The central idea of the book “My Mother the Cheerleader” by Robert Sharenow is that we are all human. In the story the girl Louise Collins is pulled out of her school, William Frantz Elementary school, because the school is being integrated by a little African American girl named Ruby. The author develops that idea through the story by having a man called Morgan Miller show up at Louise’s mothers boarding house. Morgan Miller is a Communist, and Jewish. He see’s the little girl Ruby for what she really is, just an innocent little girl. Everybody else doesn’t even see her as a human being just because of her skin color. In the story Morgan Miller argues with Louise’s mother, Pauline, that Ruby should go to the same school as Louise and she should get an equal education because she is a person too. Louise’s mother dismisses his idea and she supports the segregation because she thinks its the right thing, and believes that African Americans and Jewish people are just trying to take over everything. She said in the story, “Most of them are barely human.” Pauline is saying in this quote that the African Americans aren’t human, because they are not the same skin color as she is. Louise doesn’t know if she believes integration is right or not, until the end of the story. At the end of the story Louise realizes that Ruby is a human being like her, and just an innocent girl trying to gain equality. Louise’s mother realizes that too, and they find their courage to walk away from the hateful segregated crowd.