One year ago today, President Obama got a visit from an icon of the civil rights movement. Ruby Bridges was at the White House to see how a painting that commemorates a personal and historic milestone looked hanging on the wall outside of the Oval Office. Norman Rockwell was so inspired by the image of the six year old being escorted to her first day in a formerly segregated kindergarten by four U.S. marshals amidst signs of protest and fearful ignorance that he painted it for the cover of Look magazine.
When Ruby Bridges visited the Oval Office on July 15, President Obama told her, "I think it's fair to say that if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't be here today."