Ruby Rockwell Injustice

There was a large problem in this country during the 1960s. It brought about many unnecessary deaths, heartache, and suffering for many people. Deep into the Civil Rights movement, African-Americans continued to fight for their rights; facing a very brutal adversary. The modern #BlackLivesMatter movement proves that even today, it is still, a problem we all live with. In the painting The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell, he creates a sense of injustice in the audience. This sense of injustice is surfaced through the color, subject matter and use of light in painting.
Rockwell’s sense of injustice was initiated through the color of the protagonist’s clothing. The protagonist in this painting is the young African-American girl, Ruby
In the background of the painting on the wall, there is found graffiti depicting mediums for hate. On the wall is written: “Nigger” and “KKK”. Also found is a splattered tomato. This negativity was used to promote the end of desegregation. The crowds were mainly white parents angry to share their school with a “nigger”. To make their point they created this graffiti and actively demonstrated their prejudice; depicted in the painting by the newly thrown tomato. With Ruby’s aforementioned innocence, this hate seems unjust and unnecessary to be directed toward one little girl trying to further her education. Rockwell including the taboo language in his art makes it a stronger statement piece. Rockwell still, with making such a dark point, shines a
He is known for “capturing America”. He started his painting career with his pieces being published in The Saturday Evening Post. More and more Rockwell painted statement and political pieces. At a certain point, The Saturday Evening Post would no longer print his work because of how controversial it was. This was the case with Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With. Rockwell earnestly sought out an outlet for the message he found imperative for all Americans to see. Eventually, in 1964, Rockwell’s painting was published as a centerfold in Look magazine. Rockwell’s mission was to create a piece to help fix and raise awareness toward a gap in society that he saw and felt should be fixed. The piece The Problem We All Live With incites a sense of injustice and thus provokes change in society. A change, 52 years later, is still something American society struggles to