Ruby Sutton
President, NAACP Dubuque Branch
TH: Within a couple of years of your arrival in Dubuque, the Civil Rights movement started to pick up nationally. This interview will appear during Black History month, and we've just passed Dr. King's birthday observance. Did you feel any inspiration from Dr. King, watching what he was doing?
SUTTON: Oh my God, did I ever. Yes, yes.
TH: In what way?
SUTTON: Well, he fought for justice. There's a feeling that it means more to you, to make sure that people are treated fair. Because you see it, you feel it. And we grew up as youngsters that there was a God and he'll take care of you. And some of that's engraved in you and you believe that.
TH: When I talked to Sister Inez (Turnmeyer, of St. Mark Community Center) last month, she said that (race relations in Dubuque) are better. She says there's still a ways to go.
SUTTON: Oh, yes. See, it depends on how low you were (to begin with). But there are relatives and daughter-in-laws and son-in-laws all over America, and you almost have to accept. The reason they accept is you allow yourself to get closer and understand, and it's not always assumptions. I think assumption can hold you back. But once you see a person, become close to a person, you realize that, "Hey, that person is not that bad."
TH: A few years ago, 10, 12 years ago, you and some other African-Americans, Dubuquers had raised some serious concerns about the Dubuque school district curriculum and diversity exposure. What's your level of comfort with what's going on now?
SUTTON: Schools have improved, I think, to a great degree. They try to recruit people of color to be teachers in the school system and some of that has happened. Although they don't have as many African-Americans as we'd like, they do try to bring about diversity into the school system and committees and education and seminars and those type things. So that has improved.
TH: Another area of concern over the years has been the police department. I think I'm correct in saying that we do not have any African-Americans on the force.
SUTTON: And we have really worked that. And I'm hoping that before I leave this world that that's a goal. We have tried to recruit African-Americans on the police.
TH: Another is, day-to-day, the police role in community and how they handle calls and complaints and treatment of citizens. What's your comfort level with how the police department is doing its job, particularly as it relates to minorities.
SUTTON: I haven't had very much experience personally. I've had people who have came to me and say the police department stopped them when they shouldn't have and those type things. My understanding is if they're suspicious, they have the right to call in and stop or whatever people are doing. I'm just hoping for the day when there is an African-American - and not just African-American but people of color - in the police department, because I really believe education is going to come from hands-on.
When I came here, and I am still the only African-American on staff (at Operation: New View), and I want to believe the staff here has experienced some things through myself that they never would have believed. I'm able to go out in the community, speak to groups, talk about diversity and feel well accepted. And I think that same thing could happen with the police department. I know with staff here they have experienced people who will pass up staff and they'll say, "I want to see Miss Ruby." Therefore, that was a great experience that has came about within the community. And when that happens, it also shows the other staff that diversity is working and it can and will if we allow that.
TH: It's a dilemma and one that we see in our organization, where it's difficult to get, say, an African-American reporter or editor on staff when they come in and say, "All I see are white folks here."
SUTTON: Right.
TH: How do you break that cycle, where you won't get a more diverse community if you don't hire more minorities, but in some cases you can't get them to come because the African-American community is so small?
SUTTON: Well, I guess I want to feel that they shouldn't all have to come from the Dubuque area. We should be able to recruit. We send people to the moon, and we can't find school teachers and police officers?