Paving the Way
Although we’ve talked about mostly adults so far, there’s one 6-year-old girl, Ruby Bridges, who played a big part in advancing the rights of Black schoolchildren. On the morning of November 14, 1960, Ruby walked into the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana as the first Black student to desegregate the school. She was yelled at by angry protestors who did not want Ruby to go to school with their kids. In fact, Ruby ended up being the only student in her class because no White parents wanted to send their kids to be in the same class as Ruby. Even through these challenges, Ruby still went to school every day and her teacher, Barbara Henry, continued to teach her.
Each of these brave activists played a big role in the Civil Rights Movement. They played different parts but were all a part of the same movement. It was because of people like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, and Ruby Bridges that all people in America, regardless of the color of their skin, are treated equally.
