Leah Shashaty
10/13/13
2nd Period Having a woman as part of the presidential party fifty years ago would not even be considered. In the midst of segregation of blacks and whites, electing an african american woman would be past impossible. Condoleezza Rice, who grew up in the exceedingly racist town of Birmingham, proved this stereotype wrong as told in the biography
Condi, written by Antonia Felix. Because this novel’s theme focuses on the importance of faith, family and hard work, the author’s tone remains genuinely sincere throughout the text.
Former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice served as an excellent example, influence and role model to those who looked up to her. This story summarized her early life and documented her journey as a member of the white house. Born in
Birmingham, Alabama to tremendously influential parents, John and Angelena, Condi was expected to become something great. Starting when she was only a baby, Condi’s parents put a remarkably large emphasis on education, and constantly encouraged her to work hard. At the age of three she began to learn how to play the piano, which was inevitable considering not only that multiple generations of her family had played, but also her name in Italian is a musical term which means to play “with sweetness”. If her parents had not instilled strong, meaningful values and provided the immense positive influence in her life as they did, she would not have blossomed into the strong, independent woman she is today. Although she was already a bright, intelligent student,
Rice’s parents continued to push her harder, and by doing this she kept getting better

and better. “I had parents who gave me every conceivable opportunity”, she said. Her father, as a pastor made sure Condi was well grounded, well disciplined and well surrounded in religion. She grew up with a deep, secure relationship with Jesus Christ which served as the base of how she lived her life. At the time of Condi’s childhood, blacks were still looked down upon and treated with less respect and had less opportunities than those of white citizens. Partly because of this was the reason her parents were so strict and serious about raising her the right way. It was believed that a black person had to be “twice as good” to be equal to a white person. The Rice’s strived to be three times as good. Although they lived right in the middle of segregation, the
Rices did their best to move on, without letting it impact them. Even during the bombs of
1960, Mr. and Mrs. Rice did the best they could of keeping Condi safe and oblivious of the situation, even though she found out anyway: she was always interested in the news and current events, even at a young age. They struggled through. One day, the
Rices went to a drive­through restaurant and ordered burgers, but as they were driving out Mrs. Rice took a bite of hers to find it was all onions. Hopefully and bravely the family moved on. Condi said, “My parents had me absolutely convinced that...you may not be able to have a hamburger at Woolworth’s but you can be president of the United
States.”

Eventually things settled down. Rice graduated from the University of Denver in
1974 with a degree in political science, earned her master’s at the University of Notre
Dame in 1975 and her Ph.D. from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of
International Studies in 1981. After graduating, in that same year she was hired by

Stanford University to be a political science professor. Becoming the first african­american provost at Stanford University was just one accomplishment in a long line of many more to come for Condi. Brent Scowcroft, President Gerald Ford’s national security advisor introduced Dr. Rice to George Bush after hearing her speak at a dinner at Stanford University because he realized that she “possessed a profound understanding of Soviet ideology.” After he became the national security advisor