Angelena Rice
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Angelena Ray Rice (1924 – June 1985), teacher of high school music and science in Birmingham, Alabama and Denver, Colorado, was the mother of United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Rice, her husband John Wesley Rice, and their daughter lived in Titusville, a black middle-class neighbourhood in Birmingham, Alabama. She named her daughter Condoleezza, after the Italian musical notation “con dolcezza” meaning to play "with sweetness". Angelena Rice managed her daughter's schedule, schooling Condoleezza in academic subjects and music, and sending her to ballet, youth group, and church. Since Condoleezza could read fluently by age five, Angelena Rice wanted her to start school. When the principal of the black elementary school said she was too young, Rice took a one-year leave of absence and home-schooled her daughter. This education was rigorous and structured.
Angelena Rice enrolled her daughter in a variety of schools to expose her to different social and educational experiences. She instructed her daughter to excel and be above average in every endeavour.
Angelena Rice's parents protected her from Birmingham's Jim Crow laws by telling her and her siblings to use facilities at home, rather than segregated washrooms and water fountains. Later, Angelena Rice was told her daughter could not use a "whites only" dressing room, but argued until the shop clerk relented.
In 1969, Angelena Rice was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died in 1985.
External links
- [Sunday Times article]
- [The Unflappable Condi Rice]
- ['Honored to have the chance,' - Failure was never an option for 'Condi' Rice]
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