Ruby Bridges

This article is about a woman named Ruby  Bridges.She was born on September 8, 1954, she was the oldest of five children, her parents were Lucille and Abon Bridges, farmers in Tylertown, Mississippi. When Ruby was two years old, her parents moved their family to New Orleans, Louisiana in search of better work opportunities, because they were not making much money in Tylertown Mississippi  .

Ruby and other black kids had to take a test to be able to go to white schools since school segregation was legally over, but just because it was legally over it  did not mean whites just accepted blacks in there schools there was still much racism. Ruby and about  5 other kids passed the test, but most of their parents didn’t even send them to the white school due to the way they were most likely going to be treated. Ruby did this courageous act, at the age of six, Ruby became the very first African American child to attend the all-white public William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana  on  November 14, 1960.  Her father resisted, scared for his daughter’s safety, Ruby’s  mother however wanted Ruby to have the educational opportunities that her parents couldn’t/ didn’t have. Ruby and her mother were escorted by four federal marshals to the school every day that year. She walked past crowds screaming vicious slurs at her but she still walked with her head held tall.  She later said she only became scared  when she saw a woman holding a black baby doll in a coffin. She spent her first day in the principal’s office due to the chaos created as angry white parents pulled their children from school. Some extreme racist people removed  their children permanently from school. Barbara Henry, was the only teacher willing to accept Ruby, and all year, she was a class of one. Ruby ate lunch alone and sometimes played with her teacher during recess, at almost the end of the year Mrs. Henry said to the principal “The law’s changed and kids can be together now, but you’re hiding them from Ruby. If you don’t allow them to come together, I’m going to report you to the superintendent.” Therefore Ruby bridges was one of the first kids to integrate an elementary school in the south, which made a big impact and change on the world.