Condoleezza Rice in The Faith of Condi Rice, by Leslie Montgomery
On Principles & Values:
OpEd: Faith & heritage tied in personal passion for God
Condoleezza's impenetrable strength, mysterious balance, and unshakable temperament are all evidence of three defining characteristics--a faith that runs deep in her heritage, a personal passion for God that runs thick through her veins, and moral
convictions that are by-products of both.To know and appreciate the faith of Condoleezza Rice, no matter what your religious preference, you must learn about hers. To understand her passion for peace, you must become personally familiar with the
chaotic state of the nation in which she was born. To fully grasp her heart and what has motivated her to exceed the limited expectations that enslaved both her race and her gender for hundreds of generations before her, you must examine her roots.
To taste the inspiration for democracy that flows like a river from her heart, you must learn what it is that feeds her soul.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p. 15-16
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Tested with genius IQ and skipped first grade
Condi seemed to be a prodigy in just about every area from the beginning. She whizzed through kindergarten with no problems when she was barely 4.When [her mother] Angelena enrolled Condi in 1st grade, 2 months shy of being 5, the principal of the
school refused to allow her to attend, saying she wasn't old enough. Angelena took a year off from work and homeschooled Condoleezza. As a result, Condi was able to skip 1st grade, and when she did enroll in school she went directly into 2nd grade.
Angelena knew when Condi was very young that she was gifted intellectually. To support her belief and to see exactly where her daughter was in comparison to other children, she took her daughter to the Southern University in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana for psychological testing. Condi was found to be a genius with an extraordinarily high IQ. Both parents knew they needed to build on the intellect that God had graciously given to their daughter.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p. 49-50
Mar 7, 2007
On Foreign Policy:
1970s: Adopted Russian culture; learned Russian; read Pravda
One day she wandered into a course in international politics at the University of Denver. Condi relates, "I learned that I had an inexplicable love for things
Russian, that an adopted culture can teach you a great deal about yourself."Condi's passion for Russia seemed to have come out of nowhere, and for the next 18 months Russia's history permeated her every waking moment.
She quickly learned the language and began inundating herself with Russian media, even reading Pravda, the Soviet newspaper, on a daily basis.
Shortly thereafter she began studying the Moscow press and military journals. She even named her car Boris after the country's leader, Boris Yeltsin.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.100-101
Mar 7, 2007
On Homeland Security:
As child in 1962, felt danger of Cuban Missile Crisis
"My interest in military policy may have been heightened by the Cuban missile crisis, which I remember vividly though I was barely 8 years old. Those Soviet missiles were within range of the southeastern US, and for a young child, news reports to that
effect were frightening." She adds, "We all lived within range. The Southeast was it--you'd see these red arrows coming at Birmingham. And I remember thinking that was something that maybe my father couldn't handle."
The Cuban Missile Crisis had occurred in October 1962 when Kennedy informed the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases in Cuba. The Cuban Missile Crisis scared Condi.
Even at 8 years old she knew enough to realize that she and her family lived in range of the missiles. As many families did on that occasion the Rices prayed for a peaceful resolution.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.110-111
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Grieving is a privilege; optimistic in face of suffering
For Condi, the loss of her mother meant the loss of the person whose advice she valued most in the world, her best friend, her confidant. Looking back on those days of bereavement, Condi says, she can now see that her time of grieving was a privilege for
her in many ways, and she encourages others to be optimistic in the midst of suffering."It is in times like these that we are reminded of a paradox, that it is a privilege to struggle. American slaves sang, 'Nobody knows the trouble I've seen--Glory
Hallelujah!' Growing up, I would often wonder at the seeming contradiction contained in this line. But I came to learn that there is no contradiction at all. I believe this same message is found in the Bible in Romans 5, where we are told to 'rejoice in
our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character.' For me, there is the lesson that only through struggle do we realize the depths of our resilience and understand that the hardest of blows can be survived."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.118-119
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
1991: Considered for Senate; but no interest in running
1991: Considered for Senate; but no interest in running
In 1991, US Senator Pete Wilson had become governor of California. Thus he needed to appoint someone to serve out the remainder of his Senate term, and he considered Condi for the job at the prompting of President Bush. But Condi didn't have the
1991: Considered for Senate; but no interest in running
She immediately declined his offer, telling Wilson that she was not interested in running for office. President Bush would not be the last to see political potential in Condi. While in California, Condi was approached to run for governor on two
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.131&149
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Only through struggle so we realize depth of our resilience
Condi says she learned some important lessons in regard to mourning her loss. "I learned 3 important truths while grieving the loss of my parents," Condi says. "First, I feel impressed to say that it is a privilege to struggle.
Only through struggle do we realize the depth of our resilience and understand that the hardest of blows can be survived.
Through struggle we learn to let go of fear and strive for freedom. Only in struggle do we attain the knowledge that, like a house of cards, the human spirit is fragile and human strength fleeting.
If there are no burdens, how can we know that he will be there to lift them? It is easy to thank God when all is going well. It is much harder to trust him in times of trial."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.160-161
Mar 7, 2007
On Health Care:
2001: Breast cancer scare from exam; mother died of it
Something happened to Condi that came from out of nowhere. "I had gone to the doctor for a checkup when, during my breast exam, my doctor found something unusual," Condi recalls. "My mother died from breast cancer, so this was not good news. My doctor
said something like, 'Well, don't worry; whatever it is, it's early.' The doctor said he didn't know and wouldn't know for about a week. That was one of the longest 7 day periods of my life. During the first few days after meeting with my doctor, I found
myself planning my future. How was this illness going to interfere with my life? How was I going to keep working if I had cancer? I realized that I was attempting to control a circumstance that I had no control over. So I changed the way I had been
praying."God used the breast cancer scare to draw Condi to a place where she was dependent upon him as opposed to relying on her intellect and ability to reason, the same lesson she had grappled with and overcome in relation to her parents' deaths.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.170-171
Mar 7, 2007
On Families & Children:
I didn't start out not to get married & have kids
As far as her social life, friends say she was able to squeeze in a date or 2 during her tenure as the National Security Advisor and the Secretary of State. However, the time and availability of single, educated, and financially stable black men has
been scarce at the top of the Hill."She was never interested in having children," says a close friend. "Part of the reason for getting married is companionship, and the other part is to have a family. If you take away the family piece of it, then
perhaps it's not as urgent to get married."
When asked if she ever felt "obligated to continue the [Rice} bloodline," she said, "You mean, did I ever want kids? No. I think maybe it's because I'm an only child. I like children, but especially
when they're 18. I didn't start out not to get married and have children. I don't regret that I couldn't pass on some of my genes, which sounds so incredibly narcissistic, but that I couldn't pass on some of the opportunities."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.193-195
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Considers herself an evangelical "contagious Christian"
The most difficult part [of public life is about] profession and proselytizing or being a contagious Christian and what does that mean. While it is safe in many ways to practice your personal faith, while I might say to a group of believers, 'Well,
I just believe' and that'll be accepted it's much harder to say that to people who don't believe."I was really struck by the comment of a friend who read an article about me [which] said that I was an evangelical Christian.
This very good friend of mine said, 'That was a great article, but you're not an evangelical Christian.' And I thought, 'Yeah, but I am.' But I started wondering what was it about me that those words somehow in her mind didn't fit who I was. She knows
I'm a Christian. Now, I think part of it may be that we as evangelicals are increasingly speaking in ways that simply turns people off. And when they meet one of us that they like, they can't possible believe that we're actually evangelical. "
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.202
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Legislating morality is browbeating about faith
I worry a lot about the government and the church. I worry a lot about trying to legislative morality. A friend of mind said, 'You can't legislate love. You can't legislate values.' I worry a lot that what we have done is to sound judgmental
and exclusive in the way that we talk to people about the role of our faith in what we do. Whatever the issue, this tendency to speak in such loud and judgmental tones has really hurt the message that we're trying to deliver.
In fact, what's very interesting to me is that if you think about the way that Christ tried to meet those who did not believe, it was quite opposite. He didn't shout at them. He tried to meet them where they were.
And he met every person in a different place with a different way of dealing with it. Shouting at people and judging them and browbeating them can't be the right way to open up the possibilities of faith to them."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by L. Montgomery, p.202-203
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Not a day of my life have I doubted the existence of God
Condi was spiritually confronted by a Time magazine cover that asked, "Is God Dead?" The article became a fiercely debated issue in American theology. Scholarly religious journals were overflowing with rebuttals.The article served to confirm Condi's
faith, not weaken it. "I can honestly say, without exaggeration, that not a single day of my life have I doubted the existence of God. For me, that was never a question, especially in my home." For the budding teen it was never considered an option.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
No marches as child; but one-on-one mentoring instead
Although Birmingham raged out of control with racism and demonstrations against black Americans during Condi's formative years, her parents lived on the quiet side of the Civil Rights Movement. John was not an active protestor--he did not participate
in marches and demonstrations as did his friends. Instead he chose to fight prejudice by empowering and mentoring young African-Americans through one-on-one mentoring and relationships--and Condi was his primary protege.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p.
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
Tested Civil Rights Act by eating at all-white restaurant
The [post-segregation] changes occurred slowly in other establishments. Only days after the Civil Rights Act was passed, the Rices decided to blatantly test the waters by going to eat at an all-white restaurant. "The people there stopped eating for a
couple of minutes," remembers Condi. No one said anything, but then the crowed stopped staring and began eating again. "A few weeks later we went through a drive-in," Condi says "and when we drove away I bit into my hamburger--and it was all onions."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p.
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Descended from black slaves and white slave owners
On both sides of her family Condi is descended from white slave owners who preyed on immoral and illegal sexual "rights" with their black slaves.
Although it was not unusual in that day and time for slave owners to rape or engage in sexual relations with their slave women, the frequent brutality of the act further enslaved, intimidated, and bred inferiority.
In Condi's black heritage, the slaves were mostly house slaves rather than field slaves, and while this gave her great- and great-great-grandparents proximity to privilege, including some education,
it was under the iron clasp of oppression and slavery that they attained or used it.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 18
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Father, John, initiated church's community "Youth Night"
[Condi's father] John Rice became the church's pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church when his father passed away. Because black youth were banned from public restaurants, pools, and Kiddieland, the local amusement park, John created a youth ministry
at Westminster as an outreach and implemented a Youth Night to get the children in the community involved with something healthy and keep them out of trouble."Rev," or "Daddy Rice" as the kids called him, made sure there were always fun and exciting
things to do. He threw co-ed dances, Ping-Pong tournaments, field trips to various educational sites, board games, Bible studies, and afterschool sports activities. John's message to the kids he mentored and taught was the same he'd have for his own
daughter when she was born. It came straight out of the Bible (Jeremiah 29:11-13): God has a plan for your life; a plan that is good and not for evil. It's a plan to give you a hope and a future.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 28-9
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Baptized by her father at Westminster Presbyterian Church
Like many babies born into a faith-based home and specifically in the Presbyterian denomination, Condi was dedicated and baptized by her father at an early age in the Westminster Presbyterian Church.
The family continued to live in the back of the church until the congregation contracted to have a modest parsonage on the corner of
Center Way South West and Ninth Terrace in Birmingham built when Condi was barely 2.
The home was in a middle-class, predominantly black area of town just a few blocks from the church and would serve nicely for the years to come.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 35-6
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
Childhood in the heat of the Civil Rights struggle
The same year Condi was born, Eugene "Bull" Conner became a candidate for the 2nd time for governor of Alabama. Connor was known as a hard-line, outspoken Southern racist.
He gained lasting infamy when he resorted to using water hoses and police dogs against protestors."I was in the heat of political struggle all through my childhood,"
Condi shares. "But I thought of the Civil Rights Movement as part of a struggle to give all Americans the opportunity to pursue whatever interests them most, where they can best use their talents. Because I viewed the struggle of black America as meaning
the right of each of us to do what we are best equipped to do, it did not seem to me to be disjunction for me to follow my own particular course. Rather the reverse--I was exercising a fundamental right of Americans."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 36-7
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
I grew up in Birmingham, most segregated city in America
Burning crosses & bombs permeated Birmingham. In response, blacks held marches, sit-ins, and protests, many of which were televised and were viewed by Condi with her parents. While her father would not participate in the blatant defiance against racism,
he did take his daughter to watch some of the protests.Her parents couldn't completely shield Condi from the prejudice that she'd see on the news as she watched beating after beating of blacks by police who were paid in part by the tax dollars of
blacks to protect them. And although her parents and others in her inner circle of family & friends were extraordinary role models who encouraged her to be all she could be, others expected little or nothing from her.
"I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama,
a place that was once described, with no exaggeration, as the most thoroughly segregated city in the country. I know what it means to hold dreams and aspirations when half your neighbors think of you as incapable of, or uninterested in, anything higher."
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 40-2
Mar 7, 2007
On Education:
Under segregation, blacks prepared for integrated college
Alabama spent $120 on each white child, but only $60 per black pupil. The extra effort that teachers and the church provided for black kids gave many of them motivation and the feeling that they must succeed--after all, everybody in their community
was counting on it and investing in it."The entire black community was determined on one thing," said Rice. "It was that as America emerged from the old ways of intolerance and prejudice, the children would be ready to take their rightful place in
American society. Among all my friends, the kids I grew up with, there was, for example, no doubt in our mind that we would grow up and go to colleges--integrated colleges--just like other Americans.
