Robinson, Ruby Doris Smith, 1941-1967

Ruby Doris Smith-Robinson (April 25, 1942 – October 7, 1967)[1] worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) from its earliest days in 1960 until her death in October 1967.[2] She served the organization as an activist in the field and as an administrator in the Atlanta central office. She eventually succeeded James Forman as SNCC's executive secretary and was the only woman ever to serve in this capacity. She was well respected by her SNCC colleagues and others within the movement for her work ethic and dedication to those around her. Smith-Robinson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, Young Ruby, like many young Black Americans of her generation, became convinced that change was possible. When she entered Spelman College in 1959, she quickly became involved in the Atlanta Student Movement after being inspired by the Greensboro North Carolina lunch counter sit-in, which prevented blacks from eating at the same lunch counter as white people did during her sophomore year. She participated in many sit-ins and was arrested a few times after getting involved in the Atlanta Student Movement.[8] She regularly picketed and protested with her colleagues in a bid to integrate Atlanta. The first SNCC meeting Ruby attended was in February 1961 In January 1967, her health began to decline precipitously around the same time as the splintering of SNCC, and she was admitted to a hospital. She suffered for ten months from a rare blood disease, and in April of that year she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.[16] She died on October 7, 1967, aged 26.