Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice

Her parents’ fierce unwillingness to set limits propelled her to the venerable halls of Stanford University, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become the university’s second-in-command. From both, Rice learned the value of faith in the face of hardship and the importance of giving back to the community. Her mother, a teacher, developed Condoleezza’s passion for piano and exposed her to the fine arts. Her father, John, a minister and educator, instilled a love of sports and politics. So how was Rice able to achieve what she ultimately did? Months later, four young girls lost their lives in a particularly vicious bombing. That spring two bombs exploded in Rice’s neighborhood amid a series of chilling Klu Klux Klan attacks.

But by 1963, Birmingham had become an environment where blacks were expected to keep their head down and do what they were told-or face violent consequences. Throughout the 1950's, Birmingham's black middle class largely succeeded in insulating their children from the most corrosive effects of racism, providing multiple support systems to ensure the next generation would live better than the last.

Her achievements run the gamut from helping to oversee the collapse of communism in Europe and the decline of the Soviet Union, to working to protect the country in the aftermath of 9-11, to becoming only the second woman-and the first black woman ever-to serve as Secretary of State.īut until she was 25 she never learned to swim, because when she was a little girl in Birmingham, Alabama, Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor decided he'd rather shut down the city's pools than give black citizens access. This is the story of Condoleezza Rice that has never been told, not that of an ultra-accomplished world leader, but of a little girl-and a young woman-trying to find her place in a sometimes hostile world, of two exceptional parents, and an extended family and community that made all the difference.Ĭondoleezza Rice has excelled as a diplomat, political scientist, and concert pianist.

Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice