The Civil Rights Movement
Ruby Bridges
Although we’ve talked mostly about adults so far in the last few courses, 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.
When she arrived at school, Ruby and her mother were escorted by four federal marshals that entire first year while angry protestors stood outside the school for months, shouting horrific things at the little girl. Because she was just six years old, Ruby didn’t realize what was going on and thought the screaming crowds resembled a Mardi Gras celebration. Over time, she did become afraid of the angry crowd that gathered day after day, but she did not let it keep her from going to school.
Barbara Henry
There was only one teacher willing to help Ruby. Her name was Barbara Henry, a white woman from Boston. But Ruby was the only student in Henry’s class for the rest of the school year. She ate lunch alone and would play with her teacher during recess. She did not miss one day of school. Put yourself in her shoes for a moment. Would you keep going to school, day after day, if you knew you would be the only student in your class? Would you keep walking to school even though you knew an angry crowd would be there to yell at you when you got there and along the way inside?
