Ruth J. Simmons

Up Home is an inspiring memoir by Ruth J. Simmons, who was born the twelfth child of extremely impoverished sharecroppers in Texas and became the first Black president of an Ivy League university. Ms. Simmons does not soften the conditions in which she grew up. Her family lived in owner-provided housing that "had there been any government housing codes, would have missed the required safety standards by a wide margin." She describes the hollow feeling in her family's stomachs when they ran out of the numerous things their mother had canned, especially after "phantom meals," which consisted of her mother's biscuits with either homemade sugar syrup or gravy. Ms. Simmons' mother made the family's clothes from old burlap or cotton flour sacks. Beginning at age six, every family member worked in the cotton fields. Children attended school only when there was no farm work to be done. Ms. Simmons started school when she was six, and she had a dedicated teacher whose "enthusiasm convinced me that learning was supremely important, thoroughly enjoyable, and immensely expansive." The family moved to Houston that same year. Up Home references interracial segregation, and Ms. Simmons did not have a white friend until she attended college, apart from a short friendship with the daughter of a neighboring sharecropper. Despite the difficult conditions she endured, Ms. Simmons repeatedly states how happy her childhood was.
Up Home is an uplifting book, and Ms. Simmons is undoubtedly a person who should be a role model for people of any race. She overcame many adversities and worked tirelessly to educate herself, which she did in an outstanding fashion. She is an extraordinary woman, passionate about education.
Up Home is an easy read which I enjoyed immensely. While touching on some difficult contextual issues, Ms. Simmons' narration never goes into enough detail to be disturbing to younger readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC.… (más)