record of the painting via the Norman Rockwell Museum website

2020 Vox.com article about Rockwell and the painting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Problem We All Live With, The Paintings by Norman Rockwell School segregation in the United States Art based on actual events Black people in art Works originally published in Look (American magazine) 1964 paintings Civil rights movement in popular culture Art in the White House

History

Legacy

See also

References

External links