--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ruby Bates, one of the young white girls…" description: "\"“Ruby Bates, one of the young white girls, was a remarkable person. She told me she had been driven into prostitution when she was thirteen. She had be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/studs-terkel-3020_white-girl_ruby-bates-one-of-the-young-white-girls_1524881.jpg" --- # Ruby Bates, one of the young white girls, was a remarkable… ![“Ruby Bates, one of the young white girls, was a remarkable person. She told me she had been driven into prostitution when she was thirteen. She had been working in a textile mill for a pittance. When she asked for a raise, the boss told her to make it up by going with the workers. She told me…” quote by Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/studs-terkel-3020_white-girl_ruby-bates-one-of-the-young-white-girls_1524881.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/studs-terkel-3020_white-girl_ruby-bates-one-of-the-young-white-girls_1524881.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/studs-terkel-3020_white-girl_ruby-bates-one-of-the-young-white-girls_1524881.jpg) > ““Ruby Bates, one of the young white girls, was a remarkable person. She told me she had been driven into prostitution when she was thirteen. She had been working in a textile mill for a pittance. When she asked for a raise, the boss told her to make it up by going with the workers. She told me there was nothing else she could do...Ruby Bates was a remarkable woman. Underneath it all—the poverty, the degradation—she was decent, pure. Here was an illiterate white girl, all of whose training had been clouded by the myths of white supremacy, who, in the struggle for the lives of these nine innocent boys, had come to see the role she was being forced to play. As a murderer. She turned against her oppressors. . .. I shall never forget her.”” [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A young white girl forced into prostitution by economic desperation shows moral courage by confronting her oppressors despite societal oppression. **In simple terms:** A girl in poverty fights back against exploitation. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist systemic oppression. Themes poverty exploitation resistance gender race Mood somber reflective Type historical social commentary When to use this quote - labor rights activism - human trafficking awareness - social justice education Key Concepts moral courage systemic oppression agency Questions to Reflect On - How does personal agency intersect with structural oppression? - What responsibilities do societies have to protect vulnerable individuals? A Different Perspective The narrative may oversimplify complex historical power dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bates Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bates-remarkable-5645219/) [Girls Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girls-remarkable-5645221/) [Remarkable Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarkable-woman-749355/) [Ruby Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruby-bates-5645218/) [Told Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-ruby-5645220/) [White girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-girl/) ## Related quotes > [I feel with this film that as long as we tell Philomena's story and as long as we're true to her, which Jeff and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/i-feel-with-this-film-that-as-long-as-we-tell-philomena-s-story-and/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [“Abby, I don’t know who you are, but I do know that you’re a remarkable woman. 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I shall be famous or I will die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bashkirtseff/i-was-born-to-be-a-remarkable-woman-it-matters-little-in-what-way-or/) [Marie Bashkirtseff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bashkirtseff/) > [“I'm drowning in the depths of her eyes. The bottomless sea of perfection and uniqueness is what I see. How can a remarkable woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-stein/i-m-drowning-in-the-depths-of-her-eyes-the-bottomless-sea-of/) [Sarah Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-stein/) > [My deep emotional connection to my mother, a remarkable woman who made a hard choice to save her children, and who valiantly struggled to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazie-hirono/my-deep-emotional-connection-to-my-mother-a-remarkable-woman-who-made/) [Mazie Hirono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazie-hirono/) > [“Ivoleyn is the most beautiful and remarkable woman in all of Altania, he said, his throat so tight the words inflicted a pain upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-beckett/ivoleyn-is-the-most-beautiful-and-remarkable-woman-in-all-of-altania/) [Galen Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galen-beckett/) > [So I was really excited when I came to America about meeting black people. But it was a huge culture shock, because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-turner-smith/so-i-was-really-excited-when-i-came-to-america-about-meeting-black/) [Jodie Turner-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-turner-smith/) ## More by Studs Terkel > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“It was in ’35—we had this campaign to raise a million tax dollars. In the town of Phillips, one evening, during a blizzard, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/it-was-in-35-we-had-this-campaign-to-raise-a-million-tax-dollars-in/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I read somewhere that when a person takes part in community action, his health improves. Something happens to him or to her biologically. 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You didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-ll-never-forget-that-depression-easter-sunday-our-son-was-four/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [All you need in life is truth and beauty and you can find both at the Public Library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/all-you-need-in-life-is-truth-and-beauty-and-you-can-find-both-at-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but rather a raucous conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/reading-a-book-should-not-be-a-passive-exercise-but-rather-a-raucous/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I hope for peace and sanity - it's the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-hope-for-peace-and-sanity-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“The total cost of the Federal Arts Project was only $23 million. Many of these paintings, sculptures and prints were given to museums, courthouses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-total-cost-of-the-federal-arts-project-was-only-23-million-many/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [I find labels "liberal" and "conservative" of little meaning. Our language has become perverted along with the thoughts of many of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/i-find-labels-liberal-and-conservative-of-little-meaning-our-language/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [“Who knows Bob’s name in this outfit—let alone his lame child’s? (“The last place I worked for, I was let go,” recalls the bank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/who-knows-bob-s-name-in-this-outfit-let-alone-his-lame-child-s-the/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [The trouble with censorship is that once it starts it is hard to stop. Just about every book contains something that someone objects to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/the-trouble-with-censorship-is-that-once-it-starts-it-is-hard-to-stop/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) [Explore all 142 Studs Terkel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## More White girl quotes > [So I was really excited when I came to America about meeting black people. But it was a huge culture shock, because I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-turner-smith/so-i-was-really-excited-when-i-came-to-america-about-meeting-black/) [Jodie Turner-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-turner-smith/) > [Being in the body of an African-American woman, I prefer animation. I get to be everybody. 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I looked up 'in love with a white girl' on Google and found and article about that white girl named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/hey-arnold-he-said-i-looked-up-in-love-with-a-white-girl-on-google/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Portishead's production is just insane beats you would expect to be on a KRS-One album. But then there's this little white girl with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-holm/portishead-s-production-is-just-insane-beats-you-would-expect-to-be/) [Anders Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-holm/) > [I was often the only white girl in the Indian dance class. That felt funny, but doing Indian dance was great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roselee-goldberg/i-was-often-the-only-white-girl-in-the-indian-dance-class-that-felt/) [Roselee Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roselee-goldberg/) > [White girls, going wild. I murder that pussy now Im on a trial. So wet, I need 4 towels. 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