Even under segregation there was a strength of community and a strength of spirit," Condi says.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 52
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
First classical piano recital at age four
Condi was thrown into the performing arts arena at an early age. She began doing piano recitals and performances in public for the 1st time when she was 4 at a tea for new teachers in the Birmingham public school system.
It went so well that Condi was asked time and time again to perform at various functions throughout town. In addition to the piano, she learned to play the flute and violin.
The child fell in love with classical music and aspired to be a classical pianist from as early as she remembers, studying Bach and Mozart religiously. When Condi was 5 years of age, her mother gave her a recording of the 4 act opera Aida by
Giuseppe Verdi.
For Condi, it successfully stimulated her desire to pursue a career in the performing arts, something she'd hold onto tightly for many years to come.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 53
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
I remember "Bombingham", city of Bull Connor and the KKK
Despite the fact that seldom a day went by during Condi's formative years when blacks weren't haunted by rebel yells in the daylight hours, terrorized by night riders and burning crosses, and accused of burning their own homes,
Condi says her childhood was good. "Despite my fond memories of Birmingham as a place where I was, as a child, secure, I also remember a place called 'Bombingham'--where
I witnessed the denial of democracy in America for so many years. It was, after all, the city of Bull Connor and the KKK." Bombs were going off regularly.
Between 1940 and 1960 nearly 50 unresolved, racially directed bombings occurred in Birmingham.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 58
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
Founding Fathers said "We the People," but didn't mean me
Throughout the South, when I was growing up, Condi says, "the organized cruelty of segregation was embodied in custom, encompassed in law, and enforced through brutality. Nevertheless, our Founding Fathers had dug the well of democracy deep in America.
Our Founders knew that human beings are imperfect, so they enshrined certain natural rights in our democratic institutions. The only problem of course, was that when the Founding Fathers said, 'We the people,' they didn't mean me."Nonetheless,
the ideal of justice at the heart of this regime was the mirror that black Americans held in the face of their oppressors. This reflected a stark choice for our entire country: Either the principles of our nation's Creed were true for everyone--or
they were true for no one. If there truths were indeed self-evident--if all men really were created equal--then it was America that had to change, not American's democratic ideals.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 61
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
Missed 31 days of school in 1963 due to Birmingham bombings
Parents concerned for their children's lives kept them home from school, and many parents criticized those who were protesting because of the danger that put them and their families in. During the 1963 demonstrations,
Condi says, she missed 31 days of school."I am so grateful for my parents for helping me through that period," says Condi. "They explained to me carefully what was going on, and they did so without any bitterness."
Bombs were continually going off in Birmingham.
Remembering these days, Condi refers to these attacks on blacks as "homegrown terrorism."
It was indeed a time of terror for Condi, who began to see just how far racist whites would go to destroy the black race.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 67-8
Mar 7, 2007
On Principles & Values:
1967: Moved from Alabama to integrated middle-class Denver
John received an offer to be the assistant dean at the College of Arts and Sciences and assistant director of admissions at the University of Denver. He knew that taking Condi to a more metropolitan area would provide more diversity in extracurricular
activities and opportunity for a better education. John was also worried about the bombings that were becoming more and more frequent in the South.Eventually they would move into an integrated, middle-class area of Denver.
John and Angelena enrolled Condi in the prestigious St. Mary's Academy located in Englewood, a suburb of Denver.
For the first time in Condoleezza's life, she would attend an integrated school--St. Mary's Academy was an independent, Catholic school founded in 1964--although she'd be only one of three blacks enrolled there.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 83-4
Mar 7, 2007
On Civil Rights:
Furious at theories that blacks have genetically lower IQ
One morning as 16-year-old Condi sat in a lecture hall at the University of Denver, 1 of 3 blacks out of approximately 250 students, something occurred that challenged the very essence of who she was as an individual. A professor began approvingly citing
William Shockley. He concluded that African-Americans were inherently less intelligent than Caucasians.As the professor [concluded that] blacks had lower IQ's because of genetics, Condi became more furious. "I raised my hand and said, 'You really
should not be presenting this as fact because there's plenty of evidence to the contrary.'" The professor disagreed with her, saying that evidence to the contrary didn't exist. "That's when I said. 'Let me explain to you: I speak French, I play Bach,
I'm better in your culture than you are. So obviously this can be taught. It doesn't have anything to do with whether you are or are not black.'"
Her confrontation silenced the professor on the topic, and she even aced the class.
Source: The Faith of Condoleezza Rice, by Leslie Montgomery, p. 94-5
Mar 7, 2007
Page last updated: Jul 26, 2015