In May of 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "racial segregation in public schools violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution." In November of that year, the Rices welcomed their baby daughter in Alabama. Her name was coined from an Italian musical term that means "with sweetness" - Condoleezza.
Despite the court ruling, change was slow in the Southern states. The white and black sections of society had parallel lives. Yet, regardless of the segregated lives they led, Condi's parents instilled in her a sense of self-worth and the confidence to chase her dreams. Her father taught her to love academics and football equally. She learned to play the piano from her mother, a music teacher.
