2005 Spirit of Diversity Awardee
Mrs. Ruby J. Rivers
Ruby Jackson Rivers (1928-2001) was a Title 1 teacher and teacher's aide who taught 20 years in Hendersonville Middle School, from 1975-1994. She impacted her students in many ways, including promoting brotherhood in the critical early phases of school integration. She also fought for improved work conditions for teachers and support personnel. A Hendersonville native, Ruby was in the first class to graduate from high school at the all-black Ninth Avenue School. According to her son Gary she regretted not going on to college, following an ophthalmologist's suggestion that her eyes could not withstand the four years of study. She attended MACO Beauty School in Greensboro, and subsequently worked as a licensed beautician. She met and married Clinton Rivers in 1950.
Her accomplishments include her involvement in the initial group that worked toward integrating the schools in Hendersonville and Henderson County. Her children were among the first students who voluntarily integrated city schools in 1964. All four Rivers children graduated from college.
Mrs. Rivers served and appreciated all people regardless of race, color or creed. It was during her years as a Teacher's Aide at Hendersonville Middle School that she touched the lives of children with her love and concern for each of them. As she was known and observed in her relationships with the children by those who worked with her she was an inspiration to both children and adults. According to Charles L. Byrd, superintendent of Henderson County City Schools from 1984-1993, "She had a good grasp of how to handle children...firm, but she loved the children."
Mrs. Rivers strongly supported the school breakfast and after-school study programs. While working at the Hendersonville YMCA one of her primary objectives was to encourage children and their parents to set goals and work toward them.
It is also noteworthy the contribution she made as a volunteer in the Neighborhood Watch program in Hendersonville that contributed to the reduction of drug abuse. She was also state representative of the NCAE-ESP, the state's association for teachers and support personnel. She served as its district representative and later vice president lobbying state legislators for improved salaries and work conditions for both teachers and support personnel, and attended many political rallies across the nation.
Mrs. Rivers was instrumental in implementing two intertwined programs. the Youth Academic Enhancement (YAE), and Project EdGE, which targeted minorities at risk of leaving school (EdGE stood for Education GE). General Electric's foundation funded the scholarship program. EdGE and YAE helped many youths in the late Eighties and early Nineties. These clubs gave students an opportunity to expand their horizons, by meeting and forming relationships with tutors from all walks of life, traveling to colleges and universities to foster a greater desire for college, and with increased awareness of educational scholarships available to them.